Our Littleton, Colorado, farm has taken on the clean, dry look of the winter season. Nevertheless, since it sits at 5400 feet in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains, I have been enjoying the mild, sunny weather that dominates the Front Range urban corridor for much of the year.
As always, I have spent much of the week working outdoors, mulching, repairing fences and, this time, cutting down and stacking tree branches that were brought down by the October snowstorm. Most of the leaves have fallen and signs of the approaching winter are everywhere, led by the numerous flocks of Canada geese that pass overhead throughout the day; they are now joined by small squadrons of buffleheads, common goldeneyes and other wintering ducks. Townsend's solitaires are down from the mountains, feasting in the junipers with bushtits, robins, house finches and the occasional flock of cedar waxwings. Ring-billed gulls, present all year, are now abundant, gathering at our larger reservoirs as the sun sets behind the Front Range.
Our resident fox and mule deer have kept their distance but a Harlan's hawk, a regular winter visitor on the farm, has made his appearance. Of course, our most conspicuous residents, including fox squirrels, northern flickers and black-billed magpies, have not gone unnoticed. As expected, it's been a pleasant and invigorating week up on the farm.
