Saturday Sharing With Coffee. #5

Happy Saturday to everyone! It is cloudy but much milder this morning with a temperature of just -2F (-19C). It felt so different putting the feeders out this morning, none of that air choking cold to breathe. And milder weather is on the way for next week! It will even get above freezing one day, so it will be a nice week, even if the forecast is not completely accurate, which it usually is not.

One time in the month of February it had started off very cold like this year, then it warmed up to normal, so I decided it would be a good time to do some snowshoeing. I went out to our cottage early one morning and figured I would walk around the property a bit. I knew there were some natural springs in one area and I wanted to see if they stayed open or if they froze in that cold snap. On went the snowshoes and off I went into the snow heading in the direction of those springs.

White-tailed deer, buck.

I knew of two springs, with clear, cold water. They were in natural holes about 3 feet wide and 3 to 4 feet deep. I had the water tested and it was perfectly acceptable for drinking. The first one was open, clear and cold. The second one had a thin layer of ice on top, but I could poke my finger through it easily. I kept going. I guess there are no more springs, I thought to myself. Then suddenly the snow gave way beneath me and I found myself waist deep in icy cold water!

I guess it must have had a layer of ice on it and the snow covered it, so I just did not know it was there, until it was too late. Because I was wearing snowshoes, they kind of got stuck in that hole and I could not move them at all. The thought of dipping into the cold water completely to unstrap my feet did not thrill me at all. Half wet is not as bad as totally wet. The temp was about 28F (-2C) at the time, I am not sure about the water, but it sure felt cold. There was a tree branch close by so I grabbed that and tried to pull myself loose.

White-tailed deer, a doe and 2 young.

One snowshoe came loose so I could raise my foot and loosen the strap to get my foot out. Then I could use that foot to help loosen the other snowshoe and soon I was out standing in the snow. I was rather cold by this time and still had quite a walk back to my little cabin where I could get some heat. I put my snowshoes back on and while I was doing so I had that feeling again, of being watched. I looked around but could not see anything.

I put on the other snowshoe and while doing so I thought there was a noise behind me. I turned and looked carefully, but there were so many small shrubs and trees that I could not see very far. Nothing there anyway. I started walking but could not shake that feeling of being watched. I turned and there was a huge wolf drinking water from that hole I had fallen into. Good for him, I will just leave, quickly. That was definitely the largest wolf I had ever seen.

White-tailed deer, a doe and fawn.

After a while I turned to see if he was still there. He was very close behind me and he stopped walking when I did. Wolves are not usually a problem to people, but they are a wild animal and therefore a person should always be careful when wolves are around. Especially when they are close. Like this one. He was now only 10 feet behind me and when I stopped again to look he actually growled. That part I did not like too much, but really nothing I could do about him, so I kept walking and praying he would leave me alone.

Soon the cabin was in sight and that was certainly good, I was very cold by that time. I got into the cabin and got a nice fire burning in the old wood burning stove. The wolf had stopped when I got next to the cabin and once I was inside he kept on going onto the road and then disappeared into the trees. Guess he liked the easier walking rather than going through that deep snow. Oh well. I would too. Wish I could have gotten a picture of him, but I had no camera at that time. Have a great weekend everyone and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2023 Steve McLeod.