Forest flora and fauna

It occurs to me that these 400 lb. + machines are deadly even when operated normally, let alone driving above speed limits. In the hands of an inexperienced sledder they are weapons. As one comment said, "As far as I can see, snowmobiles are but low flying aircraft these days. I mean come on now, who needs over 1000 c.c.'s of power?"
 
There are a large number going off trail and hitting trees. This should tell us something about the reckless speed. You can see where sledders choose the more difficult route, one going around this tree! The top photo is above the hill, the photo below is below taken from below the hill.

Then, there is this shot (below, left) of someone off-trail, in the woods, in the mud. Not only does the machine leave behind chemical and pollution, they are destroying the natural habitat and waterways. The run-off goes directly into the bog nearby.

You can see how bad the trails are, with melt water on the path. 

The critters are active, with mouse tracks and lots of predators seeking food. The mice and moles of summer have the perfect shelter: tunneling under the snow!

I stuck my snowshoe in the photo to be ale to compare the size!



This is Ollie last year, he caught a mouse.

See the tracks? I daren't identify them. Who knows...fox, wolf, dog? I did identify one track, obviously a boot with some yellow snow right where I was walking. No photo...even dogs go off the tracks to find a tree!

This track was cool, as the animals take advantage of the snowmobile track in the deep snow. Lots of tracks on the cold, frozen lake. The wind was really whipping across. In the woods, it was a delightful walk. The sun beamed down.Snow punctuates the forest floor, amplifying the scene with light and shadows.