When country lanes are choked with swirling snowdrifts,
And meadows are held in winter's cold embrace,
Silent is the frozen field and woodland…
The barren world seems a deserted place.

But deep within their haunts, securely hidden
And sheltered from the howling wind and storm,
Content, the woodland creatures go on living,
And pass the winter season snug and warm.

Safe beneath the brambled brier hedges,
Where soft green willow bark is gnawed away,
A family of cottontails is napping…
On sunny days you'll see them at their play.

The farmer's yard is traced with lacy footprints…
The white-tailed deer around the apple tree;
The field mouse and the squirrels near the granary,
The partridge by the feed for chickadees.

The red fox in his den beneath the stone fence,
With graceful beauty glides across the snow,
Searching for food, he raids the farmer's henhouse
Till startled by the rooster's warning crow.

The sheltering cedars harbor flocks of bird friends;
Through winter's icy blast we hear them sing.
And sleeping frogs beneath the frozen millpond
Will be among the first to welcome spring.