January Thaw

Today was apparently the first day we've been above freezing since Christmas day. It darn near felt like spring despite the 10+ inches of snow still on the ground. Lots of people were out today and I even saw an elderly couple out jogging. Not only were both of them probably in their seventies, the guy was wearing shorts! If there weren't so many other people around I probably would have taken a picture of him. Ha ha. On a less busy part of the trail, I almost walked right into a doe standing motionless just feet off the trail. As I went for my camera she spooked and retreated back into some thick woods. I noticed what looked like two young ones with her. The longer I watched, the more movement I saw back in the woods. In all I think there were six or seven of them but none ventured close enough for a decent photo. I walked up the trail further to a clearing and I could see a couple of them from a distance and was the only photo I got. On the south side I took the woodchip trail and noticed a round little ball of fur sitting on top of the snow. I thought it was dead but then it started moving. It didn't look like a mouse as it had a much shorter tail and no visible ears. Plus he was as round as a tennis ball. I got so close to him I wondered if he was injured or deaf but then he finally ran away. After looking online I think it was a Vole.

First time snowshoeing!

There's more pictures than usual on this post but not because of all the wildlife I saw. Rather, it was the first time I've ever tried snowshoeing. With temps near zero for nearly two weeks straight I figured it was pretty safe to travel across the water and up the creek. The first thing I noticed upon walking onto the lake were "snow dunes" carved by the wind. It was very cool walking up the creek as I was really in the middle of the park with scenery I just don't ever see. In places you could look a long way without seeing anything man-made. After coming up to a sharp bend in the creek I could see how close I was to the small section of woods that sit smack dab in the middle of the park. I hiked up the embankment, backtracked a little and I was there. This was only the second time I'd ever made it out to the middle and right away I noticed the huge wild trees that have grown undisturbed for decades. After exploring for a bit and kicking up a deer here and there I headed back north. This would be a good point to show the path I took -snowshoe in blue and regular path in pink. About the time I finally made it back to the path is when I saw this large hawk and was the only wildlife that sat still for any time while my snowshoes crunched along loudly. I figured I'd even take a picture of them to mark the occasion. After being on them for a while it felt weird to walk normally again on the path. On the east side where the path comes close to the lake again, I decided to give it another go. It was fun to take a shortcut that won't even exist in another few months. As I was getting closer to the parking lot I began to notice how the snow drifts up towards -but not touch- the peninsulas of cattails. It was very weird as every outcropping had the same effect with close to a 3 foot drop in snow depth.

Winter wonderland

Another day below zero with clear blue skies. While crossing the bridge over Shingle Creek I stopped to listen to an owl and realized it wasn't far away. I figured if I could find him and get at least one photo, it would break my slump of having never spotted one on a bright sunny day. After trudging through 20 inch snow drifts towards the hooting, I realized a shorter path would be to just walk right on top of the creek. As I cautiously crept over the frozen water towards him, a second owl perched lower in the same tree soared out quickly. Soon the other followed and I was left half way down the creek with nothing to show for it. Having gone all this way I stopped to take in the new scenery I normally don't see. Two deer came bouncing out of nowhere and followed down the creek like it was a highway made just for them. After hiking all the way back to the path I actually got one more chance as I just barely noticed this motionless grey blob in some thick trees. It turned out to be a Barred Owl -the first one I've seen at Palmer Lake. A little further along I glanced towards the house where I'd seen the big group of deer earlier. Sure enough there was one there but to my surprise it was a six-point buck -a rare sight as of late. Back on the south side the frayed cattails were "glowing" against the low winter sun.

Cold New Years Day

Was 7º below zero on new years day 2010 but I still made it around the park. With the temps this low, all the snow we got over Christmas isn't going anywhere. In places the snowbanks are two to three feet deep. Again, walking was very loud so I didn't think I'd see many deer. Just before the bridge on the north side though, I spotted two of them walking way off in the distance. They were too far for a photo and as I was putting my camera away I noticed three more laying down in the snow. I don't know how they can lay in the cold snow like that. I thought maybe it conserves their energy better that way. Even though I was making lots of noise, and fairly close, they seemed content on just staying put. Some time after I saw a somewhat larger bird with a flash of red land way up in a tree. It made an unfamiliar noise so I zoomed in as quick as I could and got this one shot before he was gone. After looking it up in our bird guide I'm pretty sure it's a Red-Bellied Woodpecker.