Spruces in Winter

Vanessa Welsh was our guide from the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation.

Margaret and the middle school students teamed up
with us for a soggy adventure!

Vanessa covered a lot of ground with us in terms of
animal adaptations for winter living, especially for non-hibernators!

We inspected the handy work of busy beavers,
who we discovered have amazing adaptations for their lifestyles.

We also discovered the importance of huddling!

Noah gets somewhat used to his snowshoes.

Vanessa shows us the squirrel cache of Engleman Spruce
pine cone shavings. Apparently they eat them like corn on the cob and make a big mess while doing it. However, it works out great for the Spruces!

Here, we find an easy entrance (possibly for a weasel or vole)
into the insulated subnivian zone.

We learned how to identify coyote tracks that wind
around from place to place.

Despite the cold and wetness, we learned a lot
and discovered some of the benefits (at least, for non-humans!)
of wintering in the sub-alpine habitat!