The American porcupine referred to as the Canadian or common porcupine is the second largest rodent next too the beaver in North America. There are over two-dozen different species of Porcupines and they are mainly a nocturnal species. Porcupines have soft hair on most of their body however on their back, sides, and tail sharp quills are interspersed. The quills lie flat until a porcupine feels threated and they raise the quills. Contrary to popular belief Porcupines lack the ability to shoot their quills. During summer days the porcupine feeds mostly on roots, berries and twigs along with other similar vegetation. During the winter porcupines do not hibernate but they do stay near their dens. In the winter their diet consists mostly tree bark and conifer needles which is evident in this photo. Walking down the Red Sandstone trail Near Potsdam, NY the three and a half mile trail twisted along the river with each bend in the trail mimicking The River I came across this tree. This tree immediately caught my attention due to the fascinating texture/ pattern that had become evident along the bottom portion of the tree. This patter from the porcupine peaked my interest at the simple beauty of the swirling bite marks