This morning I went into the woods with two of my students to check the traps we had set for porcupines. We are busy studying the ecology of the North American porcupine, and part of that work entails live-trapping these wonderful animals. This morning we caught (and immediately released) a young raccoon, who had made a mess of things by filling the trap with dirt. We also caught one female porcupine, shown with me in the picture. She is a new animal in our study and it will be fun to follow her through her life. Porcupines can live to be about 23 years old in the wild. Beautiful morning - first frost and a clear sky - nice to be in the woods.