Welcome back! The debut post of 2023! Today I took a lovely walk down to the snow-covered Salmon Hole (on the blessedly dry sidewalk). The place I visited in December was in the awkward few weeks between fall and winter when all the beautiful leaves have fallen, followed by snow that stuck around for about 24 hours, leaving a brown, slightly muddy, but chilly landscape that awaits those that attempt to spend time outside.
On this afternoon in January, everything was different. The trees were still bare, but the ground was covered in the few inches of snow that fell over the weekend. It felt magical. There was a thin sheet of ice in the center of the Hole where the water is typically slow-moving. The rocky shore of the river made the journey down to the water difficult, as I couldn’t always be sure of the ground beneath the snow. The river was still flowing over the rocks, although slightly lower, meeting the snow on both shores right at the edge of the water.
Unlike my visit in December, this trip turned up two different sets of animal tracks (excluding dogs, of course) and one snow mystery. After consideration, I think that both might be American mink tracks. The tracks were muddled a bit by snow melt and fall, but there are clearly claws and five toes in the similar-sized tracks. However, the second pair I am more confident about. It was a puzzle to me when I came across the abrupt end of the tracks at the waterline, although it certainly put any doubt that I was following the tracks of a small dog to rest.
I didn’t see any other signs of animal life other than these little prints, but I’m wishing these creatures all the best through the rest of the winter!
Until February! 