Weasel Tracks

Week of 12/24/2012 Best days to can fruits and vegetables.

The word that was used most often in conversation this week was "snow," and it was followed closely by the word "cold."

Snow on the Mountain The snow came in two increments: three inches last Saturday, which was topped by 7 or 8 inches more on Wednesday night. The temperature dropped on Thursday (the shortest day of the year) to the twenties during the day and eight below that night. It's been that way since, which means it's time to start using the serious firewood (oak, hickory and elm). It's been cold but not too cold, and the sunshine helps warm the house.

Weasel Tracks I guess it has been too cold for the opossum, though. I haven't seen his tracks in the snow. The little weasel shows me where he's been each night. I haven't actually seen him yet, but he sure gets around. Weasels are only six to eight inches long and weigh only a couple of ounces, so they're able to move along the surface of the snow without breaking through. When it's really cold and the snow is light and powdery, weasels burrow along under the surface like meadow voles, which happen to be the weasel's favorite prey. It's always good to have at least one weasel around. They are one of North America's smallest carnivores and can eat a lot of mice and voles.

Frosty Morning It's kind of naturally fitting that the landscape would be covered with snow on the first official day of winter. It was so beautiful I wanted to take a picture of everything. Saturday morning was cold, but a beautiful sunrise soon gave the promise of a wonderful day. That ole Jack Frost knows his job. Thick sparkling frost covered everything above the snowline. Every bush, tree and weed became a lovely work of art.

Snow-covered Muskrat House It got cold enough Saturday night to freeze the backwaters and potholes in the river valley. The Kickapoo River also had a layer of ice. A few days ago I would have barely noticed the muskrat house in the small pond, but now it looks like a royal igloo, covered with snow and surrounded by ice. I'm sure the muskrats are safe and warm inside their new winter house.

Cottontail On cold winter days, cottontail rabbits can usually be found sunning themselves somewhere they are sheltered from the wind. They often burrow into a south-facing snowbank so they can soak up the sun. The rabbit I saw today was doing just that, and looked snug as a bug in a rug. It was a cold day, but the rabbit looked quite happy.

The deep snow has made some of the wild birds turn to the sumac for food. Saturday I saw several kinds of birds picking sumac berries from the red seed heads. The nutritious seeds are eaten by most of the birds when snow covers everything else. Today I saw several crows in the sumac branches and, further down the road, there were four turkeys eating sumac berries. In another patch of sumac I saw two little downy woodpeckers, a red-bellied woodpecker and a very large pileated woodpecker.   Pileated Woodpecker They were all getting along with each other. Sumac is one of the most important food sources for winter birds, especially in late winter when food becomes most scarce. Pileated woodpeckers are large and very striking in their black and white plumage topped off with a bright red crown. They are similar in size to crows and, like crows, are very resourceful when it comes to finding food. They tend to live in forested areas with lots of large mature trees. If you've ever heard the loud chattering call of a pileated woodpecker, you probably won't forget it. They like to let you know they're there. "Kik-kik-kikikik-kik-kik!" When a woodpecker this big decides to tap into a tree, the chips really fly. They can make a softball-sized hole in a tree trunk in no time at all. If there's still insect larvae to eat, they may carve a hole three or four times their size in a live tree. Beavers, the champion chiselers, haven't got anything on a pileated woodpecker.

Happy Sheep If there was anybody who for sure didn't notice the cold on Saturday morning it was a flock of wooly sheep. They all looked so warm and happy grouped together in the warm sun and snow that I just had to snap their picture. Nothing keeps a body warmer than wool, and these contented sheep have plenty of it.

Frost Here's hoping that everyone is warm and happy over the winter holidays. Blessings to all those who take a walk down Nature's trail.

Naturally yours,
Dan

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