The cold spell seems to be broken. I took a walk out across the crusty snow toward the woods this afternoon. Where the sun had been shining, I walked about a foot above the ground. But out at the shadowy edge of the woods, the snow was soft and deep. Too bad, I wanted to get a photo of the pussy willow buds. Here is a shot from as close as I could get, complete with the raspberry vines taking over the whole area.

This red maple is in the front yard very near the road. We have several kinds of maples in the yard, but these always bud out first. Notice the tiny bird nest. I have been watching it bob up and down all winter, from my front window. The bird who built it seems to have been a good engineer.