BackWoods Drifter

Yesterday was a gorgeous day to be out in the mountains and taking the opportunity to enjoy some sunshine I headed for the trails.

I don’t know if I can say enough how much I love this time of year in the mountains. On my trip yesterday the ATV put me in the area I wanted to be but hiking was the main order for the day.

I followed a deer trail and about fifty yards into the woods I began to notice the subtle but distinct work underway by the wildlife. Standing still for about ten minutes first revealed a multitude of squirrels foraging for winter stock. The first thing to draw my attention was the cuttings falling from a tall oak. What are cuttings? When a squirrel harvests a nut such as an acorn the first thing they will do is cut the shell from around the nut with their teeth. The pieces that are discarded and allowed to fall to the ground below are called cuttings. On a windless day, such as yesterday, it is those cuttings landing in the dry leaves that draw ones attention to the forests canopy.

With 90% of the leaves still on the trees and without actually seeing the animal its presence is easily verified with patience. When the squirrel finishes cutting the nut out of the shell you can very easily see the branches shaking as it makes it way out to the ends of the small branches to retrieve another. Back when I would hunt the squirrel that is one sign that I would watch for especially on a windless day.

I ended up actually really going no further than those fifty yards. I didn’t need to because with just a few minutes of being quiet it was evident  I was surrounded by wildlife prepping for winter.

This squirrel came real close to me and seemed to be less concerned with me than finding acorns. Instead of foraging the treetops it was gathering from nuts that had already fallen to the ground. It would take the nut into nearby trees and cut it in the relative safety of the lower branches.

In a very short period of time I saw maybe six squirrels and definitely two deer. I say maybe six squirrels because with their constant disappearing and reappearing I may have seen the same one more than once. In the spring or summer if one were to encounter that many squirrels in the same area you can almost bet the atmosphere would be much more playful with them chasing each other through the trees. In the fall they are all business and critters on a mission gathering nuts for the coming winter.

Neither of the deer revealed themselves enough to photograph. The first one was about thirty yards away at first moving parallel to me and then away. The very slight breeze that was present was at my face as I faced the deer. With her casualness, I’m pretty sure she never knew I was there. If that one had turned and came towards me I would have been able to get a shot at it with the camera almost immediately. The second one saw me first as I made my way back to the ATV. It was probably seventy five yards away and had I not been near the ATV it may have come on out into the clearing I was parked in. I believe the sight of myself combined with an ATV was just too ominous for her. Both deer were does.

I went to the woods yesterday to not only enjoy a beautiful day but also to get a close look at the color change progression. As you can see from the foliage in the background of the photo, it’s still pretty green in my neck of the woods.

This weekend is forecast to be decent weather so you can bet I’ll be back on the trails.