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The calendar and the string of days with normal or above normal temperatures suggest that winter is slowly losing its grip. Let's tally some of the pluses and minuses of the departing winter and examine some hurdles that still may exist on the road to warmer weather.

When do you remember this much snow? But more importantly, when have you seen snow measuring in feet that melted without a lot of free flowing water? These snows hit with the ground unfrozen or barely frozen and the snowmelt went into the ground.

That bodes well for the coming growing season, as the ground water is at the highest level in recent memory. A glance out my window at a large retention pond in a restored swamp/meadow shows water levels I have never seen before.

In fact, a few days ago I spotted two male wood ducks flanking a pair of turtles sunning themselves on a log in the middle of the pond. The log usually is at the edge of the water.

The downside of the heavy snow is the amount of breakage and seemingly smashed low evergreen shrubs. With the breakage you have little choice but to remove the broken parts. If the damage is too great, the plant should be removed.

For those plants that seem simply smashed I would counsel a little patience. I see signs that many of these plants will regain or nearly regain their original form.

Just as the snow melted, I spent a weekend in Cape May, NJ. I was shocked at the severe damage to trees and shrubs there. It was much worse than here. Then I looked at the structure of the plants and the makeup of their landscapes. The obvious is that evergreens took more damage. Their mix includes more evergreen shrubs and trees than we have.

Also, I noticed that their deciduous trees were shorter and had a much larger and thicker crown than one sees here. That, too, was a problem.

Contrast that to a trip north, or to higher elevations and you will see either deciduous trees or, in more extreme weather situations, rather narrow evergreen trees with branches that slope down to shed the heavy snow. The branches on our evergreens normally are skewed upward.Remember that a few warm days do not end winter. A few days ago a salesman told us that some greenhouses are selling geraniums already. My thought. Why?

My concern, as I look in my gardens, is for some of the plants that are widely planted but come originally from coastal areas of Asia. The present temperatures are starting to wake them up. I hope it is not too early and that a damaging cold snap does not surprises them.

Our biggest remaining threat is possible windy days with temperatures hovering near or just below freezing. For that reason, don't get in a hurry to remove any winter protection you use.

We survived the winter and spring is just around the corner, but as our groundhog said in the middle of February's snowstorms, "we haven't got to the corner yet." Enjoy the approach of spring, but don't rush the season.

Several days ago I made good on a promise to help a friend prune an apple tree. When he called the night before to pick a time I suggested three in the afternoon. Apparently he was thinking morning because he said that he would get started before I arrived.

On arrival I could have turned around and went home because his pruning job was already worth at least a B+ and more likely an A-.When he claimed that he did not know anything about pruning, I offered a few suggestions and put a few additional limbs on the ground and we were both happy.

My guess is that all most of you need is reassurance before you will grab the saw and shears.

At our location, the sun will only penetrate about four feet into a tree's canopy. Anything behind that four-foot line will be weaker and produce fruit of lower quality. That's a very good reason to keep fruit trees small.

Generally we are a bit timid. My rule of thumb for successful fruit is to thin branches until your shirt would be speckled with shade and sunlight if you lay under the tree after it had fully leafed out.

Another thought is to prune until you are happy and then remove half of what is left. I add that only because I am sure you won't do it, but I also hope you remember it when you pick up the saw and shears.

The biggest sin I see is pruning cuts that leave a stub that you could use as a clothes hanger. If you look at a limb you will notice that it is a bit fatter where it joins another branch. Often it looks like a ring. Cut as close to that ring as you can but not into it.

If you have apples or pears, get moving. The best fruit on these forms on branches that angle upward at about 45 degrees. Branches that are flat or hang down are less vigorous and will give lots of fruit but of lesser quality. Branches that are straight up just want to grow and provide unneeded shade.

For peaches, nectarines, plums and sweet cherries wait at least until you see a bit of bud swell, which should carry an April date. The best peaches and nectarines form on vertical shoots about the thickness of a pencil. Peaches and nectarines are quite vigorous, so getting them isn't too hard.

Sweet and sour cherries and plums behave nicely if you control height and thin a little. Sour cherries can be pruned now if you wish.

On grapes, there is a bud at each leaf from last year. Leave 20 or 30 buds and then ten additional buds for each pound of wood you remove. A well-pruned grapevine will look rather naked but don't take a scales to the garden with you. March is the best time.

Blueberries like five to seven stems from the ground for each bush. If you remove the oldest stem each year while keeping the best new stem, you will be fine. Little else is needed. Again, now is a good time to prune.

If I mention raspberries I am on thin ice. Black ones produce the best fruit on second year stems. Red ones can be handled the same or mowed to the ground after the spring harvest.

Grab the shears and go prune. Quick, cause you won't hear that from me too often.

This fall I revamped my bird feeding arrangements. Previously, I put mixed seed into a closed feeder that looked a lot like a little log cabin. You simply flipped the roof to fill and the birds pecking or gravity directed seed to the small base from which the birds fed.

There are lots of feeders built on this design. They work but I found that rain, snow or ice often moistened the lower seed clogging the openings. Servicing that wasn't difficult but one had to watch for moldy seed.

Rule one - if you are going to feed birds, keep the feeders clean. Think of it as dozens of little children with unwashed hands eating from the same dish on an unwashed table. Dirty feeders will cause sick and dead birds.

For a replacement, I split a full sheet of plywood, sawed it until it wasn't square, found a couple of dowl rods and created a roofed platform feeder. With this, bird viewing is enhanced and sanitation is a breeze. As soon as I convince the wind that it is not a sail, things will be near perfect.

I also moved my feeders about 60 feet from in front of the living room window near the woods to a more open area viewed from the kitchen windows. The target is to turn that area into a hummingbird garden next summer, but that is a different story.

Small shrubs, three branchy larger deciduous shrubs, a happy 15-year-old dogwood and two "why won't you grow faster" evergreens ring the new area.

Successful bird feeders offer the birds many escape routes. If you watch closely, you can see that any bird's top priority is to escape the bad guys. The key is to provide easy escape routes without providing cover for predators to ambush your birds.

My new arrangement provides no cover closer than five feet, but plenty of hiding places within 10 feet. That seems to be working rather well.

The chief bane to bird feeding is outside cats, of which I have at least three. I had four but I suspect one of them decided that the neighbor lived in a better world so he moved. My cats are commissioned to mouse the greenhouse and religiously bring me their offerings for my blessing.

After a small bird was brought I had a long discussion with the cats and since then have seen only mice and moles. I suspect that the positioning of the feeders is of more value than the chat I had with the cats.

Other birds also will prey on smaller ones. Cooper and Sharp Shined hawks will treat a poorly located feeder as a smorgasbord. In three months, I have seen one definite kill, several chases with undetermined results and several escapes. When my birds scatter in unison, it is often an opportunity to get a good view of a hawk.

In a recent reading I saw a reference that the common grackle will also target smaller birds. That explains why my birds scatter when a flock of grackles arrive. For a while I was puzzled why the little guys would eat side by side with a grackle-sized morning dove or woodpecker while staying well clear of any grackle.

My new arrangement is more sanitary, more visible, gives the cats less opportunity to ambush and, to my surprise, has eliminated the entertainment provided by pesky squirrels. Life is good. I think my birds agree.

The consensus in the bird feeding community is that the winter of 2009-2010 will be slower than recent years. Seed sellers report less bird feed being sold. Many individuals with backyard feeders are reporting fewer birds at their feeders.

What's up? Is it the economy? Are there fewer birds? Is it something else? My guess is that it is something else, although I would not fight with anyone trying to argue the other two points.

In my yard, the feeders were relatively inactive until the pre-Christmas snow. Then my feeders were mobbed and I refilled three times a day instead of once a day as I was doing in November and December. Normal for me is twice daily and that is holding as the cold snap continues.

In the days immediately after the rain melted our snow, I watched a flock of goldfinches feeding vigorously in a clump of oenothera just a few wing flaps from my feeders. My guess is that the wonderful growing year in 2009 produced an abundance of wild seeds and berries that reduces the urgency the birds have to visit our feeders.

That leads us to the sometimes-controversial question. Why do we feed birds? Is it for them or is it for us? I cling to the idea, possibly naive, that the answer is both. In reality, the birds don't need us but will gratefully accept our offerings, which increases our enjoyment of them.

My guess is the only time the birds might suffer is if you were to stop feeding at the onset of a big snowstorm. If the weather is normal and you let your feeders fall empty for a few days, I doubt if it really matters. At best you were just one of many sources of food for your birds.

If you are a veteran feeder, I would be happy to receive your helpful ideas. If you are a beginner or thinking about starting I'll share my history and some ideas.

Start with black oil sunflower seeds. Lots of birds favor these. I started with sunflower seeds and a mid-priced seed mixture. Now I lace the seed mixture with additional sunflower seeds and my feeders are cleaned up.

At the outset, the birds were leaving much of the cracked corn and Milo/sorghum seed that is the basis of all but the most expensive commercial mixed seeds. Sparrows seem to be the chief consumers for the corn and Milo/sorghum seed.

To date this year I have seen at least five different sparrows at my feeders without being unblessed with English or house sparrows.

I also put out suet cakes, which is a favorite of woodpeckers and nuthatches. This year I added a feeder for Niger seed for the finches. I did this well aware that Niger seed is expensive. To my surprise, it has not been a big hit yet. My finches seem to be staying with the black oil sunflower seeds and only rarely clinging to the Niger feeder.

My next adventure is to create a peanut butter log. That will be a rescued piece of firewood with some holes drilled and filled with peanut butter. From there who knows.

Right now I can count on seeing between 15 and 20 different birds at my feeders on any given day. Nothing unexpected but I keep hoping. A Carolina wren just perched on my windowsill and two cardinals just flashed by. Guess I better check my feeders.

If you are dreaming of a green Christmas this might be your year. Are the fields, meadows and especially the yards, greener than usual as we near year's end? I think so. Blame it on moisture rather than temperature is my guess.

Before I continue, let me offer a disclaimer. Anything in this article is from recollection rather than meticulous records that I have kept.

My guess is that October was rather cool, November was rather warm and December is showing us temperatures Mother Nature normally saves until after Christmas or January. The summer, in general, had been cooler with fewer 90+ days than in recent memory.

Moisture has been the bigger story. This year the yard wanted the mower on a weekly basis or oftener. I don't remember the last time that happened. In the garden things grew well with only an increase in fungal problems to discourage us. We could plant anytime without worrying about the garden hose and our water supply.

If you had disease problems this year, I would advise removing the affected plant residue from the garden to help reduce problems next year.

From 1967 to 1993, when I was growing a lot of strawberries, the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas was a time to target some of the problem weeds. The week after Christmas was the week to mulch.

The strawberries are now relegated to a rather unkempt plot in the garden, but I still have my eye on a bank of persistent perennials including Canada thistle. I'm hoping for a somewhat warm, calm morning followed by a night of above freezing temperatures, but I may have missed it.

I may soon look for mulch for the small strawberry patch and would recommend that if you had any late plantings of anything potted, that you mulch now as the soil stiffens.

One thing that has wondered me so far this fall is where are all the geese and ducks. Were they flying while I was gone in late September and October, or are they still waiting for the weather to get nasty further north? Frequent visits to the Octoraro Reservoir seem to yield little compared to other years.

The birds at my feeder are getting more active as the temperature dips, while the perennials and shrubs in my garden look like they are prepared and happy to get a rest.

My hopes of being in a warmer town come winter time are fading. Too much going on. But I take solace from a poem I recently read, which, after traveling through my brain says something like this: in December you are a lot closer to spring than you were in September. See you then with more garden hints and ramblings.