The fast track!

During morning rush hour, a train pulls into Grand Central Station in New York City every 58 seconds, carrying thousands of commuters. It’s one of the busiest, most crowded transit hubs in the world with roughly 750,000 people passing through daily. It’s even busier during the holiday season.

I visited Philadelphia’s William H. Gray 30th Street Station in November. It’s not quite as busy as Grand Central Station, but still one of the busiest stations nationwide, serving over 4 million Amtrak passengers and more than 8 million SEPTA and NJ transit commuters each year.

Both stations play key roles in getting commuters and travelers from one point to another. However they have nothing on another busy thoroughfare. Of course, I’m talking about the trail that runs behind my house.

More than meets the eye

I thought I lived next to a peaceful woods. With the cold temperatures keeping us covered in snow, I’ve been able to see for myself how busy my backyard really is. Who knew that it was a busy thoroughfare that ranks as one of the busiest in the country? Who knew I lived next to the Southeastern Pennsylvania’s version of the Autobahn?

Here’s what I mean. With the snow, I’ve been able to see the tracks, footprints, and animal scat for myself. Now I’m no Daniel Boone, the legendary American frontiersman, known for settling Kentucky, or Davy Crocket, the celebrated 19th-century American folk hero, hunter, and politician. I’m not even a good Boy Scout with a Nature Merit Badge. The snow though has shown plain as day the high number of critters scurrying around my property.

There’s deer tracks. There’s squirrel and rabbit tracks too. I’m less certain but I’m pretty sure I saw raccoon, fox, and skunk tracks too. Yes, I’m giving the skunk a wide berth. I’ve learned that skunks go into a state of shallow hibernation in the winter, but they will occasionally come out to look for food, such as grubs, berries, or unsecured garbage. There’s a few other animals that I’m still trying to figure out. I’ve Googled some different animal prints but haven’t come up with anything yet. I’m thinking one of the prints might be even be Big Foot. (If you know, than you know. I wrote about him last fall in my post, Big Foot Lives!, and I think he’s following me.)

Holy Smokes!

When I looked back the first day, I wasn’t surprised. I knew there’d be a track or two. We’ve come to see a small family of deer somewhat regularly in the yard in the summer and fall. But the number of animal tracks keeps getting bigger. I trudged in the thick snow yesterday to check out the scene. I fell two or three times, but I had to see up close for myself. The number of animal prints and activity was shocking.

They were everywhere.

It’s like I’m hosting the Daytona 500. I’m not much of a NASCAR fan. However, I ‘m familiar with it enough to know that the 500-mile-long race will be coming up in a week or so at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The deer and squirrels must be getting ready for their own version of the race.

As I thought about it, though, I got kind of jealous. The animals look like they’ve having a big party and didn’t invite me. The least they could have done was to send me an invite. It’s my yard for Pete’s sake! Keeping with the Daytona idea, I swear I even spotted space carved out for a Pit Crew. It’s that busy.

The woods have eyes!

It reminds me that we always have eyes on us when we’re in the woods. We just might not notice them. It reminded me too that our animal friends are actually much smarter than we give them credit. They know what’s going on. They kept a low profile while I was checking things out.

Now the wooded thoroughfare has no celestial Main Concourse ceiling or the famous Information Booth Clock at Grand Central Station. It doesn’t have an impressive marble relief sculpture or bronze carving like at 30th Street Station either. The wooded thoroughfare has none of that. It’s just a small strand of trees and shrubs.

In any event, I half expected to see a train pull up and a squirrel in porter’s hat telling everybody to wait for the train to come to a complete stop and watch their step as they continue on their journey.

Oh brother!

30th Street Station