Incredible snowshoeing in the Crane Mountain Reservation yesterday. An early forecast said there would be snow showers all day, so I didn't bring my camera, and was I sorry. Magnificent views of Crane Mountain from every angle, beautiful beaver swamps, and the tracks! Mink, least weasel, and red squirrel, and all kinds of evidence that indicated the forest was alive with animals when temps rose to 60 degrees last week.

Have you ever seen signs of pileated woodpeckers going beserk? My client and I did. The warm temps caused dormant insects deep inside the tree trunks to become active, and it seemed that everywhere we hiked on Friday and Saturday, we ran into signs that the pileated woodpecker had made a recent visit. He (and she!) prepared for feasting by digging big wood chips from the outer trunk layers to get at the insects inside using his long bill. The bugs must've tasted great after a long winter of slim pickings.