We return to our patrols around the beaver bog and local environs after experiencing the coldest week in a long time. Mornings in the negative numbers, day after day. But, no snow since two weeks ago. The foot of snow on the ground is compressed and crunchy.

The immediate image at left is the old electric railway right-of-way that eventually becomes our southern property line (for about 900 feet). If we embark to the north and west on the trail, we get to the pond (see image No. 2); if we head east, we get to the country store about a mile away (images will be posted next time).

The lack of fresh snow has allowed the evidence of the other creatures that share these woods to appear in endless tracks all over the place, of different sizes and arrangements (the smallest mice to adult deers, is my guess; no yeti tracks yet). Sometimes, like image No. 3, the tracks accumulate, one on top of the other, along the most popular routes.