This wintery first day of a new year finds me thinking about what lies beneath the snow. Is the river otter actively fishing in the icy waters of Spanish Creek between rests in a relatively warm den in the river bank? How far did the seeds of this particular cat-o-nine-tail disperse before coming to rest in sol for next summer's crop? Could some have landed in that same creek and made it all the way to the San Joaquin Delta and be destined to start their new life there? And the Jerusalem cricket: I'm not sure if I photographed this one in Plumas County or Mendocino County? If in Plumas County, hopefully he or she is a foot or more below the surface and dormant. In the case of Mendocino County, the place where I usually photographed them stays warm enough in winter that they could remain active except for occasional cold spells. Either way, a certain percentage of them probably perish each winter. Looking out over the snow, it is hard to imagine anything remaining alive through the winter. In spring, the whole menagerie reappears. I can hardly wait.
This wintery first day of a new year finds me thinking about what lies beneath the snow. Is the river otter actively fishing in the icy waters of Spanish Creek between rests in a relatively warm den in the river bank? How far did the seeds of this particular cat-o-nine-tail disperse before coming to rest in sol for next summer's crop? Could some have landed in that same creek and made it all the way to the San Joaquin Delta and be destined to start their new life there? And the Jerusalem cricket: I'm not sure if I photographed this one in Plumas County or Mendocino County? If in Plumas County, hopefully he or she is a foot or more below the surface and dormant. In the case of Mendocino County, the place where I usually photographed them stays warm enough in winter that they could remain active except for occasional cold spells. Either way, a certain percentage of them probably perish each winter. Looking out over the snow, it is hard to imagine anything remaining alive through the winter. In spring, the whole menagerie reappears. I can hardly wait.
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