At year’s end a shiny windless day invited neighbors to track into the new snow.  Green patches marked where a pair of does slept in the storm.  The dirt in their tracks was muddy, warmed by recent rains and a little sunshine.  Only distant traffic, the occasional crack of hunter’s practice rounds and the camera shutter break the quiet.

Even light wind today would have relieved the pines of their easy burden of snow.  A few have branches crippled by the heavy ice and snow of a recent storm.  The fallen trunks and limbs in the adjacent Woodland Conservancy now have been cleared from all but one of its trails.

One day of this year remains and rain is again in the forecast. It’s a good time for indoor projects or just relaxing. The first of the seed and nursery catalogs has reached the reading table but for now the trees and farm will just rest.