Deer in the garden . . .

Thought you might enjoy these pictures.  I have never seen so many deer this close to the house.  I'm sure they are hungry.  There is a foot of snow on the ground, not good for foraging.  You will notice that in one of the pics, they are inside the garden fence, which has been broken down by cows, so it is really no barrier.  We will fix it before starting to plant in the spring.

Gardening is not far away now, but I wish it was tomorrow.  I am really getting pretty sick of winter.  Last Tuesday and Wednesday, we got about a foot of heavy snow, with a little sleet mixed in.  I've lived here for nine years and have never been snowed in - until now.  The milker couldn't get here on Wednesday, so I had to haul my old body out there and milk on Wednesday.  My muscles aren't used to it anymore, and I used a good bit of pain cream when I went to bed!

No way to get to Purple Porch with my wares.  My neighbor, bless him, finally made it in with his four-wheel drive and blade while I was finishing up the milking, but it was far too late for the trip into town.  Before he had completely finished it, the blade broke, due to the heaviness of the snow.  I've never seen anything like it.  We are used to the powdery lake-effect snow off Lake Michigan.  I usually plow through it with my Prius, no problem.  Not this time!

So here are the pictures.  They are beautiful, aren't they?