FIELD NOTES: Winter Neighbors
~ by Jim Eagleman
In his 1886 poem, Winter Neighbors, John Burroughs wrote:
“... the best-kept grounds relapse to a state of nature; under the pressure of the cold all the wild creatures become outlaws, and roam abroad beyond their usual haunts …”
The author remarks of living close to a few animals that sought safety and warmth in his house. A rabbit takes up residency under his floorboards, and since it ventured out at night, he suspects he disturbed the rabbit’ s sleep more than it disturbed his. It might be he is more tolerant of his wild neighbors than us; any nibbling, gnawing, or scampering of clawed feet in the house is usually met with a strategy to buy more mouse traps. Our wood pile in the shed, as evident by the nests of bark and grass I disturb, looks like a mouse court was called into session.
A professor once stated to us young wildlife students that winter is the most severe, lifethreatening time for animals. Many won’ t make it, he said. In the same breath, he suggested we dress better for our next time afield, or we might experience a similar fate. The class was held during a winter term. We ventured out in drizzling rain, nearly unbearable cold— once in an absolute blizzard. What lessons we learned made a life-long impression. I can still recall my cold feet and the deep snow, and from my amateur perspective, how tough it must be for wild creatures.
Crossing a field to the road, we came upon a roadkilled‘ possum that was quite flat. A grad student and class clown said it made a great frisbee as he picked it up and attempted to sail it past us. Normal jokes ensued. The professor wasn’ t impressed and said to look closely at the possum’ s ears. We found them as
48 Our Brown County • Jan./ Feb. 2020