It's a little hard to make out in the photo, but the hoof-print is from a moose(!). We saw a lot of the prints (very distinctive), but no actual live moose sightings.
Meanwhile back at home I am engaging in critter control activities-- we have a woodchuck who has taken up residence under our shed, and I've been trying to come up with ways to evict him (or her). This week one of my friends was nice enough to loan me his Havahart trap, so I set it out last night baited with apple. Here's what turned up in the morning:
No woodchuck, yes racoon. Made me wonder: what happens if you wake up in the morning and discover a skunk in your trap. Hmm.
I put him in the back of the car and drove him down to Mary Cummins park in Bedford. It's kind of an odd sensation driving around with a live animal in the back of your car. He seemed pretty glad to get out of the contraption, and didn't seem especially afraid of me as far as I could tell (maybe a repeat offender?).
This was earlier in the week-- I put the trap out last night again, and caught another racoon, to whom I gave the same treatment. We'll see how long this goes on...
