Over break I decided to take a closer look at a trail 5 minutes from my house. I live on a relatively busy street in the suburbs of Penfield NY, so as a kid I was always grateful to have the Honeycreek Trail so close. I was always able to access a little bit of nature.
The beginning of the trail follows along the Irondequoit Creek, which was flowing very fast when I went. This id probably due to the warm weather we had been having all week, lots of runoff from melting snow must be contributing to the speed of the water. Within the first few minutes of being on the trail.
My best guess it that this is a grey squirrel. Although the tracks were bigger then the grey squirrel tracks I usually see, being that this is a residential area with lots of food waste, the squirrels have the potential to be bigger. It could also be some sort of rabbit, but this is a stretch. The hopping pattern, the size of the back feet, and the size and length between tracks supprot this thought. However, the claws the toes lead me to lean towards squirrel.
I also saw this tree along the trail. iNaturalist could not identify it. I am curious whether this is the tree’s actual bark, or the product of its bark being stripped. I am not sure why the whole tree would have been stripped. Also there are other trees with similar bark along the trail, but none as vibrant as this one.
I ended my hike at a small peninsula along the creek. I decided to sit and listen to the sound of the running water. I was so glad I made it one a sunny day. Though the snow is beautiful, I am excited to come back tot this place in the summer when everything is green and the water is warm enough to walk through.
