Arctic Dogwalk

It's 10 degrees, 30 degrees below average for mid-February, and snowing outside. Time for a dog walk on the hiking trail. Well, why not? I've learned to dress in layers to keep warm. Gabbie and Tess, our two old english sheepdogs are ready to be outside in any weather. Off we go.

The snow is fine and powdery. It always seems to energize the dogs. Tess immediately starts running around, powder flying in the wind, like she has never seen snow before. The snow crunches underfoot. It is otherwise quiet. Is that because snow dampens noise or because people-activity slows in bad weather?

I stop at the footbridge for a photo of the dogs, fumbling with cold fingers to set it up. Gabbie decides to lie down in a "let me know when you are done" mood. Click, click. We cross over the foot bridge to the east side where the new trail is.



It may be cold, but it does not feel that way as we walk. Something about snow in the woods is just magical. A bird flits from a leafless spice bush. A chipmunk scurries around and under a log. The dogs stop to investigate. A woodpecker taps out morse code on a lifeless tree branch in the canopy overhead. Rabbit tracks cross the trail. There is the faintest whiff of a skunk.

On top of the ridge, the vista through the woods down the valley toward the water falls is fantastic. I try to capture it with my phone camera. Can't reproduce the beauty in a photographic image. We walk down off the ridge towards the bridge. Play time erupts. Both dogs are in a full fledged run-around, snow and leaves flying, complete with ankle-biting, and butt-in-the-air play mode. They fly, skidding as they go, across the snow-covered bridge and back. Surely one of them will fall into the creek.

Composure sets in, and we venture to the waterfall. It is frozen in a static icy array. Gabbie ambles off to make a solid waste deposit. Then we trudge up the hill and back to the house. I stop to pick up some firewood. Tess is running around yet again in huge circles - one last activity outburst for the road, as it were. Then back to home base.

Winter can be miserable and inconvenient at times. But on this day, all is well in a wintry Bittersweet Woods.

Snowfall

We hadn't seen a decent snowfall for 2 years. The forecast called for 2-4 inches of snow. That often is a false alarm. My expectations were low and my emotions were mixed. Bittersweet Woods are beautiful when there is snow. But we have a large driveway to shovel.

We awoke on Saturday about 5 am as is our custom. It was white outside. Daylight revealed an incredible filigreed wonderland. The snow was wet but it stuck to every single tiny branch of trees and bushes.



The dogs loved it, Tess especially, and they romped around in the new snow. The snow made it easier for the dogs to see wildlife. Tess took off after deer several times while the snow was on the ground. Gabbie stays behind and observes, the scolds Tess when she inevitably returns to the hike.


Thankfully our neighbor Dan plowed our driveway. A week later, most of the snow is predictably, in our latitude, melted. But the north-facing hills still have the blanket of white, a beautiful reminder of nature at work in Bittersweet Woods.

Ice Age

It has been a warmer than average winter so far - lots of days in the 50's interspersed with relatively few bitter cold days. Today has been one of the latter. I could see the pink blotches over our area on weather radar. And there was mention of a "wintry mix" in the forecast. When we went outside this morning, everything was coated in ice. It was treacherous walking on any pavement - a complete glaze. Our physics teacher would describe the situation as a VERY low coefficient of friction. 



The woods were a filigree of shiny ice coatings. A few branches were down, but fortunately this was not a severe ice storm that leaves a grotesque aftermath of downed trees and broken limbs.



Some trees were drooping; evergreens had a downcast appearance, as though hibernating. By noon, much of the pavements were clear. A slight mist and subfreezing temps kept the ice from melting from branches and the ground. Gabbie and Tess quickly learned to avoid any pavement or boardwalks. Otherwise it was business usual except they had to wait on me as I tiptoed and quick-stepped through the slick zones.



This Ice Age will last only 24 hours or so. Soon the spectacle will disappear. Another beautiful scene in Bittersweet Woods will be sealed in our memories - or at least in our digital memories, as long as our backups are done properly.

The Visitor

We have had a stealth visitor for the past few weeks: a skunk. I say stealth because we see and smell evidence of a skunk, but we have yet to see it or even the tracks. There have been numerous clues over the past few weeks.

The dogs come back with their snouts smelling skunk-like. Apparently they have been nosing around where the skunk has been. No one has been sprayed yet, but we have stocked up on skunk odor remover just in case.

I have seen some of the suspect digging - usually small round shallow holes. The information I see refers to them as being configured like a dixie cup - if anyone remembers the shape of a dixie cup. Not sure I do.

Often when walking the dogs I notice a distinct skunk odor somewhere along the walk. But it is not strong enough to say that the skunk has sprayed something but enough to be unmistakably skunk. Efforts to find the source of the odor have been uniformly unsuccessful.

Two bizarre episodes had skunk all over them, so to speak. First, I noticed a solar powered outside light way out of place lying against a tree. I asked Suzanne if she had moved it over there. She had not. The base had been gnawed. When I picked it up, there was skunk odor all over it. Second, one of the dogs' toys had been left outside - a stuffed frog. We found it laying out in the yard over the hill. Annabelle had doubtless taken it outside and left it. I picked it up...wow, it had a definitive skunk odor. So, we have a skunk relocating a solar light and playing with a dog toy. Those are not found in the list of top 10 skunk behaviors.

I talked to an animal control guy. He explained that skunks often have dens under porches, outbuilding, brush piles, and similar hiding places. The key is to look for tracks and signs of digging. If you find the den, they are much easier to trap and remove. I have looked in every suspicious place on our nearly five acres of property. We have several prime locations for skunks to hide out. But no sign of activity.

I have been looking for tracks. With so much snow cover, I figured that would be an easy way to observe their movements and find a den. No luck. No tracks. I have seen deer, turkey, human, and cat tracks. No skunks.

About the time we are lulled into thinking the skunk is gone, more evidence appears. Today, I noticed two locations along the trail where there was noticeable skunk odor. As usual, I could not find the source or even identify the direction where the smell was coming from. And Tess's nose had the odor when she returned from being out this morning.

I would like to set up a remote camera to see this critter roaming around at night because they are nocturnal. But that is too much effort and expense.

We'll remain vigilant and hopeful that the skunk will eventually move on. Meanwhile, life, wild and otherwise, goes on in Bittersweet Woods.