If you take Pogue road to where it ends, you will find a hidden gem: the Wilkinson Tract .
This 46 acres of forest and wetlands was donated to the Northumberland Land Trust in 2004.
This morning, we joined a couple of the directors of the land trust on a guided walk, looking for evidence of wildlife. We were specifically looking for tracks. The little building in the picture below is a sugar shack. We made our own tracks as we headed towards the trails on this property.
Aha! Tracks! I don't remember which animal these tracks belong to, but we saw red squirrel, white-tailed deer, fisher, and weasel tracks. There were even some coyote or red fox tracks, but the most recent snow had obscured them. Hard to identify.
And, it looks like a beaver has been busy gnawing away on a balsam tree.
The weather was perfect for a walk through the woods. Sometimes the sun even made an appearance!
More tracks crossing the forest and on to the road.
Isn't a little bit of bright blue a lovely thing on a wintery day? And that one yellow mitten?
And, don't you wonder if the animals, when they come out after we leave, ask each other about our tracks? Like, why don't they walk in a straight line?
And, what was happening here? Hmmmm.... human wearing Keen boots, human wearing Merrills, size hmmmm..... 12.... adult male, human wearing.....
Our shadows didn't disturb the crisp tracks of a whatever. I think this is where our leaders were debating whether it was a coyote or a red fox.
After traipsing around the forest, we headed on the road towards the swamp. Looks like we were being welcomed with a beautiful arch. Every swamp needs a nice arch.
A Northern Shrike was spotted flying from the middle of the wetland to the woods. We heard stories of former sightings of animals and birds at this site. Last July, the trust held a birding marathon and 56 species of birds were identified in this plot of land in one day. Does that not speak to the importance of setting aside lands like this for natural habitats?
I love the image below. It looks like our hike leader is anchoring the bottom right portion of the picture. We need anchors like this man and this organization. The planet needs them. Folks who set land aside, steward it, and anchor it into the future.
I'll end with a quote I used not too long ago, but is good to think about today. Home for humans and for animals.
“Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.”
James Baldwin
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