Winter chores and rewards

Lots of snow in New England this season. No massive storms, but lots of cold and a number of accumulations in the 6-12" range.  I took this picture a couple of weeks ago after a round of re-clearing a few paths, including this one leading to a pair of bird feeders. There's been melting and settling since, but the snowpack depth at the time was about two feet, which seems substantial but nothing compared to colonial times when (if I recall cited reports correctly, and they weren't exaggerated) settlers sometimes needed to tunnel to their farms' outbuildings in the winter.

We've been rewarded for our feeder maintenance through the season by a variety of small woodpeckers and, in recent weeks, by many bluebirds like this one.

Nice visitors!