North Woods River Runner: Telltale Signs Down At The Creek

Today began with me shoveling off the thin layer of snow from our driveway. It was then that I saw tracks cutting across the front ditch and our lawn. I knew at once that it had to be the waddling gait of an opossum; with foot drags and whip marks left by its bare tail. I’m not sure if I had ever seen an opossum until I was at least in high school; maybe even in college. We didn’t have them Up North when I was growing up. We had porcupines but no opossums. Perhaps that has changed now with milder winters, or the opossum’s ability to crawl into small crevices and accidentally hitchhike their way to new places. Of this I am unsure, but the telltale signs of an opossum walking near our house upon the new fallen snow was left for those who observed.

An hour later when my wife and I were returning from a morning appointment, I glanced over the guardrail at our nearby creek. I have a habit of doing this more often than not when we drive by a moving body of water. It tends to freak my wife out when we start to swerve one way or another from the lane I need to be traveling in, but how else am I supposed to check out the creek’s depth, flow rate, and fishability? A quick look to my left and right allows me to see if the waterway is navigable and worthy of exploration. Today I saw tracks running down the snow covered ice of the creek as we passed by, and I knew immediately what it must have been. In fact, I quickly announced to my wife, while realigning our vehicle into the proper lane, that river otters had been running down upon that ice. The intermediate slide marks that they left behind were the telltale signs that gave it away.

Once I was home, I got dressed in my outdoor gear, put the collar on our dog Kora, and headed out the door. We made our way down to the creek where a ribbon of trees hugs both sides as it meanders its way through the cornfield. While walking on the thin layer of snow, we basked in the sun, breathed deep the fresh air, and kept our eyes peeled for tracks.

Kora and I saw many signs left in the snow. As she sniffed out the various scents, I was able to get pictures of the various tracks. I identified mice, a raccoon, cotton-tailed rabbits, squirrels, coyotes, a fox, and of course the otters. Following the trails of the otters, and being able to capture a small glimpse of their story, was really cool. I could see where they had rested, explored, and wrestled as I tracked them along the creek. In addition to the five-toed tracks, their heavy, thick tails occasionally left trenches in the snow. To complete the long slides, they would playfully push off and scoot through the snow on their bellies, letting their hind feet drag behind them.

Under clear skies the sun radiantly reflected from the crystal surface. It was a great day to track critters that had been out and about. Thanks to the snow covering, I could easily follow their telltale signs down at the creek.

See you along The Way...

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"Tracking an animal is opening the door to the life of that animal. It is an educational process, like learning how to read. In fact, it is learning how to read. Following an animal's trail may bring you closer to the animal physically, but, more important, it brings you closer to it in perception. The longer you follow the animal, the deeper you enter into a perceptual relationship with its life." (Paul Rezendes. Tracking And The Art Of Seeing. Charlotte, Vermont: Camden House Publishing Inc, 1992.)