Sunday, January 13, 2013

Making Tracks


And to think I was complaining abut how warm it's been.  Yesterday's high was in the low 20's with a good, stiff northwest wind and weak, hazy sunshine that wasn't doing much to improve the temp.  Since it was too muddy to walk while it was warm, I was determined to get out for a walk regardless of the cold.  And I did. 

In multiple layers topped by puffy vest, scarf, quilt-lined flannel jacket with a hood, ear band and thick gloves.  Winter stylish, for sure - lol!  But if I don't start getting some more exercise soon, my jeans aren't going to fit by spring.

I headed south at the end of the driveway with the wind across my right shoulder.  The road that was an inch deep in slop yesterday was concrete hard.   At least it was that hard until I turned at the first corner and headed west.

  
Part of my "you're now living in rural KS" lecture from T was a list of local roads to be avoided it it's wet.  This is one of them.  It's dirt, with a goodly percentage of clay mixed in, and when it's wet it's a nasty combination of slippery and sticky.  Needless to say, it's not one of the roads that gets plowed. 

Even at 20' there was enough moisture left for my sneakers to leave prints.  I wasn't the only one.

Pretty sure these are coyote

Cat, maybe?  Much smaller than the coyote prints

Big coyote...

Raccoon, I think
Walking briskly I was warm enough, although my thighs went numb pretty quickly.  It was much better when I finally made it to the next mile marker and turning around put the wind mostly behind me again. 

I had a pocketful of odds and ends of metal bits and a good-size tangle of pieces of barbwire as well by the time I got home.  It's amazing what rattles out of the back of pick-ups and off of tractors.  Might as well pick it up now while I'm on the ground as have to get off a horse to pick it up later on.

1 comment:

Kellie said...

That was a big coyote print. Do you guys hear them howling much? We do when they run the ridges around here.

At my Mothers place in OK, they have them come right into the barn - which scares me to death, but they don't think much of it.

I'm amazed at what kind of debris/trash we find around here in the spring or really any time it rains hard. Last summer when tilling up the garden - which has been tilled dozens of times, out popped an old horse shoe, complete with the old nails still in it.. How odd is that?!!