Winter truly arrived in February, with deep cold and deep snow throughout most of the month. I had nine cameras out the field – but decided, mid-month, to relocate half of them to a new area of Lyme (New Hampshire). Although the terrain is similar – rolling hills, mixed forests, rocky slopes, low elevation – I was looking for new opportunities. That day (February 16) was an incredible winter’s day: a light snow was falling as a large winter storm was winding down, so I snowshoed through deep, soft powder around my usual loop, picking up cameras. The next day, I skied a loop in a different part of town, setting up cameras in promising new locations. What did the cameras find? Check out these four short videos (all less than three minutes)… read on!
In the opening of that video you saw a porcupine emerging from a boulder field, in deep snow. Just three minutes later it showed up on another one of my cameras – which turned out to be a porcupine highway. Check out the next video, in which you see him coming and going, over and over. (Are there actually two porcupines, perhaps male and female?)
Meanwhile, in our traditional stomping grounds, things were relatively quiet. Nonetheless, a local fox found our riverbank to be quite fascinating, and a deer demonstrates how clever one must be to find food in the depths of winter.
Finally, I want to share the joy that comes from snowshoeing through deep, fresh powder… especially when gliding down a steep slope. It’s hard to capture in a smartphone video – especially handheld, while holding my ski poles and trying to maintain balance as I slide down the slope, setting off tiny avalanches ahead of me.
February was fantastic. March 1st, true to form, it hit 45º as I was snowshoeing around to check on my cameras. 😦 Hopefully March will bring more snow!
David Kotz 