It is now February of 2017 and we are enjoying our first winter on the mountain. This is a very different experience from living in Kansas. First, we are much closer to wildlife and see examples of deer, elk and birds close up and personal. The deer were right outside our door most days until the snow got so deep it started rubbing their belly's when then waded thru it. After that they disappeared down the mountain and now spend much of their time along the river.
The birds however just continue to increase in numbers at the feeder. There are Ravens, Stellars Jays, Red Headed woodpeckers, Yellow Finches, Grouse and Grey Jays in reasonable numbers. The big numbers come as flocks of Brown-capped Rosy Finches covering the deck and feeders and go thru lots of food per visit. These are several hundred birds at a given time. The sound of the flock arriving makes you think a helicopter landed on the deck.
The snow is always light and powdery and comes in pretty steady amounts. It starts out pretty deep and then compresses to much tighter concentrations. It seems to stick around and stays white which is different from the dirty snow after a few days we have been used to in Kansas.
The powder aspect of snow means it gets blown around pretty well by the wind so drifting is an issue. It is not bad to plow if you get to it before it gets compressed and hard to push.
The critters are all along the roads which takes some care in driving in early morn and late evening
