Five inches of fresh snow covers the trail before me as I make my way along the north side of Forest Hill Nature Area. Under cloudy skies and a temperature in the mid 20’s, I pause on the dock at Mallard Marsh to notice an unusual neuron-shaped hole in the ice. In the 1850’s, Henry David Thoreau, when writing about Walden Pond in Massachusetts described “dark figures, shaped somewhat like a spider’s web, what you may call ice rosettes” in that pond’s frozen surface. Apparently, this pattern is formed when a hole (perhaps a Muskrat’s airhole) in a recently frozen pond allows water to swell up from beneath and spread over the snow-covered surface, leaving dark “fingers” of melted ice stemming from a central point. Subsequently, the surface re-freezes and the pattern sets up. Continuing through Bobolink Meadow, I come upon a 2 ft. diameter dome, home to a colony of Allegheny mound ants. While not hibernating, members of the colony retreat well below ground and slow their metabolism. Proceeding through North Woods, I’m not surprised to see a few Beech trees still retaining their leaves, as well as some tracks of Whitetail deer and Fox squirrel. Making my way across Succession Field, I stop at a Crab Apple tree loaded with fruit. A few more episodes of freezing/thawing will soften and ripen the fruit enough for it to become a winter food source for birds like Cedar Waxwings. The crab apple is actually the wild apple, source of all domestic apples grown today. However, what about the origin of the word “crab”? One thought is it’s related to someone being disagreeable and ill-tempered as the fruit is not pleasant and ill-flavored. Another thought is the tree branches resemble the legs of a crab. Hiking along the edge of Willow Wallow, I couldn’t help but notice the rotating blades of a wind turbine far to the east. Exploring the top of Reflection Hill, I come across a patch of native grasses as well as few Milkweed pods that still retain seeds. Also, I take in the pastoral view of Raske barn and ice-covered Grebe Pond. Circling counterclockwise around the pond, I spot tracks of Ring-necked Pheasant as well as domestic cat. Arriving at the north end of the pond, I notice a muskrat lodge out on the ice, tracks of Canada geese near shore as well as tracks of Cottontail rabbit near the barn.
Nature sounds muted
Pond fast asleep
Ice seals the surface
No Spring Peepers peep
No Bull Frogs croak
Or Green Herons shriek
No Mallards quack
Or Wood Ducks squeak
Redwings have left
Tree Swallows too
Winter’s hush
Right on cue
D. DeGraaf
Beautiful.
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