Isn't it amazing what some people will do for fun or profit? Cabot has had a rash of mailbox bashings going on in the past weeks - a considerable amount of damage done all over town, we're told. Then last week there were reports of pet dogs being abducted in the St. Johnsbury and Danville area. Who knows what the thieves have in mind to do with the poor animals? People are being advised to keep their animals close and know where they are at all times.

We were snowshoeing in our wood lot today. The air was brisk, but we were able to stay out of the wind and were very comfortable. There is at least a foot of snow in most places because our land slopes to the northeast and doesn't get the sun as much this time of the year. We are always interested in how the wildlife is doing. Today we were excited to see moose tracks in several places, we thought perhaps there may have been more than one. Of course it could have been just a lone moose confused about what direction to take . . .

There are always lots of bunny tracks, and of course coyote and/or fox tracks. We have a hard time distinguishing between a coyote and fox. We didn't flush any partridges today, but as we were coming home we found where the wild turkeys have been hanging out just in back of our house where there's a good supply of dried ferns and swamp grasses to forage on. Until the last couple of days there was open water as well, but with temperatures near zero the last couple of nights, the runoff has turned to ice in most spots.

We thought we saw deer tracks, too, but they weren't fresh and we've had a little snow over the past couple of days so it was hard to tell. I've been told deer and moose don't hang out together; but I expect the moose was probably just passing through. The moose in the picture is the one that hung out around West Danville and at the beach a few winters ago.