{"id":600,"date":"2010-12-28T12:07:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-28T12:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html"},"modified":"2026-01-28T15:14:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T20:14:06","slug":"tracking-the-elusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html","title":{"rendered":"Tracking the Elusive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
My husband found these tracks in the woods.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Last night as I took Shadow out to the edge of the woods near the compost pile, we both stopped, startled.\u00a0 It was pitch black, cold, and there’s still enough snow on the ground to necessitate boots.\u00a0 As I stood with her, I could hear clearly coming from the direction of the compost pile the crack and gnaw of sharp teeth on something. I’d put out the compost earlier in the day, and included in the batch of scraps were walnut shells and other assorted nuts. Now if you know anything about buying those yummy bags of nuts in the shell around the holidays, you know you can NEVER get all the meat out of the shell – not even with those sharp pick things they include in nutcracker sets. I’d had some walnuts with an apple as a snack in the afternoon, and the apple had a huge bad spot in it, so about half had also gone out in the compost, along with a bunch of shells that still had meat in them.\u00a0 Shadow and I listened for a while.\u00a0 The skitter of claws on the stone edge of my compost pile, the rustle of leaves (when there was no wind) let me know that our unseen visitor had fled back into the forest.\u00a0 I began talking loudly too, in the hopes of scaring away whatever wild critter it was so I wouldn’t have to deal with 70+ pounds of lunging, hunting-crazed German Shepherd on an icy hillside.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

This morning Shadow and I were out before dawn. I led her up the snow-covered driveway and as we got to the curve near the edge of our property, I saw even more deer tracks in the snow.\u00a0 Even immediately after the snowstorm this weekend, I saw plenty of deer tracks crisscrossing out of the woods.\u00a0 They always use the same pathway through the woods, emerging and crossing the driveway.\u00a0 There were other tracks too; the two parallel big feet tracks of a rabbit hopping towards the big pile of brush, which would make excellent cover; and more interesting, tracks I think are of a fox.\u00a0 Near the rabbit, of course….<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The snow helps us track the elusive.\u00a0 We see prints of what has gone before us in the night time.\u00a0 The snow has also brought forth many creatures, like our guest at the compost pile, seeking additional sustenance.\u00a0 I know that the opossum love to eat fruit scraps from the compost pile, and sometimes after I put out pineapple cores and tops I’ll find one dragged about 10 feet into the woods, gnawed on by sharp little teeth.<\/p>\n

I love thinking about the mystery of these creatures, the lives of the forest dwellers who shyly rest in the shadows of the pines by day and emerge by night, seeking food, eluding predators.\u00a0 We hear the owls hooting from tree to tree on some nights, and in the summer the whipporwill serenades us from the woods.\u00a0 I see bats swooping and circling the fields. I have seen red foxes playing at dawn in the winter; one year they ran through the garden and had a merry game of chase on my compost pile while I watched in astonishment; by the time I got my camera, they were gone.\u00a0 And one night, shortly after we moved in here and I couldn’t sleep, I was standing by my kitchen window when a creature appeared from the woods, walking slowly and steadily past the house. I thought at first it was a large dog, and in the moonlight it had a distinctly canine appearance. It was only when it stopped near my kitchen window and looked at me did I recognize it for what it was; a coyote.\u00a0 I had seen them in the wild out in Montana, loping along the railroad tracks, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect one to visit near my kitchen at 5 a.m. in Virginia!<\/p>\n

The snow reveals the hidden lives of the forest dwellers.\u00a0 We see the clues in the tracks of the visitors.\u00a0 This week the temperatures will go back into the 40’s and 50’s, and while I am glad that I will be able to drive more easily, I will be sorry to see the snow leave.<\/p>\n

Today’s photos are actual pictures taken on our property, although from storms past\u00a0 – they are not stock photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cattle on our neighbor’s farm.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My husband found these tracks in the woods. Last night as I took Shadow out to the edge of the woods near the compost pile, we both stopped, startled.\u00a0 It was pitch black, cold, and there’s still enough snow on the ground to necessitate boots.\u00a0 As I stood with her, I could hear clearly coming…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"","tag":"","restrict_content":""},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2301],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-600","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal","8":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nTracking the Elusive - Home Garden Joy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tracking the Elusive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My husband found these tracks in the woods. Last night as I took Shadow out to the edge of the woods near the compost pile, we both stopped, startled.\u00a0 It was pitch black, cold, and there’s still enough snow on the ground to necessitate boots.\u00a0 As I stood with her, I could hear clearly coming...Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home Garden Joy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sevenoaksgardening\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jeanne.grunert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-12-28T12:07:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-28T20:14:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Skunktracks.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeanne\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@WriterGrunert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WriterGrunert\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jeanne\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a4a2d7c5e897228f42be953553e4140\"},\"headline\":\"Tracking the Elusive\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-12-28T12:07:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-28T20:14:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html\"},\"wordCount\":756,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/Skunktracks.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Personal\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html\",\"name\":\"Tracking the Elusive - Home Garden Joy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/Skunktracks.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-12-28T12:07:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-28T20:14:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a4a2d7c5e897228f42be953553e4140\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/Skunktracks.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/Skunktracks.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":683},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/tracking-the-elusive.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tracking the Elusive\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home Garden Joy\",\"description\":\"Grow What Nourishes You\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a4a2d7c5e897228f42be953553e4140\",\"name\":\"Jeanne\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a00d7eb73461d2099498e814aff8b33f2ad508e1d0608cc28e4457e188352d5f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a00d7eb73461d2099498e814aff8b33f2ad508e1d0608cc28e4457e188352d5f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a00d7eb73461d2099498e814aff8b33f2ad508e1d0608cc28e4457e188352d5f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeanne\"},\"description\":\"Jeanne Grunert is a certified Virginia Master Gardener and the author of several gardening books. Her garden articles, photographs, and interviews have been featured in The Herb Companion, Virginia Gardener, and Cultivate, the magazine of the National Farm Bureau. She is the founder of The Christian Herbalists group and a popular local lecturer on culinary herbs and herbs for health, raised bed gardening, and horticulture therapy.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.com\\\/Jeanne-Grunert\\\/e\\\/B002FR9ZX4%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/jeanne.grunert\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/homegardenjoy\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/jeannegrunert\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/sevenoaksjeanne\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/@WriterGrunert\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/author\\\/jeanne\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tracking the Elusive - Home Garden Joy","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tracking the Elusive","og_description":"My husband found these tracks in the woods. Last night as I took Shadow out to the edge of the woods near the compost pile, we both stopped, startled.\u00a0 It was pitch black, cold, and there’s still enough snow on the ground to necessitate boots.\u00a0 As I stood with her, I could hear clearly coming...Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html","og_site_name":"Home Garden Joy","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sevenoaksgardening","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jeanne.grunert\/","article_published_time":"2010-12-28T12:07:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-28T20:14:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Skunktracks.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jeanne","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@WriterGrunert","twitter_site":"@WriterGrunert","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html"},"author":{"name":"Jeanne","@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/#\/schema\/person\/2a4a2d7c5e897228f42be953553e4140"},"headline":"Tracking the Elusive","datePublished":"2010-12-28T12:07:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-28T20:14:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html"},"wordCount":756,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Skunktracks.jpg","articleSection":["Personal"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html","url":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html","name":"Tracking the Elusive - Home Garden Joy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Skunktracks.jpg","datePublished":"2010-12-28T12:07:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-28T20:14:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/#\/schema\/person\/2a4a2d7c5e897228f42be953553e4140"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Skunktracks.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Skunktracks.jpg","width":1024,"height":683},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2010\/12\/tracking-the-elusive.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tracking the Elusive"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/#website","url":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/","name":"Home Garden Joy","description":"Grow What Nourishes You","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/#\/schema\/person\/2a4a2d7c5e897228f42be953553e4140","name":"Jeanne","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a00d7eb73461d2099498e814aff8b33f2ad508e1d0608cc28e4457e188352d5f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a00d7eb73461d2099498e814aff8b33f2ad508e1d0608cc28e4457e188352d5f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a00d7eb73461d2099498e814aff8b33f2ad508e1d0608cc28e4457e188352d5f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeanne"},"description":"Jeanne Grunert is a certified Virginia Master Gardener and the author of several gardening books. Her garden articles, photographs, and interviews have been featured in The Herb Companion, Virginia Gardener, and Cultivate, the magazine of the National Farm Bureau. She is the founder of The Christian Herbalists group and a popular local lecturer on culinary herbs and herbs for health, raised bed gardening, and horticulture therapy.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Jeanne-Grunert\/e\/B002FR9ZX4%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jeanne.grunert\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/homegardenjoy\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jeannegrunert\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/sevenoaksjeanne\/","https:\/\/x.com\/@WriterGrunert"],"url":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/author\/jeanne"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18758,"href":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600\/revisions\/18758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}