April 07
April 25, 2007
The snow is melting and water is running everywhere in the woods. Wildlife is returning, the things that leave for the winter, and the days are getting longer.
Our resident moose is back to walking up and down the road at night. I have seen fresh tracks every morning for the past couple of days. The raccoons are out and about, although I do not allow them to hang around this area, I have seen them 10 miles from here. (I put out little "No Raccoons Allowed" signs all around the perimeter and it seems to help)
On a trip to town I saw a whole flock of Ducks at River pond. They are holding up there waiting for the ice to melt out of some other areas so that they can get started with housekeeping and raising a family for this season. There were even a couple of Canada geese in there. They may be the local geese that spend the summer at River Pond. Last year we had a couple of them here early on, but I am hoping that they figured out that there was not enough feed for them around the pond and do not return this season. I enjoy watching them but I can do without the mess that they deposit on the campsites and lawn.
The ice is still very white but these bright sunny days will help melt it from the bottom as well. The sun just seems to bore right through the top and magnify down in the solid "blue ice", melting it all the way through.
April 19, 2007
Well folks, I am back in the woods where I belong! Now I have to tell you, this winter was something that I will not forget right soon! I saw more strange sites this past winter than you can possibly imagine, but that is not for today. I will throw these strange things out through out the season.
It is time to open the camps once again for the season. Our season runs from the first to middle part of May to the first part of December. It all depends upon the weather as to when we can actually open for the year. Things have to dry out before opening as we do not think it very nice for our guests to get stuck in the mud up to their knees! Trust me, I have had folks "walking" down the road towards the campsites and step in a soft spot and end up that deep. Just think how far a vehicle would sink in a spot like that! (I do speak from years of experience on getting "mired" in the mud, which by the way is a lot different that getting stuck in the mud)
Of course before we can start to dry out, the snow has to melt. I spent five and a half days plowing the road into camp last week. Not really plowing, but moving snow would be a much more accurate description of my time, one tractor bucket full at a time! Oh, every once in awhile I could actually plow some with the tractor. It might be a whole 100 feet or so! Then it was back to using the bucket to move the snow.
The past couple of days were a bit warmer and we did not get snow. In fact today it was up to 50 degrees and melting snow, which is a good thing in my book, at least this time of year. Ripogenus Lake was real slushy looking yesterday. I would not want to try to snowmobile across it at this time. Frost Pond is slushy even in the coldest part of winter, so I do not venture out there much at all.
As you can see, winter is still very much in effect up here at this time
Jed, Maureen and I went on the annual "owl survey" last Sunday morning. We get to the first stop a little after 1:00am and go until about 5:00am. This is the latest that we have ever made the run and the weather conditions were just about right. This year we heard many owls for the survey. I say "we", but I have the highly technical job of sitting in the automobile and logging the owls and what time they were a hooting. Jed's job is to hold down the seat in the back of the car or truck while in a horizontal position, and to keep Mom and I entertained in between stops. Maureen has the "easy" job of playing the CD to make them hoot. Of course she has to get out of the car and stand there for the duration of the CD playing and listen to see how many and what kind hoot. It would not do much good for me to listen for them, cause unless they were sitting in the trees right beside me I would never hear them anyway! (I do remember last year when they were outside of the bedroom window hooting, and I could hear that!)
While out on the survey at about 2:00am or a little later we met a pickup headed our way. I stopped because I could see an emblem on the side of it. (plus the snow in the road only had one set of wheel tracks for both of us to drive in) I thought at first it was the Border Patrol but it turned out to be a U. S. Fish and Wildlife truck. I told him that we were on an owl survey and he said that he was headed up to Chamberlain to do the survey for that area. Now what are the chances that two people would be out doing the survey on the same night in the same neck of the woods? The time frame for the survey runs for better than a month and we just happened to meet up on the same night.
Jed and I were out to the dam tonight and he heard a Saw Whet Owl "beeping". He said that we could include that one on the survey if we wanted to. On the way in over the snow covered road we actually had a Barred Owl land in a tree over the road. I tried to get a picture of it but I was not fast enough or close enough for the flash to do much good. Jed said that at least we got to see one, which is more than many people ever get a chance to do.
This kid has seen and done so much that many of his friends think he is stretching the truth about things that are "everyday" type of occurrences for him. I always tell him not to worry, that anything he sees or does is for him and it is not important if anyone believes him or not. It is just like catching a big fish and letting it go. He knows he caught it so what difference does it make if anyone else believes it!
Today he came in and said to me that I was not going to believe him, but when he was out sitting on the snowmobile that he saw a mosquito! I assured him that I did believe him, because I have seen them many times out on the snow this time of year. So now we are ASSURED that spring will get here, sooner or later. (Mosquitoes in the snow are much more reliable than some old ground hog in PA anyway! We do not even know if a ground hog knows what a shadow is)
Well now that I am back in my element I will try to keep the entries posted on a regular (As regular as I can be) basis. It was not that there were not things to write about down on the coast, it was just that I did not feel like doing it while being that close to all those billions of people! (Well, it sure seemed like billions to me) Heck, I figured that someone might not like what I had written and come looking for me! There is a different thought process going on down in that part of the earth you know!
I will say good night, live from T3 R11, in the REAL MAINE!
GT
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