The white-tail deer held a family reunion in the apple orchard last night to celebrate the moonlit New Year, their leisurely trails crossing the snow from southwest to northeast. We heard the Great Horned Owl but didn't think to gaze out into the orchard to look for deer. In a clearing a little way back in the woods, a bobcat tracked snowshoe hares as they danced under the moon.

Three tufted titmice, with their cousins the black-capped chickadees, are taking turns at the seed and suet feeders, along with American goldfinches and redpoll finches. They cling madly to the branches of the cherry tree between feeder runs- the sun is bright, but the wind is fierce. We're watching for return visits from the shrike and the sharp-shinned hawk and flyovers from the eagles. A red squirrel digs in the snow crust to retrieve every sunflower seed he can find!

The sky is a cold, lovely blue, curving down to the treeline in a paler hue. Perhaps this is the year music will return.

Happy New Year from Maine.