There is now a layer of snow on the ground at Centennial Woods replacing the dry leaves from before. Every treen besides the deciduous trees have lost all of their leaves. There are frozen footprints on the trail. The river beds are much shallower than normal as a result of some of the freezing temperatures.
Off the path, you can find many different kinds of animal tracks and signs of wildlife in the snow. I first found some deer tracks walking towards the bog. The deer tracks were in walking and trotting in a zig-zag pattern. Each print is about 6.5cm.
Behind the normal path is another trail of manmade prints that leads to a clean patch of snow spotless other than the small 2x2cm tracks in a bounding pattern. These prints could belong to either a Weasle or Mink. The Weasle or Mink jump onto a long snowy log and the prints get further apart as the creature started running. Weasels and Minks are both common around Vermont. Long-tailed Weasels prefer open woodlands and transitional areas between forest and fields (Britanica.com). While Minks are usually found in wet areas like marshes, rivers or along streams (lifescience.com). With this information, it is most likely that the tracks belonged to a mink.
Sugar Maple Twig:
