Sometimes, you find excitement when you’re least expecting it. And a lazy Sunday afternoon is high on the list of “not exciting,” particularly after a busy Saturday. By 2 P.M., Susan and I were feeling half asleep, and needing some exercise to avoid “permanent nap” syndrome. Plus, we had a good meal planned, and needed to pre-burn some calories so we could fully enjoy it! Dan was working on a school project, and clearly had reached frustration stage; time for us all to get OUT of the house.
With a big field not far away, it seemed like grabbing our snowshoes and heading over made sense. That’s one of the great things about snowshoes versus cross-country skis; pretty much anyplace where there aren’t houses can become a playground. With multiple layers of snow/crust/snow, it would be hard to ski without tracks to follow, but tramping around on the snowshoes would be a breeze.
Ten minutes after deciding to go, we were dressed, grabbing our gear, and heading out the door with Barley our moron Golden Retriever bouncing along beside us.
It was a lovely afternoon, some sun, some clouds, light winds, and a temperature in the upper 20s, perfect for getting exercise without getting too sweaty. The field was pristine; 10 acres or so of smooth snow. We set a good pace, and warmed up nicely before we hit the woods at the end. Hmm…the woods… We don’t know them, but one of the joys of winter is that you almost CAN’T get lost. Unless it’s snowing very, very hard, you can always follow your own tracks back. Time to become adventurers!
Almost immediately, we started to see signs of life. Deer tracks abounded (and, yes, some were bounding). As we worked our way deeper into the woods, it became clear that we were in a winter yard area. We found tracks galore, and beds everywhere. Several times, we found a half dozen or more beds under a stand of softwoods. Although I’d grown up with this, neither Susan nor Daniel had ever seen it. Explaining how the deer work together to keep trails open to food areas, linger under the hemlocks where the snow isn’t as deep, and tuck in together in sheltered areas to stay warm was fun for them AND for me.
Expertise only goes so far, though, and shortly I was tested by some unusual tracks. I was saved by the pattern of wings in the snow, and by some droppings. What we had was a group of ruffed grouse that had been walking along, possibly eating seeds and the like falling from the trees above. Clearly they had gotten startled and taken off together! From the looks of it, there were at least 4, possibly 5. We could imagine the loud drumming sound they make as they flew off, and how startled we’d have been if WE’D been the ones to scare them out.
Not much farther along, here was another oddity. Under a scruffy old hemlock, we found numerous feathery branches lying in the snow. If there had been low hanging live branches, we’d have guessed deer, but there was nothing alive until 15 or 20 feet up. Time for more sleuthing! As we walked around the tree, we found a sort of muddy looking, wallowing track in the snow, leading from a hole tucked into a group of blowdown trees to the hemlock. I thought I had an answer, and looking down into the hole, found proof…a quill! A porcupine was climbing up into the tree for snacks! Since they aren’t exactly the cleanest creatures on the planet (let’s face it…if you were a porky, would YOU want to groom yourself???), the dirty tracks were a near giveaway.
Speaking of tracks, it was difficult to follow them at times because Barley just loves to plow on ahead. It’s amazing just how much havoc a 100-pound Golden can wreak on tracks in the snow; it’s like having your own furry snowplow. On the positive side, in the deepest snow it was easy to just walk in his trail, letting him do half the work for us. Taking a dog with you when you’re out in the woods can be a lot of fun, but one word of caution. You MUST keep your dogs close to you, as they can literally kill deer in the deep snow. Following the deer and making them run is natural to to any dog, and while they don’t intend any harm, they can certainly cause it by making the deer burn energy reserves they need to get them through the long winter. Luckily for us, Barley’s goal seems to be to walk on our snowshoes and trip us, more than to chase something else down. But, we still watch him carefully to make sure he doesn’t go off and cause trouble.
As we continued on, we found more. Two different trees had large number of wood chips under them, clear signs that a pileated woodpecker (think Woody Woodpecker) was around. It’s amazing what they can do; holes in the trees were several inches deep, and some of the chips were 5 or 6 inches long. It gives me a headache just thinking about how much force it would take to do that! All that for a lunch of grubs…somehow, it just doesn’t appeal. Tracks of red squirrels, gray squirrels, and mice criscrossed the snow, giving us more clues to just how abundant and active the winter animal life is. And, of course, there was the flip side; a fox den with a well-worn path to it spoke of how tenuous life can be for all of those smaller animals (or for the fox, if it’s not a good hunter!).
Before we knew it, an hour and a half had passed, and the sun was getting low in the sky. Time to head back in and start cooking our now well-earned supper. Amazingly enough, we’d managed to tire Barley out enough that he actually wanted to follow our tracks back in. For once, the mutt had actually earned the treats that he’s always begging for. Back at home, we settled in, watching it get dark outside, feeling satisfied that we’d done something rather than just sit around. And, best of all, we’d seen a LOT of unexpected things! Everyone had learned something, we’d had to use our wits to figure out what we were seeing, and we had a better idea of what goes on in our backyard all the time. In the summer, we’d never have known most of that. Tracks in the snow allow us to see what an incredible range of animals are moving around, and what they actually do to stay warm, fed, and safe. For us, the heat is on, dinner’s cooking, and the doors are shut. We’re lucky, and thanks to our little adventure, we understand that more than ever!