Scatterings on Snow

This past week, I heard them say on the news, that every state except Florida had some sort of snow cover. So, if ever there was a time to talk about things you can look for on the snow, this would be that time.

We were fortunate enough on the Cape to get a fresh layer of snow on top of the slush that began our storm. Good for tracking, but not so formidable that you need snow shoes to go out looking. My dog and I headed out the morning after the snow, but I knew that because of the blowing wind, we were unlikely to find many tracks, for any wise animal would have slept in. Other than my dog and I, squirrels and mice had been the only ones venturing out.

But, now it is Saturday and in the ensuing days many, including people, have been out and about, leaving their trails to be seen and their activities to be guessed at. Oh happy day, it looked like the fox, what I am hoping is a fox, trotted through the neighbors yard and headed for the overgrown bog on this side of the track. Not surprisingly, it seemed to favor walking in soft snow on the ridge of the trail, rather than the uneven pitfalls of the main trail where boots and larger paws had left uneven craters. I followed it as far as I could until my 68” height had to bend far more than its 25” and I gave up.

But the title of this little essay leads one to believe we are not talking about tracking, but something else, the “scatterings” (a word apparently of my own invention) on the snow. The tree “dandruff”, the seeds, the amazing variety of things you see blown over the snow that can tell you, if nothing else, which way the wind was blowing. The scraggy Pitch pines that are prevalent here in the sandy soil of the Cape put out seeds all year long. All the better to start a little sprout I suppose. You can see them on the snow, delicate little seeds with a one sided wing to help them spiral away from the parent tree. Sometimes I find them intact, sometimes, the small seed has been eaten and only the small wing remains.


Once I was walking down the tracks when suddenly, the snow seemed covered with tiny crosses. Remember, I am out there praying often, so this seemed like some celestial moment. What they turned out to be, were the seeds of the White Birch tree. We, of course, tend to look down when we walk, to keep from stumbling, but it is always a “tadaa” moment when you see something scattered on the ground, then look up and say, of course, it came from that tree.

The “tree dandruff”, scales of the bark scattered around the base of the tree, is interesting because it often shows you that, either some squirrel or other animal has been routinely going up and down this tree, or if the chunks of tree are larger and part of the pulpwood, than clearly a woodpecker has been at work. This happens throughout the year but is so clearly seen against the white snow.

We all know squirrels bury their acorns in the fall, but walk out in winter and you will see how many open holes there are, often with the nutshell still there proving they are pretty amazing at finding these solitary caches. They are using their sense of smell to do it.
One wonders however, if it is the nut they buried, or someone else’s. What code of ethics would keep you from sniffing up someone else’s treasure and not eating it? And of course, some are never found and a tree is born that way.

So, if you happen to live in any state other than Florida, I invite you out into the woods, or just your back yard to see what the snow is showing off. Bearing in mind that one of the most dazzling things it shows off is itself. This morning was a sunny morning, and the untouched, wide snowfields that cover the bog were fields of diamonds. No tree dandruff, no galloping dogs to mar the bog itself. Just a field of diamonds, a sight fit for a king, bestowed on lowly us, for no cost whatsoever.
What are you waiting for then? Out with you, for depending on where you live, this snow won’t last forever. It may only seem to!