Winter Adjustments.....

- We often cope with winter by turning on the heat within our homes, building a fire, or adding clothing when outside. Many reduce the time spent outdoors...while others prefer the cool to cold conditions for hiking, camping, and enjoying the outdoors. Ever wonder how the fauna cope with winter conditions? A few thoughts.......

- The Whitetail Deer (bottom photo) cope by adding insulating layers of fat, especially along the backbone, during the fall. Also, their coat becomes thicker and the dense hairs of the integument (air filled) are excellent insulators. This explains why we often see snow accumulating on the backs of the deer. These factors are especially pronounced in the northern states as well as The Rockies, where the winter conditions are more harsh than the temperate Southeast.

- The Bobwhite (top two photos...look closely) is well insulated as well..... with overlappping layers of down covered by the well insulated primary feathers. This covey was photographed recently in Stone Creek.

- Snakes, being cold-blooded, are driven below ground in autumn. They congregate in large groups, with several species present, often beneath rocks and rock ledges.... on hillsides with southern exposure. Lizards follow a similar adjustment cycle.

- Many species of birds, though warm blooded, migrate.....some only to the Gulf Coast, Florida, or Texas...while other species migrate all the way to Latin America or South America. Other species stay with us year round.....species such as Chickadees, Titmice, Cardinals, and various species of woodpeckers.

- Woodchucks, though a warm blooded mammal (Order Rodentia), makes quite an adjustment as well, similar to the Black Bear. Woodchucks gorge in the autumn...vegetation (they love clover), grasses, corn, or whatever they can find. In mid-autumn, as the temperatures lower, the 'chuck goes underground (burrows may be 30+' feet...with a defecation chamber/sleeping chamber) and becomes dormant for long periods of time. The heartbeat of the 'chuck may go from the 90s/min to less than 5/min. Internal body temperature falls from the 90s to around 40 F. Like Ursus americanus (the Black Bear), the Woodchuck, in abnormally warm winter weather, may emerge from the den for a look around....only to return when the weather cools. Interestingly, mating usually occurs in February, when one would suppose they are still mostly inactive. Also, Groundhog Day (February 2) is not, as legend might suggest, the day the Woodchucks become active. In fact, it is usually later, especially in the northern climes.

Once in a lifetime.....

- Will Geer, as his horse plodded through the deep snow toward Robert Redford's forested mountain top perch.... in the 1972 movie "Jeremiah Johnson"....simply stated...."Cold up here".....

- Unseasonably cold the last few days and snow is forecast for tomorrow....but I get the feeling most area residents are actually looking forward to a bit of snow....

- Almanac averages for today (on our section of the Cumberland Plateau) are 47/27....but we have not seen 47 in a few days now. Next week they say.

- Once in a lifetime....Infrequently through my wilderness wanderings have I spotted the Bobcat (Felis rufus)...perhaps 4-5 times in my lifetime. Always I have admired the independence and wariness of these secretive, solitary animals. I heard 'coon hunters speak of them in my youth....and actually spotted one, many years ago, in a dry creekbed in a wilderness area of northern Tennessee....and I will never forget the beauty and grace of that lithe cat as it literally sailed from the creekbed into dry leaves and though running through the dry leaves (the padded feet are very large), made only a whisper of sound as it disappeared into thick growth. Even then I knew I had witnessed something special.

- After years of traveling hopefully, in terms of a photo of a Bobcat, this week I finally got my chance and this time, unlike other times, fate was kind.....Top photo....just before darkness fell this young cat, from a distance of perhaps 300 yards, was spotted in the middle of the road. As I approached, as anticipated, the animal quickly leaped into a wooded roadside ravine. Excited, I drove past, parked and hurried back down the road, camera ready. Staring into the forest along the road produced nothing for maybe 4-5 minutes. Then, a desperate maneuver...I began 'meowing' like a cat. I noticed movement....the cat then came out of the ravine (if he had stayed...game over) and walked quickly into the field where this photo was taken. Just after the photo was taken this Felis, no doubt confused, actually ran right at me! He then turned and ran through a narrow wooded area. I thought for a fleeting instant life was about to become a bit too exciting...then the cat disappeared in front of my eyes, camoflouged in the long grass and leaves so well that I did not see it again until it ran across the road and melted into the forest.

- The Bobcat is not a threat to humans and seeing them is most often a sign of a healthy ecosystem. The animal pictured was a young one, though this is difficult to tell in the photo. I would estimate this specimen to be less than one year old.

- The bottom scene, also taken this week, stopped me in my tracks. This photo, taken early one morning along Highway 127, is of Black Mountain, located about 35 miles north of Dunlap. The morning sun on the frozen limbs created quite a winter scene. This mountain, at just over 3,000' above sea level, is the highest elevation in our area, and though I am not certain, could be the highest in Tennessee, other than The Smokies. I have hiked parts of Black Mountain and it is as wild and majestic as the photo indicates.