In winter, the snow turns the forest into a map of wildlife. Every track tells a story about the animals that passed through the forests and meadows around the commune, often while people were still asleep.
After the first snowfall, the landscape changes completely. The white blanket keeps, for a short while, every step, every pause and every crossing of the forest. Places that seem silent in summer suddenly fill with signs of a hidden life.
The most commonly found tracks belong to the fox, the roe deer and the hare. Each species leaves a different drawing in the snow. Some tracks form almost perfect lines, others seem to leap across the meadows or vanish among the trees.
Sometimes a track stops abruptly beside a fallen trunk. Other times it crosses a whole clearing without hesitation. For those who walk attentively, the snow becomes an open book in which the forest notes down its activity of the night.
Cold mornings offer the best conditions for observation. Before the wind, the sun or a fresh snowfall cover them, the tracks stay clear and easy to follow with the eye.
