It was -15°C with a windchill of -25°C, but if you are dressed for it, it's not cold. But dressing for it means you miss some photos while fumbling with mitts etc.....
The flag and grass were blowing in the wind off the Ottawa River
What I had not expected was water flowing over the main trail. I knew from recent visits to other locations on the Ottawa River that the level was up, but I wasn't expecting open water. The ice not only creaked but gave off loud cracking sounds as I approached the open water areas. There was evidence of someone else stepping through the ice, so I elected not to venture further.
I checked the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board website, since mid-December the river level was gone up almost 3 feet. The following two photos show the difference at Ozzies Marina Dec 16 vs Jan 9. Note the walkway sloping down on Dec 16 and sloping up on Jan 9. Plus the water level behind the boat "parked" on the ramp.
There was open water downstream of the culverts
The flooding was evident on the Ottawa River shoreline. The ice was piled up offshore
Turtle Trail was icy; in the "higher" areas from the recent rain, and in the lower areas from the flooding
Unlike last visit, there was no open water around the beaver lodge on Turtle trails
But a first for me at Petrie, an ermine weasel ran out from under the shoreside of the beaver lodge and quickly crossed the the trail in front of me. I didn't get my mitts off fast enough to get a photo of it.
The photo posted here is an AI generated image of an ermine weasel. They are brown, with white bellies in the summer.
The weasel was taking long strides in crossing the trail and slipped on the ice at one point
The Basswood Trail from the culverts were well flooded in most spots. There were spots where you could see the river level had risen and lowered.
In one spot, there was freshly frozen water on the trail.
There is a spot on the Basswood Trail just before you get to the canoe launch which is a little low, the ice level was very apparent there. A few interesting designs were in the ice.
The chickadees, nuthatches and squirrels were thankful that someone has been supplying them with seeds along the Basswood Trail
Another missed photo, a vole ran out across the trail very quickly, By the time I had my mitts off, it was well ensconced in the underbrush and didn't want it's photo taken. A vole resembles a mouse, but has slightly smaller ears, a shorter tail and is a bit "flatter".
This is an AI Generated image of a vole. I think the ears are a little too big on it.
Vole tracks in the light snow covering over the ice.
I did manage to get a photo of a very emaciated looking chipmunk and its tracks
There were lots of animal tracks, I am no track expert, but some guesses....
A squirrel (not sure where it was going?😊)
Perhaps a bit small for a coyote, but not sure what else. A feral cat? (My foot print for comparison)
Coyote/cat(?) and small animals tracks crossing. Obviously not at the sametime, or there would have been one less small animal
Mouse/vole track leading into/out of a hollow log
