In Derbyshire, England the farm cottages are squat and dark timbered in the deep winter. Each one has white smoke coming from the chimmney. Each one also has a weathervane next to that showing the cardinal directions and the direction of the wind. This de facto weather station works pretty well actually, you've heard the jokes; (if it's white, it's snowing, if it's missing it's blowing).
Even though Derbyshire is 4,866 miles away, I feel the connection looking up at this example of a Corrales weathervane and smelling the pinon smoke wafting between the cottonwoods. This bird always perches at the same place, and is the biggest one of the four that frequent this area. He looks East in the morning, and North in the evening, but only on still days without wind.
As usual, the tracks in the snow show mammal activity during the night and early morning. But the only thing activity during the day are the birds. These raven give great profiles against the light sky. This weathervane is the look-out for the flock that is on the ground on the look out for burritos on the Corrales village green (Another link to Derbyshire commons)
Not finding any burritos, the flock saw a predator (me, and two leashed dogs) so took to the trees and foraged among the cottonwood buds. This is their survival food, like the porcupines that eat bark, (mostly just to pass the time, as far as I can tell).
Gophers and voles do not rest. Underground their activities are in overdrive as they clear out dens to keep the fleas and ticks under control and open new larders that they has filled last summer with hay. This mound shows the old mound on the left and new dirt brought up from below on the right. The peek hole is in the middle. They use this to poke out their whiskers and nose to check the weather. The New Mexico version of groundhog Phil. If the furry bundle comes out enough to see it's shadow, it runs the risk of one of a host of predators plucking him out of his warm burrow.
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