An extremely cold week with four days of subzero HIGHS will increase our heating bill. We stayed in. Only a trace of snow has fallen this week and we are far below normal for this winter. Deer are standing on hind legs eating old crabapples out of tree, and eating a bitter-tasting yew that they left alone for 14 years. Squirrels are unfazed. Birds going wild at feeders. Local water bodies completely ice-covered and at typical seasonal levels.