Dandelion's Great-Great?

 Opossums in the wild only live a couple of years. The 'possum I named Dandelion showed up at my house in 2008. That would make this one a lot of greats down the line if it's related.

It decided the leap to the steps from where it is above was too big, and ran up along the retaining wall and then around the front of the house.

I think 'possums are very cool, except they can really stink.

I'm just about packed. Need to do travel food and one more store trip. Will leave about noon tomorrow. I think my stamina is up to this event. I'll know in a few days, right?

See Meet Dandelion

Hike 100 Challenge 2021 Complete!

  Finished my North Country Trail Hike 100 Challenge for 2021 today. Plus a couple extra miles. The big surprise was that we awoke to about 1.5 inches of snow. It didn't really make the hike more difficult, but it sure changed how things looked. I did most of this same piece 51 weeks ago (link below) and the trailing arbutus was in bud! We aren't that advanced with spring this year. I think maybe we are now past Fool's Spring, and into Second Winter. One of the things I really like about this section is a stretch of tall hemlock trees. They look fantastic trimmed in white. The ephemeral wetland was drab and not too inviting, but there was an interesting star pattern in the ice. I wonder if something fell on it to create a star crack which then refroze. Every tiny creek was outlined in white- there are several in this secion, all unnamed, but pretty in snow. Lots of evidence of little critters. The thin wet snow was great for taking tracks- squirrel Opossum, even with a tail drag! Absolutely best find of the day-- can you find it? Let me help you a little bit. It's a woodcock! It's hiding behind the tree. Of course I tried to get a better picture with no luck. They are very shy. And it turned out there were two more of them. One was very close to me but I never saw it until it flew away. Then they all flew away. This is not my first sighting, although it's not a bird I've seen often. But it's my first picture. Even if it's crappy, I'm happy. (And there's your poem for the day.)

Hike 100 Challenge 2021 is complete with 102 miles!

North Country Trail, Lake County, MI, 56th St to 76th St and back. Total 12 miles

In other news: Yes, there is other news. I did a little paperwork before I hiked, and then had bell choir practice afterwards. Standing for another hour and a half after walking 12 miles, was not exactly my preferred position, but I did it.

See Nine More Miles

Critter Play

 
Just a few pictures of critter evidence from Thursday. Fun. Mostly what I saw was squirrel tracks. Everywhere. But I thought this one was funny, with little red squirrel tracks in a boot print. There were also a lot of big ones, probably fox squirrels, and the gray squirrels in between.



Loved finding nice opossum tracks- see the splayed out thumb?



Found one cast-off deer antler.



When I picked it up, the depression was full of snow fleas!





But the cutest was a member of the sloth hiking team (We will get there when we get there) taking a break, lying down under the snow.



In other news: I wrote my column in the morning, and worked on some filing in the afternoon. Oh, and I made hot biscuits. Just got a hankerin'

See Meet the Snow Flea

Playing Footsie

 
Since I hadn't been farther outside than to toss something in the compost while I was sick, I needed to go get the mail from the last couple of days. There was just enough snow on the driveway to make a wonderful place for tracks.

I haven't caught an opossum at the compost bucket lately, but they are obviously still around.



There are various cats that wander through. I don't know if one is living in the barn these days or not, but I saw a dark one in the yard earlier this week. Here, it crossed paths with the 'possum, going opposite directions.



The bunny rabbits aren't going to be left out. This one wasn't even jumping. Maybe it paused here for a minute.



And, no surprise, several deer had also wandered through. You can catch the sneaker track of this human too.



I feel much better today. Just a lot of coughing and hacking yet. Although, a walk to the mailbox was enough. I wouldn't have wanted to try 10 miles today.

In other news: I wrote in the morning and formatted like a fiend all afternoon. Good progress.

See Opossum Tracks Again

Two Hundreds on Opossum Highway

 
Today a friend and I both finished our 2018 100 Mile Challenges on the North Country Trail. The friend is Deb Cox who came on our chapter hike in July



We did 5.5 miles, and I'm here to tell you they were a bit of a challenge. The snow is not deep enough for showshoes or skis, but it is just deep enough to throw your feet off with every step, and make you slide, and give you mighty sore calves in 5.5 miles.



We passed through Dead Horse Marsh, starkly appealing in any season.



The most interesting thing to me was that on almost the entire length of trail we walked there were opossum tracks. Usually only one animal at a time, although sometimes there were tracks going both directions. Some were large and some were small. A LOT of opossums have been using the trail! If you look closely, you can see the tail drag marks in this picture.



We finished in good spirits, despite the challenge, and now I just need to send in my paper to get the patch!



We saw quite a few other tracks, which I will share another day.

I also went to another concert, and I'll also save that till later.

No writing happened, but I did not expect it to, with both of these activities.

Hike 100 Challenge miles: 101 of 100!

North Country Trail, Tyndall Road to Riverside Dr., Mason County, Michigan

	See National Trails Day Hike
if you like this blog, click the +1   or

Opossum Tracks Again

 
Here's the interesting sighting I promised you. On a little frozen wetland along the trail yesterday was a clear line of tracks made by some mid-sized animal. I could not pull the identity of the pattern of the prints out of my brain! Had to come home and look it up.



In my defense, it's been a long time since I've seen clear opossum tracks- about 9 years. Which brings up an interesting question. In 2009 and 2010 I was featuring a lot of wildlife tracks on the blog. It's not that I've lost interest, but those two years seemed to provide a lot of days that were ideal for coaxing animals out into the winter air and a nice palette on which to make the tracks. About all I've seen for the past two winters are rabbit and squirrel tracks. I hope the change is in the conditions for preserving tracks long enough for me to find them, rather than a diminishing number of critters.



At any rate, this two-print pattern with the one track practically wrapped around the other should have triggered a memory for me, even though the prints are in soft slushy snow. The only thing not typical about this is that there is no tail drag mark, but sometimes they manage to keep their tails out of the snow.



That's one of the things about learning tracks...there are SO many different permutations: snow, mud, dust, deep, shallow, animal running, walking, etc.

Anyway, I've now been reminded, and I hope this will sear the pattern into my brain.

In other news: I wrote two chapters! I hope you will see that sentence many more times in the coming days.

	See Clear Opossum Tracks See Obsession or Opportunity?
if you like this blog, click the +1   or

Obsession or Opportunity?

 
I have more things to share from my walk yesterday. The very first tracks, other than the humans, that we found were these odd, regularly spaced "turkey toed" post holes. I stood there a minute and wondered what on earth had made them. I'm not really any kind of expert tracker, but I'm trying to learn more all the time.

So, I was thinking, "skunk? raccoon? Sure wish I had brought one of my field guides with me." I even own one called Tracking Animals in Snow. How helpful is it on my bookshelf? I looked really closely, and the jagged edges were clearly made by splayed toes, but as is so often the case in snow, the print itself at the bottom of the hole was unclear.

But before I had too long to ponder it all the crusty snow gave me the answer. Just a few steps back the critter had not broken through. And the answer is.... another opossum! So am I so obsessed with 'possums that I am finding them everywhere, or is it just a year in which they are coming out more often?

Here is a closer look at the confirming tracks. See the sets of overlapping footprints, with the toes sticking out like a star. I put a small cutout of the really clear tracks from my terrace next to the tracks from this hike to better show what you are seeing. The opossum actually has a thumb on the rear foot which you can easily see in the cutout. You can also see the drag mark from its tail. I'm thinking that maybe I'll be able to recognize this one without too much trouble in the future after all the practice I'm getting this winter!



Oh, and PS- my tooth is out. Of course it broke and they had to cut and dig the root out, but it's all prep work for a new partial plate that might last the rest of my life. This was long overdue, so I'm happy enough. Just took it a little easy today.

	See Maggie's Bad Day See A Dandelion that Doesn't Play 'Possum See Meet Dandelion See Not Playing Possum
if you like this blog, click the +1   or

Maggie's Bad Day

 




Poor Maggie!

From her perspective I suppose she felt like she was just being yelled at all day. First of all, she still keeps trying to nip snacks from the dead deer in the back field while we go on our walks. I wouldn't mind so much if she didn't throw up all over the bed later in the day after these snacks. So she KNOWS she'll be called a "bad girl" and get no biscuit when she goes to visit the deer, but after about four false starts for the carcass, and coming back when called, she usually loses to temptation and slinks away from me. It's hard to chase her on skis. I'm pretty awkward!

Then there's still Dandelion. My little 'possum has taken up residence under the bench on the terrace. It's a wonderful hidey hole in a corner, protected by a tarp and a shovel. Good thing too, because Maggie keeps trying to poke her nose in where it's not welcome. And I keep yelling at her to get away from there!


Finally, uncharacteristically, the cat was sleeping in Maggie's spot on the couch. Now, really, that was just too insulting! But poor V-8 is eighteen years old so I try to keep Maggie from chasing her. So until I could scoop up the kitty, Maggie got yelled at again! What's a curious dog to do when she gets told she's bad every time she wants to explore anything of interest?

Meet Dandelion

if you like this blog, click the +1   or

Meet Dandelion

 

Remember a few days ago I saw a little opossum outside near the pines? Well she spent a couple of hours today much closer than that. I first noticed her waddling across the front porch. By the time I got the camera she was nosing around between the snowblower and the pantry door. You have to wonder what she was thinking! Of course I choose to think that she wanted to come in and spend the afternoon playing.
Next she huddled down behind the snowblower. Best guess... it was a little bit warmer there by the door. I took a piece of carrot out and offered it to her. She took it, but she didn't eat it. I thought 'possums ate almost anything! With the deep snow, I am surprised that she wasn't hungry. I just looked up some information, and perhaps I should offer her some fruit or a little dog food (not ok for long-term feeding, but a snack should be ok).
I wanted to move that weed for a better shot, but didn't want to spook her.


Isn't that little foot just too cute?
So of course, she now has a name. It's Dandelion. I wonder if she will hang around and/or survive until the dandelions bloom.

if you like this blog, click the +1   or