After a nice vacation in Madeira, and a quick turn to 2024, we finally had some time to relax and enjoy the new season in town. We had our first snow of the year (and of the season) here in Southern Ontario, giving us not only a new landscape, but a new occupation as well😊
Being outside in the cold can still be fun, even if the sun is shy these days. Not all animals hibernate, and some of them are really fun to watch. Chickadees and squirrels are the most active.
Tracks in the snow open up a new world to nature lovers, brightening the winter blues, and giving way to a bit of imagination. They can tell stories, and you might want to follow them.
We haven’t spotted any rabbit lately, in our neighbourhood, because the fox population has increased quite a bit. But no little surprise I had this morning when I found rabbit tracks in our backyard! I am glad to see that there is still a good balance between them all.
Tracks in the snow can be seen everywhere now. Especially the squirrel ones! They eagerly run for food, or just for fun. Isn’t too cold for them?
Walking further down a path in our neighbourhood, I spotted fox tracks, and a curious slide. At first, I thought a fox would drag its tail in the snow, but then I realized it wasn’t.
It was an interesting find; the track went towards the bushes. Further to my research I found it to be an otter slide, which makes sense, as we do have quite few ponds in the area, and a large playful family that comes to the lake during the summer time.
It’s winter now, and a whole new world out there. Weather throughout the parks, or simply in our backyards, there is still much to do and to discover, in this new world, and in a totally different way.
Do you like winter? What is your favourite activity?
1000 Places and Memories 
I like your photos and your attentiveness to Nature. I can’t identify any animals by their footprints. Take care.
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Thank you🙂
Have a lovely day!
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It is so interesting to see the tracks of the animals in the snow.
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Indeed, I had some fun identifying them.
Thank you Mel for stopping by🙂
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Don’t you just love how snow coverage in winter reveals us the amount and versatility of wildlife we don’t usually get to see? It’s not common to get even a glimpse of wild animals, especially large carnivores, but if you head out to nature in winter and pay attention to the animal tracks in the snow, you’ll learn that the forest is full of life. Following and identifying animal tracks in the snow certainly can be a fun and educational activity for both adults and children. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day. I hope you had a wonderful time in Madeira. Cheers, Aiva xx
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Thank you Aiva, yes, we had an amazing time in Madeira. What is not to love there?!!🙂🙂
have a lovely evening! xx
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What a winter wonderland! Winter is also my favorite season of the year, although here in Los Angeles we don’t get snow. Wishing you a wonderful 2024 ahead filled with more adventures!
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We can ship you some snow now, if you don’t have, just tell me how much🤣🤣
Thank you for your kind note, wishing you back a wonderful 2024!! ❤️
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I’m sometimes surprised when we’re backcountry skiing and come across animal tracks in the snow. You realize they are often around even though we can’t see them. The otter slide is pretty cool. 😊
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True, and I bet sometimes you got the feeling they are watching you😆
Hope you’re having a magic winter! xx
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I’ve always loved exploring tracks in the snow, going all the way back to my childhood, Christie. I understand your passion. It’s a whole different world. I still remember going outside of our home in Oregon one winter to find cougar tracks running through our yard. Just up the hill, there were fresh bear tracks. It was about that time that Peggy suggested we return home. Usually, it was more like, deer, birds, rabbits and squirrels, but all fascinating. Thanks for the memories.
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I don’t know how happy I’ll be if I was to find such big game tracks, so I’m with Peggy, better safe at home.
I also found some big tracks in the snow which looked like a coyote, but next day I saw the culprit, a huge dog running by himself in the secluded patch of forest I was walking by. I suddenly wasn’t comfortable anymore, but I tried not to cross path with him, and luckily he went on his way.
Glad I could bring you nice memories. Hope 2024 is kind to you, best wishes to you and Peggy!
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It almost never snowed in the town I grew up in, Christie, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but I spent a lot of time out in the woods. And then it did snow. What a miraculous world it opened up. 2024 has been great so far. 🙂
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We’ve been lucky and have had a pretty mild winter this year (except for last week). Lovely captures of the various footprints in the snow. It’s a good reminder that even if we don’t see the critters, that they’re still around.
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Indeed! We saw 3 coyotes at Silver Creek conservation area this weekend. We were too loud, and they disappeared very quickly🙂
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For me, who is not used to snow, it is always nice to see snowy photos. I love the tracks in the snow – I don’t think I’d recognise them all if you didn’t identify them! I like winter … but I think I love summer more!
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It is nice to live in a country with 4 seasons, winter included, although the winter is too long sometimes😊 But no complain, this winter has been really really mild so far! As for the sun, it’s another matter, we do miss it sometimes…
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