I know that spring is not just around the corner but today in all of the cold and wind (high temperature of 18) I saw a bunch of robins on the side of the North Union Road. They were in a crabapple tree making the most of the small frozen fruits and in fact had dropped a bunch on the snow below the tree. I have to admit that even after seeing them in February for the last few years I am still startled to see them in the cold and snow.
Argy and I travelled to Bar Harbor on Saturday to visit out son Noah who is a junior at the College of the Atlantic. As part of the trip we spent a couple of hours snowshoeing in the National Park. The weather was perfect; cold but not too cold and clear as a bell. There was plenty of snow that was crusted over from the rain at the end of last weeks storm and about a half an inch of new snow that fell early that morning. 
For the first time in several years we have Pine Siskins at the bird feeder this winter. They arrive as a flock and dominate the feeder. They keep the goldfinches and chickadees at bay until they leave and have eaten most of the sunflower seeds. So far this winter we have not had any unusual visitors.
