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October 2007
October 14th, 2007
A cold and rainy day here at the camps. Guests just left, after enjoying a short stay. They did a little partridge hunting and spent some time relaxing in a nice warm cabin. The guy mentioned that this morning there was a partridge down in front of his cabin. (Sunday and too close to the cabins anyway)
NOAA was calling for snow last night, but we did not get any. (Disappointing the lad, but making dad happy) I am sure it will be here soon enough as it is. We had quite the rain on Friday and water levels came up in many of the small bodies of water. We must have gotten a couple of inches of rain, although I did not have the rain gauge out.
I caught another raccoon the other night. The folks in cabin 2 told me that it was on the porch at 2am one morning. This one was so large that it just about fit in the live trap. That meant another trip to a distant area to relocate the varmint.
An afternoon of partridge hunting last week left us wishing for more daylight, as we only saw one legal bird and 3 illegal birds. (The birds were not illegal, just shooting them would have been, as they were the spruce grouse variety) Jed mentioned that if we hunted more and cut less wood that we might have better luck.
Speaking of wood, I sawed up one tree that I had cut down last year and it took 3 tanks of gasoline in the saw to just saw the butt log! This can mean one of several things, depending upon the situation. One situation would be that you have a small tank on the chainsaw. (Not the case) Two, the chainsaw could be very very dull. (Not the case, new chain and bar just installed on the saw) Three, one big tree! (It was a rock maple that was over 2 feet in diameter) Even though it was ready to fall down and I had to cut it down for safety reasons, it will still provide many a warm fire for the upcoming year. The hard part is splitting the darn thing, those blocks are very heavy.
The leaves have reached peak, and some of them are just stunning. On one of our outings the other day we went up on a hardwood ridge and it was too pretty to even try to take a picture of. You just cannot get the same results with a camera as you can by seeing it in person. I did take a picture of one or two places that were kind of pretty and I will put them at the bottom of the entry.
We have a fire in the cook stove today, just to keep things nice and comfy. What a day to be relaxing with a good book beside a fire. I may actually try that when I get all of the other chores done. (I am just waiting for the rain to let up a bit before heading out for the afternoon projects)
We have more bird hunters coming in next week and they should have a good time. This year must be on the upswing cycle for grouse, as there seems to be a very good population. The biologists claim that they run in a cycle much like varying hare and that the numbers will swing from a low to high on a regular basis. I think that may be somewhat correct, but that local conditions can make a big difference in the population. A wet spring when the chicks are too big to get under the hen will wreak havoc on the population in some places while drier conditions in others will allow the chicks to grow to adults. Fox, coyote. hawks and owls must also play a part in the cycle as well. A winter without much snow and lots of cold weather can cause a large winter kill as well. All just a part of nature in which man plays a pretty small roll considering that we only hunt them for a short period. Many folks only hunt them in October before deer season rolls around. Even though the season is open in December, there are not many folks who bother to go out and hunt them. (I never remember to take along a shotgun in December and always see them then)
Here are a few pictures to sooth the eyes of folks who cannot get up this way. GT
October 7th, 2007
The long weekend is just about over, and today was breezy and cool. We had a number of guests climb Katahdin, over in Baxter State Park. One group comes and climbs each year, or at least most years. Some of the folks even come over from Ireland to make the climb with them.
It is supposed to get down to 33 degrees tonight, but the wind has already died down from what it was most of the day. It is a good thing too. Due to a challenge by Mom last week, Jed built a shelter out of small trees, brush, and leaves. Tonight as part of the challenge, Mom is sleeping outside in the shelter. I thought that Jed was spending night 2 in the shelter, but he just came back in the house. That leaves Mom outside in the shelter by herself. (He explained that he had to sleep out alone, so Mom needed to do the same)
I was told that the next challenge would be for me to sleep out there! I explained that if someone challenged me to jump off the edge of the dam that I would not accept that, so I did not see the need for me to sleep out side in a shelter when it was cold. (Or warm for that matter, I learned a long time ago that beds were much more comfortable than a pile of leaves)
When I end up spending the night out it will be because that I am either lost or stuck! At that time I will build a fire and make myself as comfortable as possible. (I almost had the chance a few years ago while hunting in a snowstorm)
I participated in the,"5 minute fire with one match in the wind" today, and managed to pull that off. All of these challenges are hard on an old guy like me! It is all part of the learning and teaching, but you know all about the "teaching an old dog new tricks" theory. Now is the time to teach the younger folks, and let the "old dog" lie inside next to the fire.
The good part is that when the younger folks learn all of the skills to do these things it just makes them much more independent and builds confidence. This will help them through all of the things that life will deal them down the road. Too many kids today do not have any idea on how to take care of themselves in different situations that come along.
Enough of this stuff, have you looked at the leaves lately? The view across the pond is absolutely stunning. The hardwoods are now at or near peak color and soon will go the other way. All part of the cycle of nature. I know it sure beats the leaves just turning brown and falling off like they do in some parts of the world.
Our guests are all snuggled in for the night, some in beds and some in the tents down at the campsites. What a great way to end the long weekend here in the north woods of Maine! GT
October 4th, 2007
The last couple of days of fishing season were great! Jed and I had the pond to ourselves the last day, and he was very pleased. He managed to catch Mom a couple of trout, and once again out-fish me! (I will get a few months off from getting out fished now)
The first day of bird season turned off very warm, much to Jed's disappointment. He likes those cold, frosty mornings when the partridge come out to warm up in the sunspots. We always take along the chainsaw to clear the road of blowdowns and get a little firewood at the same time. This trip was not an exception and we ended up picking up a pickup load of "biscuit" wood for the cook stove.
He got his first bird late in the afternoon and we had it for supper. We now make "Partridge Nuggets" with the birds that we get. This stems from days gone by when we had a warden in the district that was a cook as well. (Unlike one of the earlier wardens who would boil and burn hotdogs in a "fry" pan while ice fishing) We had been out one day and managed to get a few birds and he cooked up the nuggets for us for supper. Jed ate and ate, and he was only 5 or 6 years old at the time.
He keeps mentioning the fact that Joel does not come to cook nuggets for him any more, and that the nuggets that I cook are not as good as Joel's. (That does not however stop him from devouring a couple of birds for a meal. all by himself) I am lucky to get a couple of bites nowadays.
Even though it was warm and the birds were not cooperating with us, we had a very productive day. We were walking in on an old tote road and found a beaver pond, complete with a beaver and a Great Blue Heron. The Heron flew off, but the beaver stayed. (Beavers cannot fly anyway) (Well, I suppose that some may have flown, but it would have been in an airplane, not on their own)
I told Jed to be very quiet and we would stand and watch to see if the beaver would reappear. It only took a short while for the master dam builder to decide that we were not a threat, and that his having a full stomach was more important than worrying about these 2 strange creatures standing at the edge of his domain. I managed to get some real close up pictures of the beaver, as at times he was only a few feet from us. In fact he swam up to inspect us to see what we were all about.
We saw a Northern Harrier hawk, but I was not able to get a picture of it before it flew off. I have yet to get one of these to sit while I manage to dig out the camera and get out of the truck to get a picture. The always seem to sit and wait until I open the door and away they go! It is still nice to see all of the birds of prey that we have around here, even if I do not manage to get the pictures that I would like.
I think it was this day that we saw the Eagle flying around as well. We see them quite a bit, and even though it is common, we as a family, always point them out to one another. Jed is pretty good at spotting them with his "young" eyes. Half the time I have on my glasses that I use for the computer and cannot see things off in the distance anyway!
Later in the day when we were stopped making a phone call to Pappy, Jed whispered to me, "Dad, there are 4 deer coming towards the truck". I was on the phone and I just passed him the camera to take a few pictures. He did a pretty good job and got some interesting pictures. The deer fed along and then they either got wind of us or heard us and away they went. Jed's comment, "Boy, I wish it were deer season". It was a doe and 3 young ones. I do not know if all three where hers or if she had picked up an extra or two. GT
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