April 22, 2018 - The Mystery Bone

It's always fun to run into a friend who is also out enjoying the sights and sounds of nature.  Last week I bumped into Russ Brummer, a teacher at New Hampton School, out with a couple of his students on field trip, and we talked a bit about interesting things we had seen over the winter.  After we had gone our separate ways I thought, I should have asked him about a mystery Linda and I had been working on (after all, Russ is the Science Department Chair at the New Hampton School and has degrees in Biology and Environmental Studies!).  Linda had found this fox scat (or possibly coyote scat) that featured a prominent bone protruding from it.

Fox scat with an unusual bright-white object sticking out

At least it looked like a bone to me.  But after separating it to look closer, it didn't have the structure of any bone I could recall.

Hollow and folded construction made me think bird

So when I got home I sent a few pictures to Russ to see what he could offer.  He immediately proposed that it was a tooth.  Since I happen to have a couple of animal jaws that I have collected from my walks over the years I went to look them over.

Deer and beaver bones

Deer teeth are sharp and pointy

It doesn't look like a deer tooth.

Beaver teeth however have that folded characteristic

So sure enough, it is a tooth, and most definitely a molar from a beaver!  It makes one wonder if the fox caught a beaver, or more likely was just gnawing on the leftovers of one that had died or was killed by something else.  Either way, thanks Russ for solving the mystery!

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After a few steps forward, spring took a step backward this week with another cold stretch and a touch of snow that brought us back to winter scenes.

Wicwas from Crockett's Ledge

But the past few days have put us back on the right track, with ice in Meredith Bay receding down the lake, and the ice on Wicwas showing signs of softening as it turns from white to dark gray.

Ice in Meredith Bay is almost to Church Landing

There is a large section of Wicwas that had turned black by noon today

I also saw my first Great Blue Heron of the season, fishing in the ice off the Harris Conservation Area, and just today, the first wood frogs were singing in a vernal pool, calling to their mates that spring is here.  Other signs of spring are joining in too:

Bright Blue Jays

An oak is born

It won't be much longer now, and with the weather finally changing I look forward to seeing more friends out on the trails - and soon enough on the lakes - with more mysteries to share and solve.

Late breaking news:  The first loons were spotted on Lake Wicwas today, in the open channel of water along the north side of the lake!  (Thanks AC & TC!)