Thank you for being here and following along in this Wild Life on the mountain.
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The days are gradually getting longer, and my hibernation is nearing its end. I learned last month to drop my expectations regarding the weather, and I’m glad I did. Though more than 4 feet of snow has fallen, that’s less than half of last year's. Not much has stuck compared to previous years.
February was spent trying not to get ahead of myself. I gaze at my seed packets, dreaming of summer, then realizing, of course, winter is far from gone. I have to remind myself that taking time for a break is important. Most days were spent reading books, journaling, exploring on snowshoes, and crafting.
The Curtain Holdback
When I was cutting fallen Aspen last month, this interesting piece jumped out at me. Though my pile of kept sticks is growing, I decided to keep it to see what I could make with it. After a few days in the house, I realized it would naturally make a good curtain holdback and coat hanger by the door.
I let it dry for a few days, I peeled the bark off using a blade and uncovered the bright white grain. I sanded and coated it with shellac and installed it by the door. Just like that, a new beautiful multi-functional curtain holdback! I love the bright white colour of the Aspen and am looking forward to making more things with that tree.
Hikes and a Discovery
With only an hour until sunset, Curt and I picked up the snowshoeing pace so that we wouldn’t be hiking home in the dark. We were following an old carriage road through the woods when I noticed sharp angles to my left. As I kept walking, certain I was mistaking trees for a roofline, I asked Curt,
“Where exactly are we?”
“What?” was his reply, confused since he knew that I knew where we were.
His eyes followed my gaze and landed on what had caused my confusion.
“Is that - a cabin?” he asked as we both excitedly stopped in our snowshoe tracks.
We’d been within 100 feet of this small cabin many times and somehow hadn’t seen it. Painted red and white, undisturbed with firewood still stacked outside the door, there it stood. On the exterior wall, two wood insulator brackets remain, meaning the cabin is that old.
After checking things out, we decided we’ll have to return when the world has thawed.
Eggs!
My old chickens have always been mean; they’d developed what I call a ‘bad chicken culture’. They were especially mean to new chicks, causing harm to the degree that younger chickens wouldn’t roost anywhere near them, or even in the coop. That just couldn’t continue, and though I would rather have let the old girls live out their days on the mountain, last fall I decided to retire them (aka, make soup). I kept two sweet youngsters to help establish a new flock.
I held back one hen and one rooster. Typically, you need more than 4 hens per rooster to ensure they don’t get too much attention; however, the rooster, Screech, is quite civilized - for a bird. Just as a cold snap descended on the mountain, the hen named ‘Chick chick’ laid her first egg. I hope I never lose the feeling of excitement I get when a hen starts laying.
My Journal
In the busy days of summer, the journal gets neglected a bit, but in the winter, it gets lots of attention. I like keeping track of the weather, what the animals have been doing, and the daily goings on.
This year, having learned about phenology wheels from , here on Substack - I decided to make a new addition to my daily journaling. It’s a pie-chart-style journal used to visually track seasonal changes, weather, and plant development. I’m excited to fill the 12 pizza slices and see how it looks at the end of the year.
A February Un-Visit
I’d love to have one single sign informing people exploring the backroads that they’ve entered private property. I’m not a fan of signs. In an ideal world, that should be enough to imply a level of respect( I think?). Sadly, in the past few years, as things have happened, I’ve added more and more - now the stack is up to 7 different signs.
As I listened to someone drive away through the trees, still on the property, I heard them stop, engine at idle.
“What do you think they’re doing?” I asked Curt.
“Beats me,” he replied.
We heard the machine carry on again, away into the woods.
We decided to investigate. What we found was dog tracks on top of tire tracks. Still well within the property lines - which I’ve clearly marked - they’d let their dog off of their machine. Though it’s just tracks in the snow, I wonder why they couldn’t wait one minute until they were past my signs, off the property and on crown land.
Fighting Fire with Fire
The days warmed, and the sun came out for the last week of February. A gentle wind made the weather ideal for burning and carrying the smoke away. This year, south-facing slopes are walkable without snowshoes, making things much easier than in previous years.
We each don a chainsaw, clearing dead underbrush and trees, piling them on the fire. It’s hard but rewarding work, and though I prefer to leave the landscape natural, limbing trees creates a serene park-like setting. It will be much easier to walk around in the summer, when the ticks are out.
Seeing areas more accessible makes me dream of what they might become. Maybe a picnic table in the shade, a walking path to a viewpoint, or a rope swing between the trees.
The above video starts at the part that gave me that lightbulb moment
Wonky Weather
While Texas got crazy snow, I watched the weather and wondered, how does that happen down south, while I get nothing? Then the lesson from this video came to mind. Though I previously understood that the jet stream makes airplanes travel faster, I didn’t understand how it affects the weather. It’s neat realizing it’d carried cold down to Texas and entirely missed me.
The Nature of Things program has been around since 1960, originally airing on CBC(Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). If you haven’t watched it, they cover a huge pile of interesting topics, and I highly recommend them.
Approaching Spring
Will spring begin early? Or will more snow fly? Each has its benefits and negatives. Splitting less wood has been nice. The solar-powered system is tiptop most of the time, and the generator hasn’t been run at all. Not being snowed-in has meant going to town more often, which has meant showering more. The stored water has depleted faster than planned, and we’ve begun melting snow to supplement water consumption.
This has been the least wintery winter to date, which has felt odd, though not altogether unpleasant. In only three weeks, spring will be upon us. I’m enjoying clearing underbrush and getting things done, but still mindful to give myself long breaks and time to enjoy slow, quiet mornings before the busy season is underway.
Your support helps me continue creating and sharing these glimpses of my Wild Life. The beauty, the challenges, and everything in between. Thank you for walking with me on this journey, and for making it possible to keep doing what I love. ❤️
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