Winter landscapes are uniquely beautiful and dynamic. They also convey the environmental dramas that unfold, for better or worse, as animals respond to subnormal temperatures and deepening snow cover.
These images are a modest and heavily biased sample of winter scenes in Central New York captured February 8 – 13, 2015. Temperatures were well below freezing and average snow depth was about 20 inches.
Everyone’s favorite winter companion: Black-capped Chickadee
Clearing deep snow from a windmill access road
Red Squirrel emerging from its protective tunnel beneath deep snow
Farmland
Red Squirrel, on full alert
Hay bales (poly-wrapped round bales)
Deer feeding and grooming in deep snow
Frosty morning in the hills
Mature doe, with her two fawns nearby
Photos by NB Hunter. © All Rights Reserved.
Nick's Nature Pics 
Fabulous. We haven’t seen deer in several weeks. It’s going to be rough on them in the next storm. Not good for man or beast! Jo
Thanks Jo. Our deer are still in pretty good condition but that will change over the next 6 weeks. Fawns in particular will not be able to handle this deep snow for an extended period.
The chickadee is adorable and I love the snowy tree line landscape. What we would give for some of your snow here! Enjoy. 🙂
Thanks Alison. Much appreciated! I’ll see what I can do about trucking our surplus snow to you – have a feeling that everyone in about 10 counties will be very supportive!
Love these gorgeous winter shots. The emerging red squirrel is so cute. I could look at the Farmland picture forever. Interested in selling a print?
Kathy
Lovely winter shots. The emerging red squirrel is so cute. I could look at the Farmland picture forever. Interested in selling a print?
Kathy
Sorry ’bout the duplication
Thank you!!! I’m glad no one was around when I was trying to photograph that rascal at the entrance to a tunnel. It had at least 3 holes and, when alarmed (or wanting to pick a fight), would dive into one hole and pop up from another — or just disappear altogether. Yep, made a fool of me! I do sell a few photo products, mostly 8×10 and 8×12 prints. Feel free to contact me via email if you want to follow up.
Those hay bales look like gigantic marshmallows!!
Ha! There’s only 2 ways that a bubble-wrapped hay bale makes its way into my archives: 1- something wild like an owl or coyote sitting on top, or… 2- look like a marshmallow. 🙂
And, I love your idea to illustrate how our animal friends fare in this frigid weather, through these images! Beautifully done!
Thanks! I appreciate specific feedback like that regarding the purpose of a post. I would like to pursue the subject in more detail but it’s a battle – working in the severe cold and minimizing the disturbance of animals under stress are 2 of the major challenges.