TRACKS IN THE SNOW - A SHORT WINTER WALK

I took a short walk late this afternoon in our woods heading behind the barn on the game trail toward Tom's Creek.   I hiked up the tractor trail to the dike and then down the Northwest Passage back to our home.  It felt good to breathe in some fresh air even though the temps were chilly.

It's amazing how many critter tracks fill up the woods in a very short time.  Here's what I saw on my stroll today...

Whitetail deer tracks follow in the footsteps of yesterdays people tracks back of the barn.  They're starting to make a real cow path of sorts as winter drags on.  I'm sure winter is more of a challenge for hungry deer than it is for us.

Snow was falling at a fast pace on my walk today so the tracks I photographed were freshly made.  I was not too far behind the wildlife I didn't see.

There were several sets of rabbit tracks near a brush pile along the deer trail.  Rabbits seem to come and go in cycles and this appears to be a good year for them. 

The next tracks I encountered were very fresh.  Although not a cause for concern in my mind, I did check the horizon from time to time to see if I was alone in the woods.

Not far down the trail from where I took the above photo, near the creek, I spotted fresh wolf scat. Hmmmm...  A couple of wolves had been zigzagging around following fresh deer tracks right here.  And they turned around like I did, instead of crossing the creek to head south.

Wolves don't scare me, nope they don't.  Not since cancer came my way.  Nope, they don't scare me a bit, although unfortunately a hunting dog was killed by a wolf just seven miles southwest of my home yesterday.

On my way back to the cabin I spotted this cool little trail in the snow.

Perhaps this was a fresh mouse trail...  I'm not sure.  But it wasn't nearly as exciting as the wolf tracks!

If we open up our eyes in the woods it is amazing how we can see what was there before us, all around us, and how we can step in the very same tracks others made not very long ago... if there is snow cover on the ground!