Question Ones Sanity !!!!

I did just that this morning. It was DARN COLD! as I hid behind this boulder in anticipation of some action.
It wasn't too long before this got my interest.

 This single otter poked its head through an open hole in the ice . It looked like a periscope checking for danger.

 All clear ,safe to come out.

Oh.wait a minute. I will just lay here and watch the idiot with camera freeze to death.....
Goes to show you, the natural world moves on about its daily activity regardless of the cold.
Jim

Put Some Miles On The West Side

Having four days off has let me put nearly twenty five miles on my ole’ hiking boots bushwhacking and following the Quabbin west side roads. I focused in the areas from Gate 6 thru Gate 11. With the little bit of snow we had last Thursday, added to the enjoyment with finding and identify tracks. Clearly the most seen tracks were those of coyotes, and then deer tracks would come in second. I did see four different sets of bobcat tracks along with many moose tracks. The bonus this morning was a track of a red fox. In my total miles hiked I have only seen one fox. It was early dawn and distant view, not sure if it was a gray or red. I have a lot to learn with track identification, but with each outing I review track & scat field guides in effort to identify my days find. Today I walked in the house with a small bird nest I found on the ground. My wife just looks at me and smiles as to say, now what are you going to do with that. Jim

Beautiful Morning Tracking

I headed back to Gate 8 this morning. The dusting of snow made for  very eventful morning finding tracks. The first tracks were a bonus! I really enjoy finding bobcat tracks. Knowing I hiked this same area yesterday without seeing a cat track added to the excitement. The knife in the picture is 3-1/2" long. I'll remember to put a tape measure in my pack.

The bobcat had walked a considerable distance up the dirt road.
Continuing north on Ward Rd the anticipation of seeing a moose was high. I did cut one single fresh track made after the snow from yesterday afternoon. Continuing on a number of deer crossed the road. All were single tracks. I thought the deer would be traveling in groups this time of year. Maybe the recent thaw eased things.

Coyote tracks were plentiful. I could see where four where traveling together. Notice the toe nail indentations on the top track.

I did see a number these interesting scrapes on maple trees. I do know what made these and why. Would anybody care to comment?
Finally with finishing my hike a grouse flushed. Almost got him on my camera.

Jim

Hiked & Located All Quabbin Gates

This morning was an early start heading out to Gate 8 in Pelham. I was hoping for a glimpse of a moose and I wanted to see if I could find Gate 7 . An earlier attempt to find the gate a few weeks back driving in from Rte202 did not permit access. Private land  with no trespassing signs made for the effort this morning.
The hike  was cloudy with light snow,  which made for a nice walk. Not much moving, I did see several gray squirrels , one red squirrel and several chickadees.
I crossed several different moose tracks while heading up Juckett Hill. I did locate Gate 7 which completes my gate search . Over the last several years searching for the gates just added another purpose to go along with the hiking and photography.
Jim

Short But Interesting Hike

I had a little time to burn this morning, so I headed off to see if I could locate gate 48 using public access. Earlier in the fall I had hiked from gate 50 to 48, exiting Quabbin onto a network of dirt roads. I was not sure if the roads belonged to DCR or private. This morning’s hike validated the roads are private and that Gate 48 is not accessible from a public way. While poking around the area outside of Quabbin I did cut a moose track, numerous deer tracks and one coyote track. I also came upon this structure……. Jim

Quite Start To Winter

This morning I headed out to my favorite east side gate. Pretty mild day for the first day of winter. Deer and coyote tracks were plentiful. I did see two different sets of moose tracks several miles from each other, both were heading east. With such a mild morning my plan was to sit on a ridge side with hopes that some critter would wander through. It wasn't long before a pileated woodpecker landed a short distance away and started his drumming. No opportunity for a picture. On the hike back to the truck I took another stand on the back side of a small swamp. Nothing happening here either. Oh'well! It was a nice peaceful morning hiking. Jim

Couldn't Help Myself!

With the forecast yesterday I decided to take a vacation day putting a few miles on a favorite eastside gate. The morning was a treat, weather started out overcast then clearing by mid morning. Temperatures climbed into the low fifties. The woods were tracked up pretty well. No shortage of coyotes, that's for sure. My hike took me along a snowshoe trail made earlier in the week. I did see one set of bobcat tracks with many deer tracks. Seeing bobcat tracks is always a highlight to my hikes. Jim

I loaded up the snowshoes and headed over to Gate 43 first thing this morning. The four wheel drive sure got a work out! Was I surprised to see only about half the accumulation of snow we received. Barely enough to snowshoe so I left them in the truck. I enjoy hiking after a snow storm looking for tracks and this morning was no disappointment. Only hiked a hundred yards or so and cut a single deer track that crossed the road earlier in the storm. Two drainage pipes revealed porcupine dens. Crossing the spill way I was pleased to see several otter slides that were made prior to my arrival. The reservoir looked quite with the recent cold snap icing over the shallow coves. The hike back to the truck revealed where a cow and calf moose walked in my foot prints for a short distance on the road. The storm made for a quite peaceful hike Jim

Locating Farnsworth Headstone

A little chilly hiking this morning, 9 degrees when I passed the yellow gate. The plan today was to visit Wendell Farnsworth. His lone grave stone sits remotely on a quite ridge in the Quabbin woods. With research this past week, I was able to narrow the headstone location down to a general area. Reaching out to a fellow hiker that surfaced while doing my research, narrowed the search to a relatively small area. Once I located the house foundation, I split the area up into several quadrants and started doing circles. On the outer circle on the second sweep their stood Wendell’s headstone. The several evenings researching and the effort locating the headstone made for a very satisfying hike back to the truck Just one more reason to hike Quabbin ! Jim

I stopped in New Salem on the way hiking this morning; the sunrise was brilliant before the cloud cover moved in. Gate 15 is an easy hike, all downhill. Atherton Brook was babbling as I passed on the way to the reservoir. When I reached the intersection of 15-1, I went left to the shoreline. Then walked the shoreline south reaching the other cart road had I gone right at the 15-1 intersection. It always amazes me the animal tracks you see after a light snow. Coyote, deer, moose were easy finds this morning. The reservoir was calm. Walking the shoreline I did see one kingfisher, one lone goose and rounding one of the coves three canvas backs flew with my interruption. No loons where seen or heard today. This late in the season most loons have headed east and south. This was a short morning hike putting just over five miles on the ole’ hiking boots. The trek back up to the truck kept the blood flowing and was warm! Jim