Following the tracks in the snow

Whenever there is a new snowfall, I’m outside first thing in the morning to see who left their tracks in the night. Every time, it surprises me to see the fox tracks just behind the cabin. I don’t often see this beautiful red-tailed creature, but its nice to know that he is still around.

Grouse tracks, squirrel, mice, snowshoe hare, and even the odd porcupine tracks greet me as I walk about each morning. Occasionally I’ll see the larger tracks of the otters — or a wolf.

I’m tempted to follow them to see their owners, but I’m sure the animals are long gone and far away.

I did once follow two sets of moose tracks until we spotted the mom and her calf.

Little things in the bush are more noticeable now than in summer. Wasp nests hang from hazelnut shrubs, birds’ nests are easy to see in the upper branches of spruce and birch. Before the snow gets too deep, the fine stems of asters and yarrow stand tall in the meadow, blowing in the winter winds, making their own kind of tracks in the snow.

Grey jays sometimes fly ahead of me as I walk along the trail. I think they are letting the other little creatures of the forest know that I am coming. Chickadees and woodpeckers don’t seem to mind. They carry on, business as usual.

You don’t have to travel far to see all these things. Much of the beauty of winter can be seen right in your backyard, but you might need a bit of help to see the details.

There is a great book we use to help us see and understand the little things in the winter landscape: A Guide to Nature in Winter by Donald Stokes. This book will help you identify animal tracks, and the animals that created them.

It tells how to identify plants in winter, then describes how each plant gets along during the rest of the year.

It identifies trees by their twigs, winter birds and their nests, mushrooms, and of course, snow!

Each snowfall may fill you with joy as you anticipate great skiing, or with dread knowing that you’ll have to drive slippery roads to work. But have you ever thought of how snow affects creatures of the bush?

A Guide to Nature in Winter explores this question. The type of snow, its depth, how it packs can help or hinder plants and animals in the bush.

As Stokes writes, “We have to deal with snow only as long as it takes us to shovel our walks and plow our street, but animals have to deal with it constantly. Many animals must travel on a razor’s edge between survival and death: snow, by it character or depth, can easily throw them to one side or the other.”

Find a copy of A Guide to Nature in Winter at the library or bookshop, then get out there to learn about the beauty of winter.

After all, it is going to be winter from now until April. Might as well get out and enjoy it.

Viki Mather has been writing for Northern Life since the spring of 1984. During 2011, she takes us back to some of those older writings as she prepares to publish a book of “In the Bush.” This one was originally published in the winter of 1988.