Tracks

I come across a lot of interesting foot prints on my morning walk. It's all dirt road for 1 1/4 mile to get to our house, and the "roads" to access other properties around are all dirt tracks. The first part of the walk is a bit boring because it is along the road, but most of it is either just track or trail.

I am the only one that walks there it seems, but there are lots of animals that leave their marks. Horses for one, and sometimes I can judge which of my neighbors has been riding (Cheerio has large feet, being part draft horse). The other day somebody ponied a foal: small hooves and no shoes. But mostly it is tiny feet: cotton tail and jack rabbits, kangaroo rats (who also leave tail marks), javelina (sometimes with babies). I can't tell coyote from dog prints and of course there are lots of those with Emma and Shawna accompanying me every day.

Yesterday I found a track that I have not seen before, and I have not been able to identify it either. It looked like a raccoon to me, but we don't have those here. Perhaps it is a badger? I must admit, I would not know one if I came across it.