MORE FEBRUARY JAUNTS......some sunny, some gray.
We missed another snowstorm that stayed further south, but not by much. In Kittery, they had a foot of snow! However, the snow season is not over, as we all know too well. It is possible to walk in the woods with only small patches of snow to deal with. I had just such a walk off the trails at the campground, again looking for antlers among other natural formations. I did see several deer, and lots of their scat, but no more antlers. There were tracks of squirrels, and what I thought might be those of a fox.

I also hiked into the trails at Center Pond, taking a short cut over the ice. Cars are still driving on to the pond, though we've had temperatures up in the forties. On this hike, we looked for signs of beaver activity, but did not see anything fresh......no new chewings. It is so interesting to walk out on the frozen ponds to examine plants growing away from the shoreline. We walked over to a boulder that edged the water and were surprised to see how curled up were the fronds of Polypody Fern. This is a hardy, evergreen fern, but in this case its green leaves were rolled to conserve water loss, I imagine. The lichen seems to thrive in frigid and dry conditions, and shows no sign of strain.

The fishing shacks still dot the pond, though this week there were few people out fishing even though school is on vacation. These shacks are often left with a lock on the door, but no curtains in the windows! We peeked in and saw all kinds of comfort and distraction while waiting for fish to bite. I have a feeling activity will pick up again over the weekend.
2/20/10 Ronnie, out on the trails.......