Snowshoeing

Today was a perfect day for getting out the snowshoes and hiking about the prairie path. We have had a lot of snow but today was sunny and not very windy. While walking along the bottom prairie path we noticed various animal tracks and that the river was not frozen over yet. But mostly I just enjoyed the beauty of the season and the company.

Crayfish

One of the (relatively) unique features of HabitatHome is a 200 yard stretch of the Salt Fork River, a branch of the Little Vermillion. The River is home to several varieties of fish, turtles, frogs, mussels and crayfish. We were out wading last week looking for mussels, and although we didn't find any live ones, we did find these crayfish, a large one (top, about 2.5-3.0 inches), and a small one (bottom, maybe 1.5 inches) about 10 feet upstream.

We have no experience identifying crayfish (among other things), so if you have any specific knowledge, please add comments. Rob Kanter has a nice post on Appeciating Illinois Crayfish at the Environmental Almanac blog, and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History maintains an extensive database, including information and many photos of Illinois species