The trees were crystallized in ice this morning. The air was still broken occasionally by flurries of bird alarms. We soon realized why as a pair of red-shouldered hawks visited our morning circle. They watched from the treetops as we shared gratitude.
After snack, we headed to the west end of the land by stream. Along the way we saw turkey, squirrel, and deer sign. At the stream we quickly picked up a bobcat trail. This one was much smaller than the one we trailed last week. This led us to theorize that there may be a mating pair. Perhaps there will be bobcat kittens in the spring!
We found a number of raccoon trails, and followed a coyote that seemed to have broken through the ice. On our way back we stopped to body sled down the icy hills by grandmother maple.
After lunch, we decided after a long morning of tracking it was play time. We ditched some of our more sedentary quiet activities for some action! So we harvested some poplar branches and headed up the hill for Jedi Training. With all of this ice coating everything we were in for a challenge. The game of agility and balance was taken to a whole new level with slick ice and slush underfoot, but we eventually found our balance. We returned to the field a little early for a snowball fight, fun with sleds, and catching atl atl darts.
—Black Walnut and Black Capped Chickadee (Raven and Mary), February 7, 2022