Snowed in! (This is Georgia??)

Hello! Long time, no post! Anyone who’s completed a graduate degree will tell you that spare time is a rare commodity, and last semester was no exception! However, due to the great feedback I received from my former students, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to post more frequently. Also, being SNOWED IN provides a lot of free time, so I thought today was a perfect day to start!

North Georgia received between 6-8 inches of snow over the past few days, which means that the entire city of Atlanta has shut down. According to local news, Atlanta has only 11 salt trucks. I guess it doesn’t make financial sense to have extensive winter weather traffic equipment since Atlanta usually only gets one or two snowfalls a year. However, that means that the slightest accumulation of snow=stay home! Check out this picture of the street in front of our house...Well, I guess you'll have to take my word for it that there's a street under there!



Question: How does this snowfall compare to the norm for North Georgia? The Atlanta metro area spans over 7,000 square miles. How many salt trucks do you think it would take to keep the roads clear during a major snow/ice storm?
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Here in the Linsky household, we’re making the best of it. For example, Roman, (a.k.a. the best dog ever) LOVES the snow. He is constantly sitting by the door asking to go out, so he and I took a little hike today.




Question: How does your dog react to snow? Based on Roman’s characteristics and your knowledge of selective breeding, what do you think Bernese Mountain Dogs were bread for? (Hint: they used to be known as “the poor man’s horse.”)
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We were not the first to go hiking in the woods by our house, but according to the tracks we saw, we were the first human and dog. Since we couldn’t see where the path was, we decided to follow a deer trail.

Question: What tracks have you seen around your house? Use this track identification website to help you find out. Why do you think those animals were there?



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Along the way, we didn’t see any deer (or any other animals for that matter), but we did see plenty of lichen and fungi, some of which were really pretty.



Question:Why do you think lichen and fungi seem to thrive in the snow while snow and maples lose their leaves?



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At the end of a deer trail we came across these ovals in the snow under the brush of a Chinese Privet. At first I thought they were just random mud puddles, but then I realized that this is probably where the deer slept last night.



Question: Besides their fur coat, what other adaptations (behavioral and physical) do White Tail Deer have to stay warm on freezing winter nights? (Hint, look at the shape and location of the spots…)
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