walk with me wednesday
It is still winter. Here in the Kingdom we want to eek out every minute of winter we can before spring magically arrives tomorrow. And so we shall....it should snow most of tonight, giving us an additional 5 inches before it calls it quits. Lately there have been lots of days above freezing. At night, the temps plummet. The snow crusts on the top, a bit more falls and the result is fantastic snow shoe conditions! Yesterday, I spent about four hours on top of the snow, not exactly relaxing but beautiful. The boundaries had to be marked, clearly and with red tape. Remember the logging issue? The logger needs some reminders, a bit of gentle direction, a whack if he gets any closer. There isn't a better time to do this kind of work. No bugs, no tangled undergrowth (it is buried under all the snow) and no leaves to hide previous markers. As long as you don't have to dig for pins, it is easy going. I wasn't the only one out. Everybody in the woods is waking up. They've got the calendar marked. It is weird and it is wonderful, how everything knows. Tracks are everywhere, beginning at my front door.
There were a lot of visitors checking to see if the otters were in town. I think they ate themselves out of house and home last year. I've only seen one, and he was passing through.
The fisher was here, I saw his prints in a few locations, mostly near the hemlocks.
There are always coyotes. They were after something I didn't find.
The streams are barely visible.
Spring is still... Undercover...
Beautiful photos of winters last hurrah! You recorded some terrific tracks!
Good thing you set markers..will they log during a month with an R? (perhaps they will wait)
Posted by: cyndy | March 20, 2008 at 11:54 AM
What a lovely winter landscape! My poor snowshoes....there is no use for them anymore down here.
Posted by: claudia | March 20, 2008 at 10:50 AM
You are such an intrepid pioneer! Snowshoeing around and setting up the red tape (which may wind up being too high for the logger to spot when spring comes. After all, you are still walking over the tops of your fences, right?)And all those cool critter tracks! I get such a vicarious thrill from your adventures!
Posted by: Roxie | March 20, 2008 at 10:18 AM
Lots of company. I had a good time, too.
Posted by: Laurie | March 20, 2008 at 08:27 AM
Oohh...the fishers. I don't like seeing their prints near my house!
It's snowing here again today and tomorrow too. I am looking forward to April!
Posted by: Kim | March 19, 2008 at 06:38 PM
I love the animal footprints! I saw the first cardinal on Sunday; they're always so bright after the gray of winter, and FAST!
Posted by: elizabeth | March 19, 2008 at 06:32 PM
The calendar may say spring tomorrow but the weather gods apparently didn't get the memo.
Posted by: Carole | March 19, 2008 at 05:35 PM
Living in southern NE, spring comes earlier but I still love to see the forest in snow and know that life abounds still. Thanks for the walk!
Posted by: Carrie | March 19, 2008 at 05:15 PM