Phantom Trail

I was walking down Phantom Trail early one morning last week and found these tracks of fellow wanderers. The bear which had been heading toward me turned around and left the trail. The wolf continued on its way ahead of me. Male bears are starting to look for partners and young wolves are dispersing looking for a new family to join. I was enjoying the early morning sights and sounds.
Dale

We are not alone

Looking at the windblown snow is fascinating as my mind wanders looking at the seemingly random lines and shapes. Yesterday I was looking at much more specific shapes, tracks made in the woods. Winter allows us to see our neighbors: wolves, otters, bobcats, and the ubiquitous deer. I wandered through Fish Lake Natural Area, west of Hickerson Rd, and came across both bobcat and wolf tracks in the woods, a humbling experience while wandering through the dense brush.

As I review the blog statistics for 2010 I also realize we are not alone in cyberspace. There were over 1360 new visits from people in 38 states at the blog this year. The vast majority were from MInnesota and Wisconsin, Illinois was a distant third place in visitation. A total of 3880 visits were recorded on the blog. This blog was created by Kathy J. and it has been a great outlet for me to share Crex.

We thank you for reading.
Dale

Tracks in the Frost

February is the month for frost. Any morning with an above freezing temperature the previous day has potential for it. Animals are moving more, especially the predators, in preparation for spring denning. Most mating has already been done. The bald eagles are checking out their nest on Dueholm Flowage. Cardinals are calling in the morning. The season of silence is winding down.
Dale