Allanna Jackson , © January 2, 2023

Happy New Year! 2023 snuck into the White Mountains of Arizona with cloudy skies and rain that turned to snow. January 2^nd, I woke up to 6 inches of snow and 28 degrees. I bundled up to feed the horses breakfast. Cinnamon strolled through the snow to the front of the corral to supervise my shoveling snow off my porch, while Velvet watched from her shelter. Cinnamon walked back to the shelter when she was satisfied that I was getting her breakfast.

When going inside for my own breakfast, I discovered the latch on my screen door was stuck. This problem needed to be solved before the wind destroyed the door by alternately slamming it against the front wall and bashing it into its door frame. After breakfast I disassembled the door knob and lubricated the latch — I almost lost one screw in the snow! When that task was done, I traded the screw driver for the back-saver snow shovel and hand-plowed a path out to my driveway.

I was pleased to see Navajo County had already plowed my road, but as always, it left a snow berm across the front of my driveway. I know from experience that clearing the berm is easier when it’s fresh. The snow was fluffy and slushy, heavy yet easy to shovel. Clearing the driveway around my truck was easier than I expected and I was able to get down to the cinders.

By the time the chores were done, it had warmed up to freezing and the wind had dropped to a breeze. The snow had subsided to infinitesimal flakes. Since I was already dressed in layers for working outdoors, I decided to go for a walk after a quick stop indoors to get a drink of water.

Plowing snow was the business of the day. One neighbor was clearing his driveway with a skid steer. Further up the street a business owner was plowing snow with a tractor. Porter Mountain Road had been plowed and a Town of Pinetop-Lakeside plow truck was making his rounds. The snow on the sides of the road was untrammeled, which made walking more exercise than it is in dry weather. While I walked north up Porter Mountain Road, I deliberated about whether to go to Scott Reservoir or Jacques Marsh. I opted for the marsh.

Porter Creek Estates subdivision had been plowed, which made walking easier. A man shoveling snow complained about the plow berm in front of his driveway when I paused to greet him. I was surprised at how many tire tracks there were on the unplowed road into Jacques Marsh.

One of the seven principles of outdoor ethics is to respect other users. As I approached Jacques Marsh, I saw two vehicles parked in the parking lot and three people near the kiosk at the entrance gate. They seemed to be setting up something on the top of the dike at Pond one. When I got there, I didn’t see where they’d gone. As I walked up to look at a flying duck decoy, the man I’d seen at a distance emerged from a juniper bush and asked, “What are you doing?”

I said, “I’m just out for a walk.”

He said, “Those are my duck decoys. We’re huntin’.”

I said, “Okay.”

I turned around and walked behind the Juniper they were using as a blind. I followed the fence line between the Marsh and the subdivision east toward ponds six and seven to avoid any conflict between their hunt and my walk. Duck hunting is legal at Jacques Marsh, from a half hour before sunrise until sunset, but only with shotguns or muzzle loaders because the Marsh is just barely far enough away from the houses for hunting to be legal. All Arizona Game and Fish regulations and licensing requirements apply.

A small flock of birds were picking seeds off the dried plants sticking up out of the snow as I approached Pond six. They flew away before I could identify them. Tracks in the snow showed that someone had driven up to the access gate near the pipeline. Footprints in the snow went out to the top of the dike overlooking Pond six, then turned around and went back to the tire tracks. Whoever it was had gone away. I followed the tracks up the dike and found water flowing into the pond. I hadn’t seen any water fowl on Pond one, but while I was looking at Pond six, I heard two shots, followed by a third shot a minute later all from the direction of Pond one, where I’d met the hunters. Evidently, they’d seen some ducks after all.

I was surprised that there were no animal tracks in the snow. These ponds didn’t have enough water in them to attract ducks. The prairie dogs that live in the dikes around Ponds six and seven must have been snuggled down in their underground burrows. The wind was picking up and it was snowing again so I turned around and backtracked to the pipeline, then crawled through the gate and followed the access road to avoid the hunters. I took a different route through Porter Creek Estates, just for variety.



I followed my own tracks back down Porter Mountain Road. As I approached the Porter Creek crossing I saw a brown mouse digging in the snow. I stopped to look at it. The mouse froze when it saw me. I took a couple of pictures. When I looked away for a moment the mouse doubled around, quickly burrowed into the snow on the side of my boot track and disappeared. I continued on my way. Back at home I fed the horses their lunch hay then went inside to have some nice warm soup for my own lunch. One of the things I love about living in Pinetop-Lakeside is how easy it is to get outdoors and find something interesting no matter what the weather is doing.