But it just ain't exactly clear...
Perhaps if I'd paid more attention in Brownies or Girl Guides I would know what kind of animal wiggled his cute little butt across the snow, hip hop drag the tail and into the hole I go style. A mouse? A mole? A mink?
During the winter my commute to work generally takes about 15 minutes down a snowy road, bordered by trees. It is not unusual to see wildlife...deer, fox, bear, porcupine, skunk, raccoon, sable (once), beaver, otter, squirrel, coyote. It's often a fleeting view of the animal as it races off into the woods, unless, of course, it's a porcupine who really doesn't care if you're heading his way or not, because he knows you're not going to pick him up and try to cuddle him.
But in the dead of winter, such as the case is now, I see all sorts of evidence of animal life in the snow, and frankly, it's driving me a little nuts...look!
I think this is an owl print. The owl spots its prey, praying in the snow, not to be seen by an owl, and BAM! Owl dives down, wings outspread, grabs the poor little mouse, and flies off with lunch. That's what I think...but I could be completely wrong, because when we were learning this stuff in grade five, I was busy trying to make it look like I had breasts and pulling my sweater tight so Tommy Cavanaugh would notice me. Boy, was I concentrating on the wrong stuff! Now, check out these tracks...
Let me explain- this is an area about the size of a piece of plywood ,
so 4' x 8'. Look at all the tracks! There's at least three different kind, and I don't have a clue who made what, or what made which, and it bothers me! I should know this stuff for some odd reason. Or I should know a track interpreter who can tell me about this party to which I wasn't invited!
This one is a larger version of the very first photo...bum chuckerucka, bum chuckerucka.. I ask myself, what animal moves like this? Bounce on bum, drag the tail. Again and again and again, creating a giant zipper in the snow. And I don't have a clue! And we're not done here yet!
So beastie # 1 went for a short spin, did a wheelie, came back and sat down. And watched while his buddy came over, said hello, and left the way he'd come. Coyotes? Wolves? Aliens?
Now THIS one I know...
It's a deer track. Definitely! And I know this because I actually saw the young deer that made the track ...as I was pulling over to take his picture, he made tracks and left.
And I THINK that this is a fox...
It's definitely canine, and it's too small to be a big dog, and I just want it to be a fox. So be it.
I'm really not sure where this need to know comes from, but everytime I see a trail leading off into the bush, I want to stop and follow it.
I wonder where they're going, what they're doing, and what they are exactly. But I can't. I have to keep going, get to work, do stuff, and be human.
It's my nature.
