Is that your own hare, or is it a wig?



So, having been in a particularly foul mood earlier (as certain of my readers will attest), I decided to go for a walk. Perhaps some wayward deities were attempting to show me that things are basically alright, because I saw more wildlife than I normally see on walks such as this. There were some quite interesting birds which I wasn't able to indentify at the time, but I will probably determine their species at some point.

I was most excited to see some Snowshoe Hares Lepus americanus, who are currently midway through changing colours for the winter. Much like Cottontail Rabbits, they spend the winter eating tree bark, as well as leaf an flowerbuds. Around here, they're pretty much unmistakable. They DO look rather like rabbits, but hares are larger, and have longer ears. Also, the Snowshoe hare....well, it lives up to its name. Rabbits have pretty big feet as well, but not that big. also, as previously mentioned, Snowshoe Hares change colour. They seemed pretty happy, all told. In point of fact, this is an excellent opportunity to use the word "gamboling". So that's what they were doing, gamboling. That was deeply satisfying.

The deer were also out in force....a young man's thoughts might turn to love in the spring, but a young buck's turn to love in the fall, and they were all over the place. The bucks have lost the velvet on their antlers, and somehow look more majestic with out it....the velvet makes them look soft, I suppose. The ground being damp, I was able to track some of them, just for the hell of it. When them leap, their tracks become skidded. Males typically have larger hooves, and the tracks of females are more liner....female dear, like female humans, have wider hips than the males, and as consequence their hooves align differently. No skill is useless to the enthusiastic naturalist.