Snow

There is a dusting of snow in the park this morning, which reminds me so much of the differences between the winters here in Pittsburgh and what we experience back in Minnesota. This snow won't last. It will not stay cold enough for long enough, and perhaps the topography also allows for snow to melt and run off into the river better here than it does on flat plains, where it seems to pile on with each successive storm.

Leaves stick out from the thin dusting, very dry and grey now. I am glad that the squirrels have had their opportunity to store food for the winter, although I know now from research that squirrels do not hibernate. Which causes me to wonder: where do they go? I never see squirrels moving around very much during winter months. I suppose that they are easier prey for predators against a white landscape, such as this. But what eats squirrels? Birds of prey? In Minnesota, there was a large population of hawks, kestrels and falcons, some of which may be big enough to haul away a squirrel in its claws. There is a sanctuary there for them, actually, along the Mississippi River, and occasionally you may see one flying, even above the densely populated city, where light and noise pollution ought to scare them off. It occurs to me that I do not see many of these types of birds in Western Pennsylvania, if at all. But perhaps I have not been looking hard enough. Perhaps now, on days when the sky is clear and cloudless and they are not blocked out by the leaves of trees, is the right time to start looking.

People do not seem to inhabit the park in the same density as I am accustomed too now, either. There is a barrenness to it, even though some grass still sticks out through the thin layer of fluffy snow. As the cold settles in, I wonder how well the park will function as a community gathering space. The thickets of wood here does not well suit snowshoing or cross-country skiing; besides, neither of these are big pastimes in Pennsylvania anyway, and the snow rarely accumulates enough to facilitate doing either.

When the weather is warm and spring-like, the paths are crowded and there are people in almost every clearing. It will be interesting to see how winter affects this landscape.