Keeping Track
Jan. 24th, 2014 07:03 pmOne of the nice things about snow is how it shows up animal movement: tracks, silhouettes, and even scat. There were deer tracks all around the yard this morning, front, sides, and back. Some sets were in pairs, with large sets along with tiny ones; some trails showed evidence of three and four deer walking through. I saw one of these deer last night after hearing deliberate, crunching paw-steps out in the dark. Suddenly this shadow leaps by and I got to watch her/him trotting off down the road, silhouetted in the moonlight and by the snow, and briefly lit by the street lamp glow.
We also had fox prints along the dogs' fenced yard. These right-angled to and then paralleled along the wire for about 100', stopping and circling a bit by my derelict truck and near where there are bunny tracks, and scat. The rabbit likes to 'go' almost next to the fence in defiance of the pups.
The rabbit, I assume it is the same, can be seen within the fenced yard as well. He was also silhouetted recently among some brambles in, yes, a briar patch, nibbling on vines at dusk. The tracks, and scat, are all around, and the little 'part beagle' dog races along trying to locate this fellow. She spooked him one night and he brushed past my leg as he zig-zagged away from her and into another little thicket. I coaxed her away and he fled out the back corner of the enclosure (the dog yard is approximately 100 feet deep by 100 feet wide).
There are also myriad mouse, squirrel, and bird tracks to be seen. It's nice to know all these critters are about and I love to live among them.
We also had fox prints along the dogs' fenced yard. These right-angled to and then paralleled along the wire for about 100', stopping and circling a bit by my derelict truck and near where there are bunny tracks, and scat. The rabbit likes to 'go' almost next to the fence in defiance of the pups.
The rabbit, I assume it is the same, can be seen within the fenced yard as well. He was also silhouetted recently among some brambles in, yes, a briar patch, nibbling on vines at dusk. The tracks, and scat, are all around, and the little 'part beagle' dog races along trying to locate this fellow. She spooked him one night and he brushed past my leg as he zig-zagged away from her and into another little thicket. I coaxed her away and he fled out the back corner of the enclosure (the dog yard is approximately 100 feet deep by 100 feet wide).
There are also myriad mouse, squirrel, and bird tracks to be seen. It's nice to know all these critters are about and I love to live among them.