Wed hike

Yesterday proved to be a busy one as did most of this morning, but I did manage to spend an hour hiking in the woods Wed. On the two track on the way in I crossed over a pair of coyote tracks not wanting to stop I continued on confident that I would find more. The tracks did not end with several more deer, raccoon and squirrel tracks seen.

The temp had been 12 degrees F when I left the house with a steady 15 mph North wind, a certain sign of more cold weather to come. I elected to add a hooded sweat shirt to my flannel shirt and heavy wool shirt. Wool being what it is this almost proved to be too warm and had I walked any longer I would have shed the sweat shirt.

The hike was just over 2.5 miles but with at least a 1.2 miles being off the trail in the snow which makes for a more physical walk. During this time I found a partridge roost with plenty of sign and scant. After further examination it would appear that their diet changes along with other herbivores in the dead of winter. The scant contained mostly bark and pulp wood. There were a few berries (the snow is not yet deep enough to restrict access) but these appeared to be undigested. Some animals digestive systems change to a more “course” diet during the winter that reflects the food that is available, the partridge would seem to be one of them.

Also came across a set of raccoon tracks made by what would look to be a heavy well feed coon. He was heavy enough to break through the crust and drag his belly in the snow, very large feet for a coon as well. I would say he was out for his last walk for a couple days at least they more than often tend to hole up when the temp gets this cold.

Finally I was not able to get a pic of a fresh set of coyote tracks during my hike and when I drove out the one I had crossed coming in had been filled in with snow. Until next time I’ll leave you with a quote from Emerson.

“What is life but the angle of vision? A man is measured by the angle at which he looks at objects. What is life but what a man is thinking of all day? This is his fate and his employer. Knowing is the measure of the man. By how much we know, so we are.”