A Walk in the Snow

Wow, I haven't been back to the blog for a while. Just too busy with work.

Today I went for a walk in the snow to look for animal tracks. The weather was warm (-1 Celsius), overcast with good visibility but poor contrast, and almost windstill. The snow was heavy and wet, so the tracks were very well defined.

The most common tracks were white-tailed deer and hare tracks. The deer tracks crossed the road at several spots, either as individuals or in small groups of about 2 - 4. The hare tracks criss-crossed the road and fields everywhere. Judging by their shape, they all belong to the field hare. I haven't seen a certain snowshoe hare this winter or the last. There were also some cottontail rabbit tracks but fewer than I expected.

Looking in at a neighbour's pond, I noticed the tracks of a dog (they seemed too large for a bush wolf). I followed them back to the road where they were briefly covered by deer tracks on either side. Following them further back, I saw that the animal had walked our fence line out from a gully. I didn't want to go into the shrub because I didn't have much time.

While following the dog's trail I came by an apple tree which still had some apples though they were all rotten. Still, the tree seemed to be a focus for hares and deer. I also noticed that a raccoon had been by to visit.

Further up the road, I noticed a fox track in a classical straight line pattern. I lost it once the fox moved more to the centre but it reappeared just before the corner, when the fox crossed to the other side of the road and entered a field. I decided to follow the trail back into the (harvested) soy bean field it had come from.

A number of fox tracks crossed the field. I lost my original trail in a cluster of deer tracks and decided to pick another set of fox tracks that aimed for a small pond and the field's highest spot. This fox crossed a number of vole tunnels that had been exposed by the thaw. They meandered aimlessly across a small space of the field, providing a strong contrast to the purposeful movement of the fox, who doesn't seem to have taken any note. After a short distance, the fox then changed its walk to a run briefly, for what purpose I do not know. The pond was another focus with a number of deer, hare and rabbit tracks. The fox then went to the high point and wandered on into the field but that is where I decided to turn back.

Another apple tree in the hedge row by the soy bean field is located right across from a woodlot. The squirrels have beaten a regular path across the road from the cedars to the apple tree. Even a mouse followed them there though it made its path from a log beside which the snow had opened at a distance of a few inches from the squirrel tracks to the apple tree. Like the vole, it also meandered somewhat.

I enjoy tracking as much as reading a good book, but with the added delight that I am physically active, breathe fresh outdoor air, and out of the reach of others.