squirrel | nichepoetryandprose

On Tuesday I went for a walk in the grey woods. Snow fell just before Christmas, so my walk turned into a quest to see who else had been walking (or running) in the woods.

I found many tracks, large and small. Mice had made their cylindrical tunnels, and occasionally had run across the surface. At some places, you can see where their tunnels suddenly go subterranean…

Sometimes several paths converge at a sheltered area beneath a fallen log, like a woodland bus terminal…

There were lots of squirrel tracks, often ending at the base of a tree where their paths move into the treetops…

Squirrel tracks crisscrossed with those of deer…

I followed the trail of two deer deep into the woods, thinking they were long gone since the tracks were filled with a slight dusting of snow…

This made me a little careless, and the next thing I heard was a high-pitched snort and squeal of warning and the bounding of hooves through the woods. I got a good look at two beautiful deer, but the camera was not ready. I did capture the very fresh track of one of the retreating deer.