February 17

Tuesday, I drove 8 miles west of Alma and hiked at Lumberjack Park. The early morning weather was partly sunny with a temperature of 7 degrees and no wind. Leaving the car, I headed east though a woodlot where the rising sun shown through the leafless canopy and numerous squirrel tracks crisscrossed the forest floor, covered with 6 inches of snow. Once in awhile, I spotted holes where these forest creatures exposed their food cache. Curving around to the north, I headed toward the Pine River where I noticed the snow was peppered with tiny seedpods. Upon further investigation, I decided they were from surrounding Witch Hazel trees, an unusual plant that produces flowers and seeds in the winter. Next, I paused on the riverbank to take in the stark beauty of the landscape. Continuing the hike, I spotted a carving on the trunk of a mature Beech tree that seemed appropriate only a few days removed from Valentines Day. Turning south, I followed the frozen river where I spotted a Downy Woodpecker and a few Chickadees moving through the leafless trees. Up ahead, I stopped at one of many mature White Pine trees, looked up to see its silhouette against a blue sky and looked down to see its trunk marked with several vertical Pileated Woodpecker holes. Turning around, I began retracing my steps when I stepped off the trail to follow weasel tracks to its den and scat. Continuing west on a yet-unused trail that displayed parallel tree trunk shadows, I made it back to the car and took off for home.

February in the forest

These are the facts

Creatures on the move

Tales of the tracks

Hidden by the night

Squirrels far and near

Seeking food to eat

Showing little fear

Keen sense of smell

Scraping deep snow

Digging through litter

Acorns finally show

D. DeGraaf