Although it's hard to convince myself of the positive side of these walks when I'm donning waterproof shoes and wind-and-rain-resistant coat, facing cold winds that will cut through everything I have on, I do get to see some things that I'd probably miss otherwise.
Sometimes I even have my camera along to capture the experience. Here, for example, is one such time....
Look closely at this photo. See anything much besides a bunch of snags and last year's dead plant stems, waiting to decompose? I took this photo a week ago, on the day we woke up to snow. This was taken about mid morning, after most of the snow had melted but while the temperatures were still quite chilly.
Raccoons denning in hollow trees. Raccoons napping in snags. Woodpeckers nesting in holes, drilled into standing dead trees. Insects overwintering in standing dead plant stems or snuggled deep in leaf litter. We humans may see dead plants as ugly trash, messing up our landscape, but wild amimals view dead plants as shelter - safe, comfortable places to weather storms and cold and rain. Secure places to raise the next generation.
So, before you automatically cut down that dead tree at the back of your property, stop a minute and really analyze the situation. Is it likely to fall on a building or a person passing by? By all means, cut it down, and the sooner, the better! But if that dead tree is not likely to cause any harm, then consider leaving it as a sort of wildlife hotel. You never know what may decide to take up residence there!
