Where is the Tracking Snow?

Here it is mid-December and it’s been so warm that we joke about getting out the Maple syruping equipment. Usually we tap the trees in mid-March when daytime temperatures reach the 40s, but we’re already there.

Usually we have knee-deep snow by now, and at least we got a couple of inches recently, which hasn’t yet melted away. It’s enough for tracking, and it feels good to again be able to look back and easily see my tracks. I’m reminded of winters past when I realized that I couldn’t take going somewhere incognito for granted. Someone could have very easily followed me, and I could go out the next day and be quickly reminded of where I went, what I did, and how I came back. This included not only the day before, but the day before and the day before that, all the way back to the last snowfall.

I like that awareness, as it’s really the way of life. Everything leaves its track, which ripples on and becomes indelible.

Yesterday I went out with three of my compadres to read some of those ripples while we still could. They are volunteer Wolf trackers for the DNR, and our goal was to record the carnivore activity in their survey area. We found a pack of five Wolves chasing a Deer, another pack of three, and a couple of solo animals. In addition, we noted Bear, Bobcat, and Fisher tracks, along Coyote and Red and Gray Fox. We were so psyched over the profuse animal activity that only the fading daylight could force us to quit. If we had adequate flashlights, I’m sure we would have continued.

Some people I know see snow as little more than a nuisance. Sure, it looks pretty when it hangs heavy on the branches at Christmas time, but then they have to trudge through it to get from home to work. Others escape and come back after the spring melt. If only I could take each of those snow-loathers out on a crisp morning to read the story of what Deer and Owl were up to in the night, I think they could find the warmth the snow brings.

 

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