I have long enjoyed this pursuit, by making note of events such as the annual migrations of birds and the first appearance of various flowers and buds each year. (For example, this post on my old blog from several years ago) Despite my long fascination with phenological observations, I have only recently become more purposefully searching for the less often noticed seasonal events. It was my wife who drew my attention to the particular occurrence for which this post is written.
Recently we were blessed with unusually warm weather for the beginning of March in northern Minnesota. After a few days in the 40's and 50's, the snow was disappearing from the ground as its moisture clung to the misty spring air. While embarking on a family outing in our woods, my wife pointed out the recently uncovered winter dwelling of a field mouse (or Vole). The top snows have melted, exposing the the hard-packed habitat below.
Here, in a closer look, one can see a nesting area on the left (complete with strands of shed hair), a pantry full of food stores on the right, and what I have lightheartedly interpreted as a primary restroom in the middle (judging upon the increased density of mouse droppings).
Here is a zoomed in view of the pantry.
I was carrying both our baby and my camera, which prevented me from observing any closer; but from that moment of our walk, I was on the look out for further signs of voles.
I had often stopped throughout the winter to observe their tunnel exits in the snow, such as this one photographed in January:
This was my first time observing the full expansive network of tunnels that had been buried and used under the snow for months.
To both of us, it was fascinating and completely unconcerning to see these freshly uncovered caverns.
That was, until we saw that they were not limited to our far off forest and fields. This final picture was taken from our front porch, looking straight down.
With what NPR recently reported regarding the correlation between populations of rodents and cases of Lyme disease, we are going to want find a cat come spring.
