Who made these tiny tracks in the snow?

I was at a low-water road crossing on Mosquito Creek west of Nanton taking pictures of the flowing water and the warm-toned foliage around it when I happened to look down at the snow. Stamped in it were dozens of little paw prints that seemed to lead into and then back out of the dry sedges along the bank.

It looked like whoever made them had been hopping, bouncing a couple of inches at a time, skidding a bit on the ice underneath and then hopping again. A deer mouse maybe? A vole? Both are quite common and active all winter. But the tracks could possibly have been made by something hunting them, too.

A least weasel, maybe? They aren’t much bigger than the mice and voles that they hunt so, given the way the tracks ran into the sedges and then out again they could have been made by one of those little killers.

Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Noon News Roundup will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.

It was a pretty dull day out here on the northern slopes of the Porcupine Hills. The clouds were low and the air was scattered with ice crystals. The light was flat and featureless with a bluish tint but at least that made the bronze and ambers of the foliage along Mosquito Creek stand out against the flat white of the snow.

It was chilly, too, around -7C. But at least the wind was light. I could feel it on my face and the spots where my fingertips had worn through my old gloves but it was easily tolerable. A bit more blustery and it would have been mean but it was light enough that I could still hear the giggle of the creek and the magpies having a conversation among the willows.

I’ve gotta admit this last day of 2024 wasn’t quite as exciting as I thought it was going to be. For one thing, the weather forecast was failing me. When I’d headed south from the city it had........

© Calgary Herald