Fun things you see in the snow

We went out to our property today, had a picnic lunch, and looked at all the cool tracks we found in the snow.  There were hundreds of different tracks everywhere.  From little burrowing critters to elk.  But the most fascinating one was a large mark in the snow, probably 2-3 feet long.  I had never seen anything like it before.  But I knew right away what it was.  Some poor critter had poked its head out of the snow and became a quick snack to a very swift bird.   It couldn't have been a very big critter either, because there were no marks where the bird landed.

Bird print with wing prints  on either side

Super Cool

There were some just in front of it, but that critter made a straight line from one of our driveway poles to the other without looking like it had any near-death misses in its trek.   My guess is those tracks came later.

These footprints are no bigger than 1 1/2 inches long

Here you can see wisps of wing marks and the perfectly straight line from the small critter that wasn't lunch

 How cool would that have been to actually see that in person?  Hopefully, very soon, I will get the chance.  I will invest in a trail cam because that would be an epic shot.


In checking the status of the trees we transplanted in the fall, we came upon coyote tracks.  Lots of them.  They were everywhere.

Several sets of coyote prints with one of our transplanted trees.

 While checking my dad's property, we came across elk prints, primarily around his small fruit tree orchard he planted 2 years ago.  It didn't look like it had been munching on his trees, just investigating.

Elk tracks.  Each flag and cage represents a fruit tree

 Our property is just off the highway, and it always amazes me just how much wildlife is out there, completely oblivious to all the cars traveling down the road.  It reminds me of a wilderness much further away from civilization than it is.  And I can't wait to move out there and be a part of it.