Last weekend, my family and I took a small vacation up north in North Conway, a beautiful place. Last year, we took many trips to this town under the mountains, and we were eager to return. On the way to the hotel, we stopped at a stunningly beautiful place. Castles made of ice were looming up everywhere, with neon lights inside them. It was a fabulous sight. Although these castles were not natural occurrences, the ice was incredible to look at. The next morning, we decided to go snowshoeing up a small mountain called Mt. Willard. The way up was freezing (I didn’t have warm gloves) and difficult, but the view was worth the trouble. On the sides of the trail there were many animal tracks to be identified. I saw many rabbit tracks and a few coyote tracks, and we even stumbled upon the home of a rabbit with tracks leading up to it. You never know what you will find in a deep wood where few humans venture. It is a magical thing to explore such a quiet, wild place.
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On Thursday, my family and I took a quick break from the busy day and decided to go for a small walk at a nearby wooded park. I had recently been studying how to track animals by scat, habitat, and (can you guess?) their tracks. I, however, didn’t expect to be generously rewarded by wildlife showing up, but I did hope for the best. So, I gathered my camera, pocket guide, and notebook and headed for the woods. Not many people were at the park, for it was a cold, wet week day. A few retired seniors took their dogs to go exploring. The tracks they left were cruel teasers and imposters for some other canines’ I hoped to see. I walked across the park and up a trail that led into the thick woods where I was met by a tangled cluster of human and dog tracks. Here and there I could spot a squirrel’s small footprints among the mess. As I walked deeper into the woods, the unwanted tracks gradually disappeared and the path was clear. Looking down, I spotted a set of tracks. Not human, not dog, not squirrel, it was a rabbit. A cottontail rabbit. I smiled as I had at last found what I was looking for. Encouraged, I walked on, eagerly scanning the frozen ground. Nothing. An occasional squirrel or chipmunk. Nothing. I began to wonder if my luck was up when I spotted a small deposit of scat. I could tell by the way it was shaped that it was some sort of carnivore. I thought it must be a fox, but I couldn’t be sure. I snapped some pictures and started looking for the scat’s owner’s tracks. If it was some sort of canine, I would never be able to make out which set of tracks it belonged too, for there were hundreds of other domestic dog tracks littered around the area. I would have to wait until we got home, where a guide would confirm what I had seen.
After only a few moments of searching in the book, I found it. It was a coyote! I was greatly excited, for this was even better than I had hoped for. With a grin, I recalled asking God to provide me with a piece of nature to take home with me locked inside my memory, and he did. Some of you may be thinking, “He got this excited over a pile of scat?” I don’t blame you for thinking that odd. :-) I felt a little strange staring at it on the snowy cold ground, but I will always remember it with a smile. Mammals are everywhere you look. Cats, dogs, squirrels, and chipmunks are all mammals. Even you are a mammal (unless a fish is reading this… which is unlikely). Well, okay. But what is a mammal, exactly? What is a mammal?
Common Mammals of New England
The Red Fox: These creatures are carnivores and much of their diet is made up of rodents and other small prey. They are often hard to see, as they are stealthy and scared of people. Warning: can carry rabies. The Coyote: A coyote is very similar to the fox, but is larger and less afraid of people. It also feeds on small mammals and other small prey. Warning: Also frequently has rabies. The Raccoon: Raccoons are opportunists, which means they take any opportunity that presents itself to them to eat food. They eat almost everything, and are known for digging in people’s trash. Warning: Raccoons quite often have rabies, and are very dangerous. If you see one in the day, don’t approach it. It probably has rabies. The Skunk: Skunks are feared by dog owners and animals alike. They are capable of ejecting an incredibly smelly fluid into the mouth and eyes of a threatening person or animal. Warning: they also often carry rabies. If your dog was bitten by a skunk, be sure to take him/her to the vet even if the dog is caught up on its shots. Better safe than sorry. There are many, many more mammals in New England, but I will not cover them today. Mammals are incredible creatures made by God. He designed them in a wonderfully specific way to fit their environment (none of that evolving stuff). He made them for us to cherish and care for, but from a safe distance. Some, as you know, can cause harm. Today, look out your window. Maybe you’ll see a squirrel with a little bit more appreciation. Right now, if you look outside, (depending on where you live) you will see snow. Some of you may look at the snow as an ugly thing. A dirty blanket of cold ice smothering the soft ground, maybe. Just something that you wish would melt as soon as possible. But it is much more than that. While at first sight it may seem like a bad thing, snow can be an astounding sight to behold. It can be a gorgeous blanket of pure white fluff that fills the air with an eerie silence. A peaceful silence. Something very rare in the noisy life most of us live. But besides a beautiful appearance, a deeper look reveals a magical sight. The structure of a snowflake is a miraculous work of art. A work of art by the best artist of all: God.
Next time you look outside, picture the blurry clumps of snow as millions of individual masterpieces falling from the hands of the creator. That fascinates me. |
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