This

plus this

equals this.

Yes, the masked heeler was quite proud of herself. Having trapped a vicious tree rat in the small aspen all by herself.

She's been trying to do that all summer and fall, but the tree rats have been able to leap from the small aspen to the large elm, and scamper happily along their way.

But as this little one discovered, with the leaves gone, those two trees are no longer just a jump apart. I let the heelers enjoy themselves for as long as I could stand the cold (which wasn't that long, with that cutting north breeze blowing), before making the sisters come sit on the porch. Took the squirrel a few minutes to bravely climb down and dash across on a lower branch.

But the masked heeler had her victory just the same.

The snow? That white stuff falling out there?

A couple inches at least. A drift close to 15cm deep between the door and that tree right now.

Fortunately, the snow shovels will be handy tomorrow morning.

Sitting there on the front porch.

Where they never got put away last spring.