Yes. the Midwest and the Northeast are getting "old school" winter cold and snow this year with records being matched and set.............One has to go back to the 1950's,,,,,then again to the 1930's and in some cases the mid and latter 19th century to see same type snow and cold.................The fact is that a whole generation of folks have grown up not knowing what cold and snow really can be about and not only has this made us as a society weaker in countenance(my view), but it has also retarded biodiversity as it relates to both carnivores and herbivores being able to "spread their wings" across rivers and lakes and add genetic vitality to populations of their own kind on the far side of these waterways.................Therefore, I was heartened to see the Eastern Coyote(see picture below) in Boston sprinting across the Boston Harbor last week...........Perhaps he or she will now end up mating with a fellow coyote on the other side(whatever that may be) of the Harbor,,,,,,,,,,infusing that geographic "song dog" population with some new genes to forge stronger and more resilient Coyote pups come this Spring

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/02/27/coast-guard-spots-coyote-running-across-frozen-bay/uyigPyMxxKxQ45POiDYi6J/story.html?s_campaign=8315

Coast Guard spots coyote on frozen Boston Harbor

By Steve AnnearGLOBE STAFF  

US COAST GUARD

Coast Guard crew members spotted a
 coyote on the frozen harbor.

FEBRUARY 27, 2015

The historically frigid February weather has produced

 an abundance of out-of-the-ordinary sights, including

 one for those aboard a US Coast Guard cutter in Boston

 Harbor.

Crews were breaking and chipping away at the ice 

clogging the harbor when they spotted a coyote in 

the middle of the frozen water.

“They were there on the boat, and the coyote 

was just out running on the ice,” said Petty

 Officer Myeonghi Clegg, a spokeswoman for 

the Coast Guard in Boston.

Clegg said she wasn’t sure how far out on

 the ice the coyote was when it was spotted 

darting across the frozen harbor in Quincy,

 but crew members had enough time to

 capture the image on Feb 20, and later

 share it on Facebook and Twitter.

The photo shows the animal in mid-stride,

 dashing through the snowy ice.

Clegg said the coyote isn’t the only

wildlife the Coast Guard has encountered
this month.

During a recent voyage smashing chunks
of ice so that ships delivering goods and
 heating oil can gain access to Boston Harbor,
crews spotted a deer stuck in the ice.

To assist the animal, a 65-foot Coast Guard
cutter inched close enough to break through
 some of the ice. Clegg said the deer was
then able to free itself and run back to shore.

Coast Guard members have been deployed
 to Hingham, Quincy, the Fore River area,
 and Boston Harbor in recent weeks trying
 to keep the shipping channels accessible.

“They have been out there everyday
 keeping the lanes open,” Clegg said.