TRACKS IN THE SNOW

In the quietness of the early morning, he sat staring out the window at the first winter snow. He got up and went to the kitchen to pour another cup of coffee. The thermometer out the window showed that the temperature was in the mid-teens again, as it had been for several mornings lately. At least it was not windy and causing single-digit wind chills.

He loves watching shows like Alaska the Last Frontier, Mountain Men, Life Below Zero, and movies like Jeremiah Johnson. But this was southwest Missouri, for goodness sake. What happened to global warming?

As he stood there looking out the kitchen window, staring at the cold, he counted over fifty birds coming into the feeders and the seeds he had scattered on the ground for them. The woodpeckers pecked at the frozen suet cakes. Birds were on every feeder. Other birds pecked around anywhere they could find a seed. Three squirrels joined them. They all needed the food to warm their little bodies.

Suddenly, the birds and squirrels scattered as a red-tailed hawk flew above them looking for breakfast. Winter is hard on those who live out in it every day.

The birds soon returned. Put more bird feed out, he reminded himself, and maybe some corn for the squirrels who couldn’t find an acorn under the snow. He went to his home office to start writing a story about what he had seen.

Most days lately had been cloudy, dreary, and depressing. But, this day, the sunrise shined on the snow, and it sparkled like millions of tiny diamonds were scattered on top of it.

His smartphone dinged. He picked it up to see several pictures of kids from church playing in the snow with big smiles. He and his wife had gifted them with their grandkids sleds no longer used. Along with the pictures was a text from their Dad telling him they loved the sleds. The man smiled.

He and his wife had watched out the windows yesterday at the four neighbor kids playing in the snow with their Dad. The 6-year-old, 4-year-old, and 3-year-old twins were having a great time. Dad was making memories. They also had one of the old sleds. They also enjoyed it. The man smiled thinking about it.

He thought they would probably come knocking on the door sometime that day. They would want him to come out and play in the snow with them while Dad was at work. They were their adopted Papa and Grandma. They loved that.

Later that morning, he stopped writing and looked out his office window. The sun was shining. After watching the birds and thinking about the kids having so much fun, the snow suddenly seemed beautiful and inviting to him.

He took his final sip of coffee, got up from his chair, and started putting lots of warm clothes on. He figured if the Kilcher family from his favorite television show could do it, and if the kids could get outdoors and have so much fun, he could get out and enjoy it.

He remembered when he was younger. If it were deer season, this would not have stopped him from being out hunting from a treestand. He had also been crappie fishing in this type of weather. Besides, he had read somewhere that getting outside is good for your body and soul no matter the weather.

As he was getting ready, his smartphone dinged again. He read a text from a friend. Knowing that he loved watching Alaska TV shows, the friend had sent him a story about a lady in Alaska who went to the outhouse. When she sat down on the hole, a bear bit her on the butt.

When her husband heard the screams and came running, a very stinky black bear came out from under the outhouse and ran off into the woods. Her husband successfully treated her wounds. They will now have quite a story to tell their kids and grandkids. She probably won’t be showing her scars.

The man didn’t have an outhouse like he did when growing up, and black bears should still be hibernating so he felt that he would be safe. He chuckled and finished putting his clothes on.

After putting another log in the wood stove, he ventured into the winter wonderland. The first thing he did was feed the birds and put out a little water for them since everything was frozen. He then started a fire in his fire pit. If he got cold, he could warm himself. Then, he reached into his pocket for his smartphone, clicked on the camera, and started walking around his property taking pictures.

He was amazed at all the tracks he saw. There were a lot of bird tracks and squirrel tracks around the feeders. Rabbit tracks led into bushy tall grass and also under a storage building. Squirrel tracks were also in the snow, clinging to the sides of trees and then across the snow to another tree and then another. Near their tracks were holes where they were looking for acorns.

The tiny tracks he saw were probably field mice. Deer tracks were on the hill behind the house near his workshop/man cave. Dog or coyote tracks were there also. Raccoon tracks were on the dirt road behind. Tracks of little kids and sled tracks were on the hill nearby.

As he walked down the driveway to the front of his house, he noticed something strange in the front yard. There was a place with tracks and some disturbed snow, but no tracks going away from it. Was it a mouse or a mole? Did a red-tailed hawk finally get a meal? Maybe it was aliens! The mystery may never be known.

He kept walking around, taking lots of pictures. The sun reflected off icicles. He saw even more squirrel, rabbit, and deer tracks. The tracks in the snow were proof of how many wildlife critters also call his place home.

You never know what you will discover when you get outdoors away from the television and all the other screens that steal so much of our time every day. Dress warm and get outdoors. Enjoy the beauty God gives us with winter snow. May your tracks be with all the other tracks in the snow.