Snow, Jays, and Carrots **edit**

Winter is rather bittersweet for me. I love snow and cold if I am properly dressed and doing something I can enjoy like snowshoeing or maybe a little cross-country skiing. I especially like winter in the north country (read Adirondacks of New York). Lately, snow seems to be falling at inopportune times and by the time I am out of work and done moving it around with shovels and the snow blower, I am too exhausted to enjoy it and then it melts.

There is an area in the Adirondacks that I try to get to whenever I am there, no matter the season, called Ferd's Bog. On a snowshoe trip with friends one February, we "spished" in gray jays quite easily. Gray jays are very curious and somewhat tame birds that are found in northern boreal habitats. Ferd's provides boreal habitat in the Adirondacks at the southern limits of their range.

I recall when I saw my first Gray Jays back around 1990. I was in college and was lucky enough to have access to a phenomenal birder who also happened to be the schools librarian, Ted Mack. One day, Ted and I set off on a birding trip in his little car, a Nissan I think, down a dirt road and eventually came to a spot that Ted knew would be productive for the birds. We exited his car and before he could get any spishes or squeaks there was a gray jay landing on the roof rack of his car. And then another. And another. It was a great experience and it obviously stuck with me. I don't know where Ted is these days, but I know he did retire. I hope he is still doing what he does best as a naturalist and enjoying his retirement.

This photo is from a trip to Vermont in 2003. It's the most recent snowshoe capture I can find. We stayed at the Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield, VT. There was a nice area for cross-country skiing nearby as well.

The snow from the last storm is hanging on but I expect it will be gone quickly. I am anxious to see if the carrots I left in the ground and mulched with hay that Guapo would not eat have survived. I will be checking them tomorrow and hopefully be tasting fresh carrots.