It snowed a little bit yesterday dusting us with maybe all of another inch or so of the white stuff. Better than nothing, I suppose. Still, I wish it would just get on with it; I miss my snowstorms. Today I decided to take a walk down to the boats. I do like to see what critters are wandering around in our neighborhood, and the best time to do that is after a fresh snowfall. Today I immediately discovered the tracks of a large martin right here in the yard. I say he's large because his tracks are probably larger than a silver dollar, though it's been a while since I've seen one. I didn't trace all of his tracks around the yard, but it was obvious from his leisurely pace that he was on the hunt and not simply passing through as fast as possible. His tracks also came and went (or vise versa) a good distance down our trail, pausing to pay special attention to any mouse tracks that also crisscrossed the trail.
Speaking of those mouse trails. The mice we've seen this year are positively huge. How much of that is winter hair, I have no idea, but if I were to hold one in my hand (and not get bit) both their nose and their short tail would extend beyond my hand, and unless I squished to compress their fluff, my fingers wouldn't close around them. They are that big. Big enough to leave individual tiny tracks in their trails. I've seen smaller such trails, but they are for sure in the minority.
Another set of tracks I saw along the trail to the river was moose tracks. At first it was kind of hard to tell because his tracks weren't clear, so I don't think he was just moseying along, but I couldn't say what he was doing. It was just a single trail of a young moose. And I'm certain it had nothing to do with the young cow and her calf we saw day before yesterday.
That was funny. This pair came into the yard from somewhere slightly behind the house. We first became aware of them when we heard some thumpty-thumping going on outside. The calf was a little guy but he was fat and sassy, bounding around and harassing his momma. Momma wasn't too happy with his antics as her hackles were up and her ears back, but he could care less. He was bound and determined to be ornery. Out front, he stopped long enough to snatch at some fireweed and look at his momma as if to say, "I dare you to tell me no." It was so cute watching him. I'm betting his momma was fully ready to send him to his room for a while, and it was still early in the morning. hahaha That was my entertainment for the day.
Oh, and before I forget - The river report for the day is: still not able to travel around here, not out on our stretch of the river anyway. Can't get out on the river anyway, not until there's at least a couple feet of snow on the ground. Hope it snows soon.
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5 comments:
Sounds like Momma Moose might be thinking it's time to send Junior off in the spring!
Nope - she won't be shed of him for a whole year longer. He's not even a year old yet. They usually hang around with mamma until they turn three, and might hang close even then.
I envy your natural surroundings. Life may be easier in the city but not as intriguing.
I just finished reading this post and your last two ones - the "Ice, Ice, and More Ice" one, and the candle making one. Oh my word, we are fellow pack rats! It runs in my family with absolute glee.
Your ice article made me wish for the ability to be there with a camera to capture what beauty all that ice creates! That's a goal for me this year, to purchase a professional quality camera and then start getting back out in nature to capture beautiful moments.
I shuddered at the description of the size of the rats. I don't know if that's happening due to the kind of rats y'all have up there, or if you had a summer growing season where grain was more readily available to fatten them up, but dang, I shudder all over again at the mental image!
I've missed visiting your blog, Anna, as I always enjoy reading of your exploits. I hope you've gotten some good snows by now - East TN has received a couple of very light dustings, but nothing of significant snowfall that will delight my soul. I live in hope! :)
- Dawn
Good to see you here, Dawn. No significant snow in my opinion - still only knee deep or so, far less than normal. The mice are big because most of our feathered hunters have moved elsewhere, leaving only martins and ermines to go after them. Any cat I manage to bring home will get fat I think.
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