Stowe, Vermont
Have you been ready for spring since about January 2? Wondering how you’ll ever get through the remaining weeks of winter? The best way I know is to get outside and enjoy what nature has to offer. When there’s enough snow, cross country skiing or snowshoeing are both good ways to keep warm enough to enjoy exploring the beauty of your surroundings. Or go for a walk in a nearby park, natural area, or your own garden.
Thirteenth Lake, Garnet Hill Lodge, North Creek, New York
View from a ski trail: Haul Road, Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe, Vermont
Cross Country skier in the woods, Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe, Vermont
While you’re out you’ll almost certainly spot animal tracks.
Raccoon tracks, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, New Hope, Pennsylvania
Fox tracks
Grouse tracks, Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe, Vermont
If you’re really lucky, you’ll spot the critter that made the tracks.
Ruffed Grouse
White-tailed Deer
You may see evidence of insects or spiders attempting to survive the winter in one form or another.
Braconid wasp cocoon bundle
Well-camoflaged spider on Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum), facing south to catch the sun’s warmth
Mystery cocoon made from a leaf and silk. Could it be a moth? A spider?
Or you may find evidence that some insects have instead become food for birds. In the photo below, the holes in the tree were made by a Pileated Woodpecker, the result of excavating for a meal of carpenter ants or other insects.
Holes excavated by Pileated Woodpecker
With the leaves mostly off the trees, the spotlight is on the beauty of bark
Pealing birch bark
and the mosses,
Moss on tree bark
lichens,
Lichens
and mushrooms that decorate tree trunks and branches.
Common Split Gill mushrooms, commonly found on dead branches, help decompose the wood
Winter buds are a promise of spring to come, showing subtle color and offering a way to identify trees in winter.
Bitternut Hickory (Carya cordiformis) buds and leaf scar
Basswood (Tilia americana) bud
Umbrella Magnolia (Magnolia tripetala) bud and leaf scar
Winter fruits can be as beautiful as the flowers that produced them.
Wild Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)
Elephant’s foot (Elephantopus carolinianus)
Birds, including some that you may only see in winter, eat some of the fruits.
Dark-eyed Junco
The low angle of winter light flatters the landscape.
View from Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe, Vermont
Stowe, Vermont
These are just a few of the reasons to love winter as much as the other seasons. Go out and explore while you can!
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