Rodent run

One of the great joys of this winter is the fact that, although it arrived late, it arrived with abundant snow... and snow that didn't turn to rain, warmth, refreezing: the all-too-typical conditions that, all too often for this cross-country skier, gave me an altogether useless surface to travel on. Good snow has meant that I've been able to ski just about every day for almost a month, so I've traded in my usual walking route for a ski track through the back woods. I got out in the late afternoon—I've had to work many hours on writing projects (not that I'm complaining)—and, weather-proof camera in the pocket of one of the many layers I had on, I was gliding reasonably competently on my ancient Trak skis. Not long into my first lap—the ski track's about a quarter-mile long—I noticed a fresh runway, a snow-way, really, pushed up earlier, probably during the night, by a rodent tunneling just below the surface. Mice and shrews are great tunnelers, and by traveling that way, they minimize exposure to the cold, since snow is a terrific insulator. It also offers some modest protection from predators, like coyotes, foxes, hawks, and owls, who are watching the surface for possible meals. The ski-way is a sign that some small creature has passed through, but without telltale footprints, any ID would have to be pretty general.