By Jerry Walls

jwalls443@yahoo.com>

Even though we are in the grip of a cold winter, nature continues to amaze me.

You would think that the cold would curtail most of nature's creatures from being very active. Over the past couple of weeks or so I have found this to be untrue.

It snowed recently (twice actually) where I live. Enough to stay on the ground for most of the next day. The night it snowed, a cottontail rabbit was out feeding under a bird feeder as if it was business as usual. The spilled bird seed made for a convenient quick meal under the frigid conditions. The rabbit hopped around through the white, fluffy flurries as if it was no big deal.

The rabbit wasn't the only mammal foraging on and under the layer of cold, white flakes. I watched a deer intently pawing at the ground. Uncovering the snow-covered corn that I put out to feed whatever finds it.

The afternoon of the snow, a large moth caterpillar was making its way across the exposed yard trying to reach some ground cover about 40 feet away. It was late in the afternoon with the sun falling low in the sky. Cold with the approaching snow only a few hours away.

My first thought was to let nature take its course. I studied the little caterpillar for a few moments. At its slow pace it surely would not make it to the safety of the ground cover and fallen logs before the inevitable snowfall.

Reluctantly, I scooped up the bristly little caterpillar and placed it next to the fallen logs that had depressions running under them. Figured the little critter might be able to get under a log to avoid being exposed to and completely covered by the snow.

I felt somewhat guilty in my intervention with the course of nature but felt bad in leaving the caterpillar stranded under the coming snow. Don't know if the caterpillar survived the storm or not.

The morning after the snow, the birds were at the feeders in large numbers. Sparrows, juncos, cardinals, titmice, chickadees, blue jays and red-bellied woodpeckers were all actively feeding to restore their sources of energy.

Have you ever seen a brilliant bright red male cardinal sitting against the pure white back drop of a fresh snowfall? Until now, I had only seen this beautiful sight on a Christmas card!

One of the most amazing experiences occurred after dark. Going outside with our dogs (they loved the fluffy white stuff on the ground, romping, running and sliding through the unusual foreign matter all over their yard), suddenly a chorus of calling frogs emanated from a water filled ditch in our front yard. I thought for a moment how cold they must be in their aquatic domain. Especially since they are cold blooded and subject to the surrounding air and water temperature. Snow and calling frogs just didn't seem to match-up. But then I came to the conclusion that they know what they are doing. Nature always knows what to do.

I have read that some creatures develop a sort of "animal anti-freeze" in their systems to cope with cold weather. That is why nature is so fascinating and full of surprises!

Spring is just around the corner, and we can look forward to seeing all the animals start their daily business of enjoying warmer weather. For now, the world rests and waits.

Enjoy your nature trails.

For questions or comments, send an e-mail to jwalls443@yahoo.com.

Jerry Walls is a Naturalist and birding/nature guide who offers programs at schools, libraries and birthday parties. He also presents information through the Georgetown County Parks & Recreation Department.