Tracks

Snow captures and holds for our future inspection the movements of the creatures and machines with whom we share our land. Here are just a few from this winter. tracks Moose! We noticed these down in the field outside our bedroom one morning. Rachael went down later in the day for a closer inspection and found where the big fella (or missus) came up a pretty sheer rise from the ATV/snowmobile trail, tore down our electric cattle fence, ambled across the field, and then took out another of section on the way back down. Looks like I'll be replacing some fence come spring, once we need to run the cow down that way. In case you don't see how big those prints are, here are a few more shots for scale. tracks-2 tracks-3   And here are a few more reminders that our neighbors are everywhere: tracks-4Birds (a grouse?) and a snowshoe hare. tracks-9A mouse who has made a winter home in our greenhouse. tracks-7A fox who went across our upper field and, I think... tracks-8may have found something to eat, if the tracks indicate a conflagration, as I think they might. tracks-5Snowmobilers roam the trails around our house. Except at night when we see their headlights flash by, they are not often noticed. tracks-6My son walks in circles through the snow, creating spirals that he returns to, all through the season. I believe he finds walking through them meditative. Whenever fresh snow falls, filling in the trails, he comes back out and recreates the path. -jason