...I just don't like it very much.
Actually, as long as it doesn't snow and make the roads a mess I don't mind winter too much. I like it when the leaves are off the trees and you can really see things in the woods. Birds are tough to spot in the summer because when they're in trees they're almost always hidden much of the time.
Sounds seem to carry better in winter, too. If the wind is calm you can hear animals a long way off. The other day I heard a Pileated woodpecker from at least and eighth of a mile, maybe more. Thwack, thwack, thwack as he slowly wacked away at a tree trunk. Today I saw two Pileateds flying and moving around in the trees. No leave, no problem.
When it gets too cold, though, you have to cover up all your exposed skin and then you feel like a mummy. Today was one of those days: 15º with a windchill of -2º. I took a facemask hat along, but decided not to use it because the woods would shield us from the wind, at least partially. So I pulled on a knit hat over my ball cap to cover my ears.
But I don't feel comfortable with my ears covered because it really impedes hearing and you often pick up animals with your ears rather than your eyes. And if you pull the hat down far enough it cuts your vision as well. How often have you picked up movement in your peripheral vision? Lots of times, I'd guess. I know I have.
So for whatever reason we didn't see too much wildlife today. Not a squirrel, nor a deer. Lots of woodpeckers moving around again, though. In addition to the Pileated woodpeckers we saw Downy woodpeckers and a Red-bellied. Chickadees and Nuthatches, too.
Dogs seem to pick up more scents in the winter. Maybe because there's no background smell from flowers and plants. Don't know why or how, just seems to be.
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