Afternoon Ride

I am just returned from my afternoon refreshing trip through forest and meadow on my ATV.  Although nothing exciting happened by some people’s standards, I found it invigorating to be out and about on such a nice afternoon.  It is overcast, but a very mild December day two days past Christmas.

As I proceeded back through my meadow I noted a plethora of deer tracks.  I don’t necessarily have to see the deer to know they are nearby.  Even though I hit one with my truck and killed it less than a week ago, I hold no grudge, and I’m happy that some survived the recent hunting season to begin the new year soon.  I find them to be one of the most beautiful animals on earth.

I continued on my way through the small amount of forest on my land marveling at the amount of deer tracks where they had meandered in their never-ending search for nutrition.  In a matter of minutes I was through my woods and entering my neighbor’s meadow.  I turned to my left to follow the edge of a copse of woods along that side of the meadow.  Within seconds a flock of some forty Canadians passed overhead headed southward.  I hadn’t seen a flock in many weeks and found it surprising there were yet some in the area.  They must have been located in some waterway where feed was sufficient if not too plentiful.

As I continued on my way, it was a mere minute or two later that I spied some birds over to my right and ahead.  It took a couple of times of getting my eyeballs on them among the cut off corn stalks before I was certain I was watching a small flock of wild turkeys.  I’d guess it was a hen and her this year’s brood as there were around ten or a dozen in the group.  They had spotted me long before my sighting of them I’m sure, and it was but a short few seconds I noted them before they were out of sight.

Continuing on my way I rode to the beaver pond.  I saw none of them, but like the deer they leave some telltale sign of their presence.  Here I noted where they had broken the thin covering of ice near the sluice pipe plug they have for a dam.  I am coming to the conclusion they are using this as a means of controlling the pond water level to their liking.  As I think about it, I used to think they wanted as much water depth as possible, but now I believe that is not true.  Once they get the water level high enough for their use, and have built a house, they cannot allow the pond to increase in depth any longer, or it would flood their home.  Now that they have a home built, and are preparing for winter, they must open a spillway some to maintain the water level where it is.

I left my musing there and drove over to the new pond of Little Beaver.  Like daddy Bucky’s pond the new one also has an open area in the water, but it is around where Little Beaver has a bank den burrowed in.  It will be interesting to see if he keeps it open all winter or not.  He has a sizable stash of limbs and twigs in the water in that area for winter food.

I traveled on toward where I had last seen the turkeys, but as I suspected, I was not to see them again.  I found where they had entered a wood on the north side of the meadow.  Deer tracks abounded along that side of the meadow as they had on the south side where I had entered.

In a few more minutes I had returned to my own woods, passed through, and took a trail northwards towards yet another neighbor’s land.  It is about a four acre lawn surrounded by woods on the three sides not toward mine.  I saw no more animal life, but enjoyed following a deer’s tracks up through my horse pasture.  It had continued through an open gate onto my snow covered lawn, passed under an apple tree, and checked out the area under my wife’s bird feeder.  It obviously likes the corn and sunflower seeds in the bird feed.

I then put my faithful ATV back in the garage, and marveled at all of the enjoyment I had got from a simple ride through some local area on a mild 39 degree afternoon.