A Shenandoah Hike and a Fairfax County Camera Check

Today was a great day for hiking and camera checking.  The trails of Shenandoah National Park were calling my name and I had to get out there on this day off of work and school.  There was still some snow on the ground from previous storms but today was about 58 degrees and decently sunny.

It was a great hike that led us down the trail to a great basalt rock formation. . .

. . .and a large ice formation left over from this winter's coldest days.

It was a good day to just get out and enjoy the outdoors.

Another highlight of the day came from when checking a camera-trap in Chantilly after the hike.

Cats, dogs, coyotes, cardinals, humans, red foxes, and raccoons all came by the camera.

Here's the best picture of a Chantilly Coyote.

Skunks in the Snow

The Centreville skunks have been out and about in the snow.  Like the raccoons around here, skunks are a lot more active in the night than in the day.

I was surprised that I didn't smell the noxious odor of a skunk when checking the camera on a large plot of land in Centreville, Virginia yesterday. I usually do smell it first.

We can clearly see here that there are two individuals walking in front of the camera.  One is a lot darker than the other, with most of its coat being black.  The other contains lots of white.

The coats of skunks vary greatly in color, but they all stink terribly.