Sure enough, the inches of snow got busy melting this morning. By noon, it was warm enough for me to stand on my deck in my socks — on the parts where the snow was already gone — without any discomfort. Felt good, actually.

As the meltwater trickled from the roof into the rain gutter, it sounded like this.

The dog has spent a lot of time lately out on the deck, or on the ground near the deck, sniffing and pawing. Even when the snow was thick. My guess is that another animal has taken up residence under the deck. Strategies to block the holes leading under the deck never work from year to year.

Probably a new family of possums. Or raccoons. But not a skunk. I think we would have found that out already.

Speaking of wildlife invasions, little black ants were on the march this weekend, especially around the kitchen sink. I deployed ant bait. By this morning, they were gone, except those that died in the trap. Even so, it could be that Earth is the realm of ants, and they’re merely tolerating us vertebrates.