How to Beat the Winter Blues by Animal Tracking for fun
It's snowing again outside, and it's wonderful! Well, to me and a lot of children it's wonderful. How often have you seen a child running to a window and peering out at the falling snow with a big smile and a pumpkin like face. Most children love snow and the more the better. I know when I was a child I certainly loved the snow and for two reasons, if often kept me home from School that day, and it made for a very fun day playing in it.
Now as we grow from children into adults we often stop playing in the snow and having such fun, especially if were males, since we have to act the tough and rugged way instead of showing emotions like a child's joy. Those that are lucky enough to have a playful spouse or children, know that this is a bunch of crap. Joy and having fun is something we all need to experience, a world without laughter and fun would not be a very nice place for anyone.
On them cold winter days if your an adult and you find yourself alone, bundle up in winter clothing and get outside and track animals for fun. Now this works for both those of you that live in the country or on the outskirts of a town. If you live right in a town or city, you won't be able to do it very well, unless you own property with a huge yard, some shrubs and trees where animals may hide.
Now, you will need some snow cover, not a big snow, just enough so that you can clearly see some fresh animal tracks in it. To make it more fun, take a digital camera with you. If you live in the country or some wilderness area, use common sense and don't go far from home or into some area, that you are not familiar with, as no one wants to get lost and especially in the winter time. When you find some fresh animal tracks near your residence, take a photo of them, do you recognize the type of animal that made the tracks?
Some neat animals to track, are deer, rabbits, squirrels, and opossums, as they are all out in the winter time. Make sure you recognize the types of animals in your area, because you don't want to track down an animal and have it be a cougar, bear or some other dangerous critter that may have you for dinner for following it. I used to love tracking rabbits in the snow for fun, and you can do the same or track different animals in your area.
If you don't have any such critters, why not track down a visiting cat or dog, to see where it went or came from, it's a neat little activity that will be fun, and it will help you to beat the winter blues.