Winter Botany

In spite of all the great snow, I've not gotten out snowshoeing much this winter.  Last Saturday, however, I attending a Wild One's Winter Botany snowshoe walk.  After a quick primer we headed over to the River Point Property.  There is some great open country there - funny, I never think about that in the summer.  We examined goldenrod galls, buds, twigs and bark and all the seed heads.  The weather was perfect and the latest snow fall provided just enough to make snowshoes worthwhile.  This was before the beautiful snowfall later in the day.  Winter hikes always reveal features that are hidden by summer's foliage.  Tree structures stand out, and with some practice are nearly as unique as leaves and flowers.  Bark and buds provide keys to winter identification as well.  Smooth beech, deeply furrowed cottonwood, flaky black cherry and knobby hackberry are easy to identify with our without leaves.  Other trees hold their leaves through the winter like beech and oak.  Winter winds rattle them until they finally break loose.  No nature walk is complete without animals or their signs.  One of the thrills of winter hikes is the perfect snowy canvas covered in tracks.  For those who take the time to learn them, tracks tell a compelling story of animal passage and life.  The turkey tracks through the meadow contrast with the tiny songbird and mouse tracks.  Voles tunnel through the snow, visible once the snow begins to melt.  Even city yards bear the signs of vole activity.  Watch for wandering grooves worn in the grass under the snow.  Not surprisingly, they usually lead to a food source such as bird feeders or roots and bulbs.  As winter begins to fade into spring, take some time to marvel at all that winter reveals.  Rather than a lifeless landscape, it shows us the continued activity of the animals that share the scene with us.