Who Put Pepper in my Footprint?

With about twelve inches of snow on the ground my husband and I decided to hike up Mt. Tekoa. We took turns breaking trail as it was exhausting going. If we didn’t make it to the top we agreed that was okay, but we’d trudge along as far as we could. When we hit the ridge, snowmobilers had packed the snow and it was much easier going, so we made it to a vantage point. After pictures and lunch with a view, we headed back down.
Following our trail back down we made a most curious observation. Every one of our previous foot depressions was peppered with little black springtails, Hypogastrura nivicola.

Eager Beaver

Meet Eager. He is a two-and-a-half-year-old beaver. His family has eight members now: his mother, father, two siblings from two years ago, plus the three siblings born last year. Eager is feeling the need to move on before his mother has more kits early this summer. Don’t be critical – Eager has always been ready to help, bringing delicious vegetation to the kits, helping maintain the dam, constructing a second lodge, securing winter stores. It all comes pretty naturally, but he’s learned a lot from his parents. It is early spring and Eager is feeling ready to move out and establish a family of his own.

What I need is a spider

Here in the Northeast, about 85% of the spider species enter diapause for the winter. This is a state of dormancy in which their bodily functions slow considerably.

A Spledid Bird - The Wild Turkey

The bald eagle was not Ben Franklin’s idea of a noble American symbol. He called it a “bird of bad moral character” referring to his observations of them stealing fish caught by other birds. Franklin preferred the turkey, which he admitted was, “a little vain and silly” but earned an honest living, and was by his estimation, ”a true original native of America.”