We were treated to our first snow last night. Not merely a skift, either, but what folks I grew up among would call a
tracking snow. Meaning enough snow down that a hunter could follow the tell-tale tracks of his intended prey, be it bunny or buck. A real boon when you're hunting to put food on the table.
However, a tracking snow can also be employed by those who simply want to follow the marks and learn more about the nighttime peregrinations of a gray fox on the prowl, or clear up the mystery of who's been recently using a particular den hole or hollow tree. Tracking snows are like pages to be read and deciphered—both map and text, waiting to expose hidden lives and reveal uncountable insights and secrets.
This inaugural snowfall won't last long. Not with this morning's bright sun, plus the fact there's still more than five weeks to go before autumn runs its course. Last night's white dressing was just a prelude, an intimation of things to come…delightful or depressing, depending on your feelings regarding winter.
I'm of the first camp. I like winter—all the icy, snowy, blowy, chilly, wind-howling, sleet-pinging-off-the-windowpanes whiteness. No, I'm not a masochist. Just a fellow with a boreal streak in his DNA. And right now, I couldn't be happier!
12 comments:
I really like the image of the river with the persistent yellow leaves.
We received about an hour's worth of flurries on Tuesday morning, with no accumulation on the ground at all here in the northern Piedmont.
Snow here, too! And like you I love it. Mine would just barely qualify as a tracking snow--if you were tracking in the hour or so after daylight.
HI GRIZZ - only had coffee thus far so my comment should be a bit tamer. !!
We too had our first trackable snow - I woke to the grayness and white activity out my windows and I was thrilled,happy, and felt safe and warm in our bed. I pulled the quilts up and enjoyed the view. Your pictures are glorious Grizz - I was right there seeing what you captured. I got a welcomed chill. Enjoy your day my friend.
Love Gail
peace...
A tracking snow. I like that.
I adore snow Grizz, from behind a window in a warm room with a fire blazing onthe hearth.
Scott…
We've had several "flurry" sessions here, already—though all brief and of no accumulative consequence. One was a nice little buckshot snow, like BB-sized hail that rattled through the leaves.
I think those yellow leaves make the downstream view from my front yard shot. The green is, of course, dastardly honeysuckle.
Carolyn…
I guess ours might have lasted, for tracking purposes, until maybe 10:30 a.m. It was 24˚F when I got up, and just 32˚F now, but the sun was bright and the roof began dripping before I'd had my first cup of coffee. There's still some snow left, but it's patchy, useless for tracking.
Gail…
Congratulations on your first snow! Too, I'm glad you enjoyed the pix, since the reason for this blog is really a desire to share such moments.
It's been a good day. I've had a nice fire going in the woodstove, read some, listened to music, done a fair bit of work, and just had an hour-long phone conversation with one of my favorite editors—it seems they ran someone else's column by accident under my byline and mug shot, and she'd called to warn me and apologize! Lunch was a warmed plate of tasty things from last night's supper plus a slice of Myladylove's pumpkin pie.
(comment interruptus)
I just took Moon-the-Dog out for a brief ramble. (Very brief, as I'm wearing shorts!) My neighbor, Everett, was walking up to the road to retrieve his mail, so I had him wait and keep an eye on my pooch for a minute, then I dashed back inside and cut him a big wedge of that pumpkin pie (Myladylove made two) to go with whatever he's having for his supper.
Yep, a pretty good day.
Scott…
Wellsiree, that thar's a sign of my hillbilly upbringin', son. And a sight fit to warm any ol' rabbit (or pheasant) hunter's heart. Not so welcome if you're a poacher or chicken thief.
I'm with you! It took me a few years to acclimate to this place, but I'm all in.
Hey, I tracked a cat around my porch to the bird feeder this morning. Judging from the overlying dog tracks, the signs of an obvious skirmish, and his long-gauged cat track exit patterns, I'd say he didn't stay there long! Even a novice like me can track that!:D
Weaver…
I like it from that viewpoint, too…though I'm not adverse to tramping around in the actual stuff, daylight or dark. And even as I write this, my little woodstove is pumping out its cheerful heat.
Debbie…
Hey, you did a dandy job of interpreting what you saw! Way more than most would have, I'd wager.
A fresh snow is like an open book, with all sorts of stories to be read. One of my favorite things to do when time and conditions permit is to pick a track—dog, deer, rabbit, fox, cat, mouse—and follow it around for awhile. You can't believe the dramas and events that are so visibly revealed. Sometimes to a scale of life and death.
Some of the old trackers I've met over the years—and I mean folks who lived off the land, in often remote places under harsh conditions—claimed that for an outdoorsman, tracking skills and the experience gained through following tracks was the most important asset. Many of those old guys would invariably head out on a good tracking day purely for amusement…just to see who had been up to what since the snow fell.
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