2008 Crane Island Snow

A long otter snow slide now runs from the hill up above our house, along our path, and down to the beach next door. On the south side of the island a mink has left a corrugated trail of hopping and sliding. All over the island the deer seem to wander aimlessly and always up the steepest part of a hill and through the densest salal. What are they thinking? Though I saw many raccoon tracks a few days ago, they seem to be taking time off now. Ten days ago, before the wind, snow, and then bitter cold the crows came by to pick the ripe red berries from the Madrona outside. They couldn't reach some of the berries - because there weren't branches nearby to perch on. So the next several days, smaller birds, like the varied thrush, thoroughly cleaned up the leftovers, some out of the light snow  where other birds had carelessly dropped them. Yesterday I saw sparrows picking through seed heads on the tall grass standing above the snow in the meadow to the north. We usually think that snow covers and hides but it also reveals - for me on Crane a whole history of comings and goings I could only have guessed at. The return of the sun, the celebration of the light, the recognition of new life in winter, the bustling of the animals while the plants sleep, a new year coming with a new President. What a miracle we live within.