Skunk Tracks, Spring isn't too far away:)

Bruno and I hit the ASCCA for our now regular Friday 7:30 a.m. patrol. Right away we noticed a significant difference, no cattle. This proved to be reinforced by the 15-20 Mule deer that were hanging around the east facing slope this morning. We haven't seen any deer in that area since the cattle arrived.
-17 C with a bit of a breeze when we headed out so we stayed in the sun and away from the wind for the first while. More muley's a little further along, no moose today though. We found three whitetails in an area that they "normally frequent" when there aren't any cows around, so things look good for more wildlife to start moving back onto the property. I am looking forward to seeing some elk soon. One small flock of chickadee's, many ravens and not much else. On the Aspen trail Bruno spotted some cougar tracks that were probably 2-3 days old. It was a great sunny bright day to be in the woods, the temperature rose to -1C by the time we finished up 4 hours later. A great walk.
Oh, here is a photo of a skunk trail in the snow, I really enjoyed how it "plowed" little ridges on the side of the trail as it waddled through the snow.  With these hibanators out and about, can spring be far off?

Turbo