2025 January 5 Another Reason to Resist Fall Cleanup

I’ve been watching the snow fall slowly in the back yard all morning. The white blanket highlights any movement around me, so it’s easy to see a fluffy gray Eastern Cottontail hopping by the fence. She’s nibbling on the last green blackberry leaves and English ivy leaves that I had actually wanted to pull out in fall. She’s chewing up any dead stems and partially green leaves sticking out of the snow. There is just enough cover under the hydrangea bush that she can hide fairly well from predators. I wonder why she’s not burrowed in somewhere during this cold snap. 

This little bunny is chewing on stems beneath the hydrangea bush. 

The red-tailed hawk did swing by, but he flapped away when I fed the chickens. I’m happy I didn’t cut everything back to the ground in fall. There is just enough food and shelter to sustain this sweet fluffy life.