It’s Monday.
At least by naming the days, I will remember what day it is.
Sadie, the corgi, was barking at something last night. I couldn’t see a thing in the deep surrounding woods. When we went out this morning, I did see small tracks coming to nearly the house. Could it be a feral cat or raccoon? Hard to tell.
The sky was dark today with snow showers. I called the realtor about the property I told you about yesterday. The parcel is 15 acres of mostly rolling hills. I put my snow shoes on and went over to the property and climbed the hill to a good look out point. I can’t wait to find out if these are glacial moraines with kettle holes that are most likely dried up because of the drought.
According to Wikipedia, “Ground moraines are till covered areas with irregular topography and no ridges, often forming gently rolling hills or plains. It is accumulated under the ice by lodgement, but may also be deposited as the glacier retreats. In alpine glaciers ground moraine is located between the two lateral moraines. Ground moraine may be formed into drumlins by the overriding ice.”
Wisconsin has this type of moraine. We also have drumlins so the next step is to find someone knowledgable in glacial moraines to see if this property is in fact a left over from the glaciers. That is exciting. There appears to be small deep ravines between the many moraines. One can literally walk across the top and look down into the depths of the kettle holes.
Wikipedia states,” If glacial drift is then placed around the ice, a depression on the surface called a kettle hole can be created when the ice melts . Kettle holes are commonly found on moraine and outwash plain deposits. Large kettle holes that reach below the water table can form into lakes.” Kettle holes can also form swamps, bogs, and marshes.
The snow was coming down as I climbed the hill. I heard a raven in the far woods on the other side of the old farm. I could look down on Sandy’s and Pat’s cabin across the way and I felt like I was standing on top of a mountain. There are lots of flat areas up here and it would be a good place to camp.
It is absolutely great for snowshoeing. I went a lot further than I expected. I wanted so much to keep going but my toes were starting to get cold and I didn’ want to tempt frost bite. I found one large rock and stopped to honor it. I feel rocks are the grandfathers as taught by the Ojibwe. They hold more knowledge than any other living thing. I put down tobacco to honor the rock’s presence.
I want to walk deep into these woods. There were so many tracks there must be a regular menagerie of critters living out here. Mostly deer tracks were seen. Perhaps I saw mouse trails because I saw tail shapes in snow. There appeared to be lots of holes where little critters could take cover. Some more snow was pawed away for animals looking for grass to eat.
As a nonprofit, I am going to look to see if there are any grants for protecting forests. If so perhaps we could apply for a grant. It looks like the forest nearest the road was clear-cut. The older upland forest appears to be old forest. I won’t know what kind of trees and what percentage are in good shape till next spring when I see the forest green up. We may be in oak country which would mean the soil is acidic.
All I know is that I had the loveliest time all by myself in the Great North Woods. No chance of getting lost, my snowshoes leave a trail.
Stay happy readers where ever you are.
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