Feeding birds and other creatures

On Friday and Saturday our region was hammered with more than 21" of snow. My husband had filled the bird feeder before the yard became unpassable, but the ground feeding birds were out of luck. However, our resident fox sparrow managed to dig a hole in the snow--something we had never seen before. After the snow fall ended my husband stalked through knee-deep snow to put out a platform feeder filled with corn and seeds for the ground eaters on top of the mass of snow. Needless to say, our yard is very busy.
Birds are not the only creatures taking advantage of our outdoor cafe. Last evening we saw a doe at the platform feeder. And today I observed a turkey for several hours eating happily away. In this weather no one wants to expand energy looking for food. I managed to take a couple of photos through our window glass, but when I ventured outside to take a sneak shot it must have heard me coming and flew away.
Hanging a bird feeder is a bit tricky. Put it too far away from the house and you have to trudge through snow and ice to fill it. Put it too close to the house and the birds might crash into your windows and perish. It is absolutely essential to provide the birds with shelter near the feeders (no more than 8-10 feet away) so they can escape if a predator lurks nearby. Lately, we have observed a hawk that often dive bombs through our driveway to make a surprise attack. Hawks have to eat too, but I would like the playing field to be level. Of course, if it was up to me they could eat all the starlings they like...