The biggest change since the last time I visited my site is the snow! There’s at least a foot of snow blanketing the woods. I did not hear or see much in terms of animal activity aside from tracks as most creatures were probably hiding out to keep warm in the cold weather. The fresh snow covered most of the tracks I could see but there were many large sets of tracks that were likely deer or canid but since they were filled in, I couldn’t see any features of the toes. Some small creatures had been out recently and I was able to find tracks of mice. Additionally, I found a clump of dark gray fur belonging to some animal. On top of the snow, I found a few snow fleas enjoying the slightly warmer 34-degree weather.
In terms of plant life, many of the small shrubs were covered in snow but the beech and red oak trees still held on to several brown leaves. The snow clung to the branches of the conifers, bending them toward the ground.