Winter Woods

Want to go for a walk in the woods?

Sure, I said, and so Harland and I  headed over to the woods behind Pony Creek Lake. (See my earlier post showing the lake here.) When the lake was built as a town water supply, it was required that the same number of acres be set aside for nature as were covered over by the lake. The result is acres and acres of land that has grown over in cedars, osage orange, and locust. It’s also become a haven for deer,turkeys, coyotes, and many other creatures.

After a snowfall is a good time to go out looking for tracks.

We walked along a well worn game trail.

These are deer tracks.

When deer walk, their rear foot steps into the print left by their front foot.

Here’s the trail of a coyote.

The snow is fairly deep and you can see where his feet brushed over the top of the snow as he walked along.

Here are the tracks of a turkey.

Here’s a close-up. You can see where he’s been high-stepping and dragging his little toes along the surface.

When traveling from one feeding ground to another, turkeys walk along a trail.

This trail is about 8 inches wide. Look at all the cute footprints.

Here, the turkeys have been pecking at a hedge-apple from a hedge tree, or osage orange.

Sometimes, even the grass leaves tracks in the snow.

As the grass swayed in the wind, it carved a crescent into the surface of the snow.

The last rays of winter sun glinted off the native grasses,

and we headed out of the woods back onto the prairie and for home.

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——-> UP NEXT: Another old time recipe: Corn Fritters.

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Suzanne

Cattle, corn, wheat, beans, mud, snow, ice, and drought. Plenty of fresh air and quiet. Our life is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous, but never boring.

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7 Responses

  1. Melanie says:

    Love the photos of the tracks!! It looked like a quiet and peaceful walk through the snow. I love the way things sound when there is several inches of snow. .just a hushed, peaceful quiet!!

  2. Lynda M O says:

    Lovely when all covered over by the whiteness; growing up in Valley Forge gave me a healthy respect for snow and coldness.

  3. Lola says:

    Beautiful pics! Breathtaking! Thank you for posting them. Hugs, Lola

  4. Teresa says:

    That is beautiful. I love seeing all the different tracks in the snow. Of course, I mostly see goat and goose. I love the way the geese’s webbed feet look as a snow print.

  5. Julie says:

    When I was walking Violet yesterday I was checking out for tracks. I think we saw other dogs and deer. Not too exciting in Delaware..hahah
    Beautiful walk, thanks for sharing.

  6. I love the crescent carved into the snow. How cool is that?

  7. OH, I love tracks in the snow! It’s funny that turkey tracks look just like chicken tracks! hee hee! beautiful photos!

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