Training Log Archive: bl

Walk out back on an otherwise inside, stay-at-home day with a winter storm watch evening in store. Easy enough to walk across frozen swamp, then up the contours, along the top, then into the green, thick part of the forest. Lost a good part of my sense of direction having to change course due to downed trees etc. Still managed to come out on the SVT adjacent to the bog. Walked along the power line and then turned back into the woods, more open though. Then it was over the knoll-ridge-spur system where we used to spend occasional nights in a tent. And still (usually) say we will again (24 yrs at this address), come May. Finally return across the wetlands where, nowadays, I don't have any familiar landmarks, trees are close and I'm not confident where I'll end up. Today, I was about 100m to the left. There was a 12' by 8" by 1.75" board across the 10" deep, 8' wide stream. It cracked once when I was about 2/3rds way across but "permitted" passage.

I saw lots of deer and turkey prints. I rarely see anything alive in winter woods. Our friends this winter have been the same turkeys, the same grey & red squirrels, the same few deer and, just the other night, two raccoons on the patio, a first. Over the years, we've surmised their being responsible for minor damage but have never seen any. There have been moose and fox over the years as well but not recently. Coyotes used to howl from Nottingcook but again not in a long time.

We've become fond of the turkeys, coming twice daily for months. A few times, the toms pecked at the window, ie, as in demanding more food, different food or whatever. More recently, these two toms (w/ 4-6 hens) have been "all display" portending mating season. Today's "all display".