Melting snow uncovers tunnels made by creatures in the subnivean zone, such as shrews and voles. Photo by Katie Finch Snow. While it’s still early in the winter, here in Chautauqua County we are already feeling the freeze. The world has been blanketed ...

A green long-jawed orbweaver spider was spotted hunting on top of snow in the Northeast. They emerge from beneath the snowpack on warmer winter days to hunt for springtails. Their bright green color, which serves as camouflage in summer, makes them highly visible against the snow.

The autumn interlude between the dropping of the leaves until the snow cover, a time that I like to call AutWin, usually lasts about four weeks (roughly from Oct. 20 to Nov. 20), but this year, it stretched until a rather dramatic ending Nov. 25.

The subnivean zone provides a winter refuge for mice and other small animals. Submitted photo On a cold winter day, it’s easy to think of the landscape as frozen, silent, and asleep. Snow covers our fields and forests, trails crunch underfoot, and most ...