On New Year's Day I glanced out my window to see this odd sight. One of the neighbor's cats was high up in our dogwood; one squirrel was on the ground and another on the fence post. A moment later, the squirrel on the post was up high taunting the cat. After a few minutes, the disappointed stalker climbed down and walked away.
Sunset over Catoctin Mountain on December 16 and a few shots of the sky afterglow.
View from the bathroom - 9:05 AM Dec 19 
View from my office - 9:34 AM Dec 19 
View from the dining room - 7:47 AM Dec 20 
View from my office - 3:37 PM Dec 21 
We do not usually get major snowstorms in December, but this one was a record setting snow fall. The snow started Friday, December 18 about 9 PM and by 1 PM Saturday our yard was well covered and the shed had an even covering of the white stuff. 
Around 8 PM, the snow was still falling and clinging to our outside decorations and rhododendron. Late afternoon on the 23-rd, our backyard was still covered.
But Christmas night a gentle rain began and the next morning the snow was disappearing fast. Roads were closed as creeks and the Monocacy River flooded. And the field behind us again became a lake.
Build a snow squirrel? Find a nut? This guy had other places to go, so away he went.
Our tree is decorated with many animals - calico cats, bears, horses - but these have special meaning. In our early days together, I often used the phrase "we should do... ". Marianne would reply "What, you got a mouse in your pocket?" And she has given me a mouse ornament most every year since then. She found the Siamese cat ornament and it reminded us so much of two of our previous Siamese, Scooter and Sinbad, that it is now a fixture on our tree.
