Surprise Snowstorm, Wondrous Beauty

I awoke yesterday morning to find a beautiful snowfall had coated everything overnight. The apple orchard was frosted in white:

Looking out my driveway, past the Lilac and Cedar, to the fields across the county road:

After I did the morning chores, I took a drive down the gravel road which bisects my property. I wanted to get pictures of the lovely snow before it was gone. It is spring, even here, despite the appearances to the contrary:

The brushy woodlands, former farm fields, along the road:

A gate into a field which is still fairly open, even though it hasn't been used in many years:

The remains of a giant maple along the road, possibly the mother of many of the maples growing up in the adjoining forest:

And the young maples are being tapped right now, producing maple syrup:

Red Pines had a unique beauty:

And Beech trees continued to hold on to their leaves:

More Red Pines, recently thinned by logging:

My Amish neighbor's farm, carved out of the forest and built by himself:

I continued on, knowing I had enough photos but unable to quit because it was so lovely:

Beech, Birch, Red Pine - my favorite photo of the day:

I finally did turn around and returned home, passing my cattle and horses, scarfing down hay. That reminded me that I needed to give them a new bale before the day was over:

I pulled onto the county road so that I could park facing eastward. I snapped a photo of my own house and barn before I turned in to the driveway:

Snow, No Snow, Snow, No Snow, Snow

Our weather has been changing minute by minute. On this day it was snowing again and I tried to refill the sunflower seed feeder. But the Chickadees couldn't wait, one of them landing right on the open feeder. So I backed up and snapped a picture:

One surprise snow coated the pasture gate with coils of white snow in such a lovely pattern that it could have passed as a Christmas decoration:

Beautiful sunsets are common, but on this night it was so spectacular that I had to try to capture it in a photo. The real thing, however, was more wondrous than any photo:

I took three photos and then tried to choose the best one. I couldn't decide, however, so am posting all three of them. This is number two:

And number three. Living here can be spectacular sometimes:

One day all the snow melted and the sun warmed everything up, including the leftover Rugosa Rose hips:

And one day was so darn warm that I opened the door to let the chickens out for the first time since winter began:

Only ten of the thirteen came outdoors, but those ten sure enjoyed themselves:

They spent almost the whole day beneath the bird feeders, cleaning up all the seed which had fallen to the ground:

No foxes appeared to spoil the day, so the chickens enjoyed the warm sun, even rolling onto their sides in heap to soak up the rays:

Blue and Remy can get inside the barn at any time, day or night, and they often take advantage of it. In fact, I often accuse them of coming into the barn just to poop:

Snow again. On this morning, I found tiny footprints inside the barn. They seemed a bit too big for mice, but not big enough for other mammals I could think of. Perhaps the Least Weasels have returned (or never left):