05/27/2026
The print in the garden bed after last night's rain belongs to something specific. Size, shape, and location narrow it to one species every time.
The raccoon print looks like a tiny human hand — five fingers, pressed flat. The opossum print has a thumb on the hind foot that no other local mammal has.
🌿 The ones most people misread:
Fox tracks look like small dog tracks — but foxes walk in a single-file line. Every print lands in the same path. Dogs wander.
Cottontail tracks run in a Y-pattern — the two large hind prints land ahead of the two small front prints. The pattern repeats in perfect sets.
The snapping turtle leaves a wide track with a central drag line down the middle where the tail drags. That line is the diagnostic — no other animal leaves it.
🐾 The best time to check is the morning after rain. Fresh mud holds prints for hours. Garden beds, pond edges, and sandy paths show them clearest.
Ten species. Ten prints. All of them walked through the yard last night 🐾
