Critter Tracks

After a nice, hard rain, there's a section of dirt and gravel that is near the bridge and curves around down to the creek. I've seen tracks and last week I decided to take a picture of them.

I know there are beavers and racoons along this creek because I've seen the coon and I've seen the toppled trees from the beavers. But I've also seen what I thought was a mink. And I'm sure there are opossums, since I've had them in my backyard about a mile away.

Here are the tracks:

Then I took a close-up of a pair and laid my key next to it to give me an idea of what size they were. My key measures 2 inches.

So then I start looking for images of what this critter might be and found these charts.

And no, they weren't dog tracks. The dog tracks usually are on parts of the trail that get muddy, but not this area. Since it was a weekday after a nice rain, I'm pretty sure these were uncontaminated.

Looking at these pictures on the second chart, I would guess that it was some sort of woodchuck, though its track pattern was more like the prints on the lower right corner. How about a weasel?

What do y'all think? Any suggestions?

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Do you walk or do you WALK?

I've always enjoyed walking. Until last year, I hadn't realized how much fun it is especially when you are enjoying nature around you. So many other walkers are busy listening to their music that they slow down and don't be the benefit from a fast walk.

I tried listening to music when I belonged to a gym, but the ear buds kept slipping out when I moved my arms . . . plus they got sweaty and itched! Is that TMI?? Music is just not my thing.

So this brings up the topic of how do you walk?

In The Synonym Finder, I found hundreds of words that describe the forward motion by bipeds, everything from hop, stroll, saunter, skip and stride. And that doesn't even cover slink, mosey, plod or trudge.

I will say that I am a fast walker, which is probably due to my height. When you are only 5'1'' with an inseam of 27 inches, you have to walk quickly to  keep up with anyone taller than you . . . which is 95% of the population. What is really interesting is that when I walk with my hubby (6'2") he has to tell me to slow down. But it's because he isn't walker per se, he's a stroller.

So back to walking . . . many people might say that I power walk.

I disagree.

Partly because I'm contrary in that way, but more importantly because power walking is a technique, and not necessarily speed. I watched a YouTube video of how to correctly power walk. Sorry, but it's too much work to concentrate on the heel, toe movement and placing your heel only when the toe is about to leave the ground.

*blech* too much work = not fun

The one time I went to the gym in the last year, I walked on the treadmill and found out that my most comfortable pace is about 3.9-4.0 mph, which gives me a 15 minute mile.

I don't start off that fast, but I quickly get there within 3-5 minutes. And yes, I do swing my arms. And yes, I do carry a water bottle. And yes, I do walk in the hideous heat of the summer, the bone-chilling bite of winter and everything in between, except heavy rain. . . but wait a minute I did that once too! Okay, it was by accident, the rain hit when I tried to walk during a break of a storm.

The key to enjoying a brisk walk is to push yourself, but not on the first day. Strive to walk fast enough to start breathing a little heavier or until you sweat, maintain it for a short time and then cool off. Doing too much too quickly will burn you out mentally.

I can't tell you how long that is because everything depends on your physical condition and health issues.

So do you walk?

Do you visit with a friend while you walk? Do you talk on the phone? To you plod along or do you walk with a purpose?

Start slowly. Add time and intensity as you need to challenge yourself.

Later, Peeps!

Nature surrounds us, you just have to look for it.

I must say that I truly enjoyed my walkies today . . . especially compared to the last few days with arctic North wind biting through layers of clothes, chilling the warm water in your aluminum bottle in less than five minutes, and numbing your fingers and toes so much you wonder if you might get frostbite.

But not today.

Today was sunny, and much warmer than the previous few days, even with a stiff NW wind. I walked a little later than normal, and with it being a Saturday, there were more people on the trail.

--one woman wearing ear buds, who looked like she was about to keel over with a heart attack
--two bikers (separately) head down and focused on logging the miles
--two kids on bikes (together)
--pair of female joggers, talking

None of them saw or heard anything nature provided.

But I did.

--I heard the rhythmic sound of a beaver gnawing wood.
--the chitter and bark of a squirrel
--the caw of a mockingbird
--I saw an owl, head tucked low into its wings as it blended into the dead branch it sat on
--I saw a small flock of paired mallards (@ 8) floating on the marshy water in the open bowl near the creek
--another flock of paired bluebirds (@ 10), sunning and eating on the south-facing slope of the expressway. The bright flash of blue as the males took to the air closely followed by their drab brown mates
--The motionless Great Blue Heron as it stood in the shallow creek near the beaver den.

None of those on the trail saw or heard what I did, because they weren't observing life around them. Their focus was inward or within the small bubble of energy surrounding them.

The beauty of nature is all around us in the city. You just have to open your eyes and observe. Take the time to tune out the roar of the cars on the highways or pick up the trash that has blown or drained into the green belts.

Nature and life will always find a way to survive.

Caught!

Barred Owl

Wise gray owl watching

spies me, blinks twice, and flies away

on soft, silent wings

I'm not a poet . . . wait for it . . . and I know it.

But I've been playing with Haiku recently. Today's walk gave me the perfect opportunity to try one out.  Traditionally, haiku has a 5, 7, 5 pattern, but Japanese on isn't quite the same as syllables. But I tried my best.

I looked this owl up in my Bird Field Guide, and I believe I got the right name. I had to paste the picture on Paint to enlarge it enough to see its markings, but the yellow beak was a give away.

I wonder what's in store for my walk tomorrow . . .

Later, Peeps!

Beaver Brothers at it again.

Here's a quick pictorial from my morning walkies on Saturday. Though overcast and cloudy, the sky was totally different than the day before, full of texture and color with breaks of cerulean blue.

Facing west

The triangular bowl between highways--north

I'll admit that I walk the same path daily (see the strip of white below the hotel? That's the path), but it isn't always the same. That is what is so wonderful about nature, always changing. One of the three highways is pictured (the building in the pic is a hotel), the second highway is to my right and the third is at my back. The grove of trees border a tributary creek. Somewhere along this creek my beaver buddies live.

 This was the original evidence that the beavers had returned. This picture was taken near the hotel in the previous pictures.

That poor little tree has become this. :-) They finished the job of taking down the tree, and though you can't see it in this picture, there are branches missing. They have started gnawing off branches to make a den or dam . . . or simply because their teeth needed honing down.

Who knows what goes on in a little beaver mind?

Not far from the downed tree, under the creepy bridges, I found these tracks. For all I know about critter prints, these could be from raccoons and not beavers, but they're cute aren't they?

Oh, what are the creepy bridges?

Since these three highways intersect, there are numerous interchanges. Behind the trees in the picture with the hotel are the creepy bridges. The path does a hairpin turn of probably about 180 degrees. It runs straight beneath the two, double-laned bridges, but you can't see around either corner. You can't hear anyone coming from either direction, due to location AND the loud noise of the cars whizzing by. Definitely creepy. A good place to hide a body creepy. I keep my nunchuck water bottle handy along with my pepper spray.

And backtracking to the original picture (away from the hotel) we go under another highway (brighter, airier and seriously less creepy!) and we have to cross the creek. A few years ago, the city put in the bridge to connect the walking trails. I'm sincerely glad because if you wanted to cross the old way, you had to hop, skip and jump across using wobbly rocks!  I'm taking this picture from between the rails.

Look at the tree in the center of the picture. Notice the lighter blond wood at the bottom. Yep, my beaver friends are at it again on a new tree. I tried to find the area where they are building their home, but suspect it's near the boggy part of the creek. That's where it was before, hidden from prying eyes and the sounds of the highway are muffled.

I think that's where I would live--if I were a beaver, that is.

Later, Peeps!