The Swamp in Winter

While the swamp was spooky in the summertime,

In the winter it creaked and groaned as the frozen

trees blew gently in the cold breeze.

We would try to quietly tramp through the crusty snow

breaking through sometimes, good boots were a plus.
We would find tracks of aquatic mammals like muskrat.

An occasional deer track passed through, maybe it was
that big buck the hunters had reported. 

There was the elusive ermine, In the prized winter coat of a weasel.

If you stood quietly the squirrels would start to chatter
and run up and down the trees, occassionally leaping from one to another. 

Birds...there were kingfishers and crows. 

Hawks, woodpeckers, and starlings. 

Life was bountiful if you knew where to look,
even in the depth of winter.