今年の12月は雪は少なく、ロッジのまわりは 日陰に積雪１cm程度です。雪のない年越しになりそうです。天気が良い十勝ですが、気温が冷えるのも放射冷却のおかげ、朝晩の冷え込みはマイナス10度は普通です。
There was little snow this December, and there was only about 1cm of snow in the shade around the lodge. It looks like we will be celebrating the New Year without snow. The weather in Tokachi is good, but the cold temperature is due to radiation cooling, and it is normal for mornings and evenings to be as cold as minus 10 degrees.
この安定した寒さは、もこもこの冬毛をまとったエゾモモンガたちも堪えるようで、一つの巣穴に複数のエゾモモンガが密集して暮らすようになってきました。11月には2匹だった巣穴も、夕暮れ待ってみると、ゾロゾロと出てくる姿は、面白いものです。逆に、11月にモモンガがいた巣穴が越冬のために移動してしまった穴も数多くあります。
This steady cold seems to be tolerable even to the Siberian flying squirrels with their fluffy winter fur, and several Siberian flying squirrels have begun to live in close clusters in one burrow. It is amusing to see the squirrels emerge from a burrow that once contained just two in November at dusk. On the other hand, there are many burrows where flying squirrels have moved to spend the winter.
巣穴が限定してくると、顔出しショット狙いのパターンが減ってしまうのですが、奇跡のフォーメーションねらいが面白くなります。勝手に名前をつけたのですが、巣穴からでたモモンガたちが、枝に乗って並んだり、穴から同時に複数匹が顔をだしたり。そんな奇跡的なフォーメーションを毎日楽しみに通うのが、厳冬期の楽しみでもあります。
As the burrows become more limited, the number of patterns for taking shots of the squirrels' faces peeking out decreases, but it becomes more interesting to try to catch them in miraculous formations. I gave them names of my own, but the flying squirrels that emerge from their burrows line up on branches, or several of them pop out of their holes at the same time. Going to the park every day to enjoy such miraculous formations is also a pleasure during the harsh winter.
また、雪が積もると森の中もフワッと明るくなるので、空気の透明感や、モモンガの毛並みまでもくっきりと現れてくるので、マイナス10度以下の世界の透明度はやっぱり寒さだと感じます。寒いから、朝早いから、なんて言いたいですが、この光の美しさとモモンガのかわいらしさはコタツ（ロッジにコタツはありませんが、、、）に入ってはいられませんね！
Also, as the snow piles up, the forest becomes light and fluffy, and the transparency of the air and even the flying squirrels' fur become more clearly visible, so the transparency of the world below minus 10 degrees really makes you feel the cold. I want to say that it's because it's cold and because it's early in the morning, but the beauty of this light and the cuteness of the flying squirrels makes it impossible not to sit in the kotatsu (there is no kotatsu at the lodge...)!
