Enough to ruin the ice, and require shoveling. When shoveling, I often wonder if there is an optimum pattern that, with the least amount of effort or distance, would result in a clear driveway. In spite of much experimentation, the objective, while close, has not yet been achieved.

Walking the prairie today we observed a flock of what looked like sparrows leapfrogging through the tallgrass. When a hawk flew over they went to ground among the bluestem. But once the coast was clear, they continued on their merry way, twittering softly. Then, at some other perceived threat (perhaps Pax) , the whole group exploded out of the grass and vanished into the aspens.

They seemed to be having such a great time I wanted to join them. Maybe next time around.