After a long time of too much busyness, not much subject matter, too many duties, and then almost a week of being too sick to go for a walk, I enjoyed the milder weather today and being outdoors again.

I could hear a few birds. A repetitive honk which turned out to be a crow, some distant magpies, and a few small birds twittering. But I couldn’t see any birds nearby. I tried some soft high pitched whistles, and a curious chickadee landed directly above my head, so that I had to point my camera straight up.

I went for a walk to the old log cabin in the woods. Before I could light a fire in the old wood stove I saw a small white creature look in at the open door and disappear suddenly.

I grabbed my camera and went outside. It came back, but it moved so quickly and fluidly it was hard to get a good picture.

What a beautiful animal.

Ermine.

Even if the temperature does not go above freezing, the sun may melt the snow on the roof of any shed or building, and the thawing freezing cycle of days and nights results in various icicles with random bubble patterns.