Following in the tracks of a buck

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Friday afternoon mid February and cabin fever is hittin hard.  Finished up a cellular respiration lab with the kids and busted out to feed the cats at the farm.

Even though the afternoon temps barely reached 10 * I decided to take my yearly hike out the cedar point across the valley from Marts lodge.  With a solid snow cover I followed a set of buck tracks behind the upper garden.  With so many places to go it was interesting to follow and see just where the buck would travel, 

 This time of the year the does would travel, feed and bed down together.

 This guy would walk, eat, crap and bed down under the cedars and pines.

Looking for sheds is a numbers game.  How many deer and how many bucks in the area, how much time are you putting in walking and looking.  With the snow cover you start to get an idea of how many deer are in the area and you start to see the patterns of movement. 

Sometimes you find a shed or a dead deer and other times something else finds it.

ICE ICE BABY

 First we had the snow and the bitter cold.

Then came the ice and more days off school.

 I bundled up and strapped on the yak tracks and hiked to look for sheds.  I found beds.

The .25" icy glaze made for some super fast sledding runs down to the yurt. 

This is a close up of Jacob's extra wide, custom ride.