December 6

Riley and I are hiking in Lumberjack Park where 4 inches of overnight snow transformed the stark landscape into a winter wonderland. Under mostly cloudy skies and mid-morning temperatures in the low 30’s, I plod north on a boardwalk over a frozen wetland.  Pausing on the bridge over Mud Creek, I look downstream as the slow-moving water makes its way to the Pine River. Along the shore, a patch of green catches my eyes. From here, it looks like some invasive water lettuce. Across the bridge, we follow the snow-covered trail where I spot some dead leaves still attached to trees including, American Beech and Red Oak. Not surprisingly, some Red Oak leaves are easily seen scattered on the ground. Arriving at the edge of the Pine River, I can barely see the river flowing right to left. This upper third of the river is wooded and fed by drainage from springs, lakes, and wetlands. While the bottom is sandy, the water is clear (well-filtered) and cool.  This section supports a small population of brown trout—an indicator of a good water quality. Working our way along the steep bank. we follow fresh deer tracks and pause at a favorite overlook. Nearby, I notice some green leaves including, Autumn Olive, American Bittersweet and an unknown fern. After crossing the Lumberjack Rd, bridge, I head east and pause to listen as the river passes over some rocks. Following the Campground Trail, I locate fresh squirrel tracks as well a disturbance of the ground where a squirrel was digging up of its cache of seeds and nuts. Squirrels are "scatter hoarders," which means pretty much what it sounds like — they hoard their food and scatter it in locations where they can easily access it. It was long believed that squirrels simply relied on their sense of smell to find their food. But while smell comes into it, research suggests that memory plays a much more crucial role. Squirrels' spatial memory helps them map out the territory around them to find their food. Under certain conditions — like when their nuts are buried under snow — a sense of smell won’t always be effective in finding them. So, it makes sense that squirrels could be relying on other cues. Occasionally, they pretend to bury nuts when other squirrels are watching — and then scurry off to a secret location to hide them. Squirrels selectively move more valuable seeds/nuts to sites in the open where predation risks are higher but pilferage risks [from other squirrels] are lower.

Early December

Mostly leafless trees

Nature at attention

Mother Earth at ease

Beside a frozen pond

No frogs with spotted skin

Atop the snowy grass

No spider webs to spin

Squirrels of woodlands

Prepare for winter’s blast

Storing their food

Autumn breathes her last

 

D. DeGraaf