![](https://forgedmettlefarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/psx_20210110_081951666019419771561382.jpg?w=669)
It snowed recently – just an inch or so – but it was the kind of snow that makes even the ordinary (or poorly-lit and muddy) look, briefly, extraordinary. It also tells stories of real drama and intrigue, of unseen passersby looking for a meal on a cold night.
The first tracks I saw looked like they belonged to a member of the canid family (fox, coyote, and dog are all possible out here) – something bold enough to venture near the house. As I looked closely, though, it became clear that there had been multiple visitors overnight.
![](https://forgedmettlefarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/pxl_20210108_1436229522508483175625243349.jpg?w=1024)
In some places, the canid prints overlap with smaller, distinctively lagomorph prints. A fox following a rabbit’s trail?
Definitely rabbit Rabbit and fox? An encounter here?
Nearby, a different set of tracks showed where a deer had walked through.
![](https://forgedmettlefarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/pxl_20210108_143559801239421210738276495.jpg?w=1024)
By the tractors where juvenile chickens are living, another set of prints revealed something checking them out. Now wrapped in an overlay of plastic sheeting, these grow-out tractors are wrapped in 1″x1″ wire, covered by hardware cloth. A raccoon could reach through the rabbit wire, so the smaller wire is necessary to keep the chickens safe. No free chicken meals here.
![](https://forgedmettlefarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/pxl_20210108_1437445042832486095338525165.jpg?w=1024)
In another area, little birds had hopped around atop food bowls, as if anticipating cleaning up scraps (like leftover scratch and BOSS tossed out as a snack). Where’s breakfast??
![](https://forgedmettlefarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/pxl_20210108_1508360879104102175937494304.jpg?w=1024)
And the chickens? A little snow won’t stop them.
![](https://forgedmettlefarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/pxl_20210108_1447241064579167534249933382..jpg?w=1024)
These tracks only last as long as the snow does, but it’s fascinating to see how many animals come through here, usually unbeknownst to us.