Doc

You guys all have your tackle boxes and fishing gear all organized and ready to go. Guys have been trying for the crappies down in the old West River Marina down by Naples. And the bullhead will be biting pretty darn soon. And of course we are right on the eve of trout season. I'm all set.

Ever wonder if CWD is as devastating as is popularly believed, why are the woods not littered with dead deer bodies everywhere. I do not know why the scare stories are so popular to pass on, but a little common sense goes a long way toward calming all the panic.

Here's a sign that I have to put out in front of our driveway.

I have noticed that funny looking shape on the end of two of the tines in the picture. I have seen that same shape on the tips of a few of the antlers around here. Does anyone know what causes that weird disruption in antler growth so often? Is it some kind of injury or something that occurs at the end of antler growth sometimes?

So how has your winter been so far this year? Here in Bristol, I only had to plow once all year, and that probably wasn't really necessary. That time the snow-dump was only 6" or so. I probably could have driven through it. It has been colder than recent years but it seems that the snow has gone all around us, but mostly not here (so far). We did have some nasty ice accumulations on the driveway for a while. So how did winter treat you all in your section of the state. I know that with the lake effect of NY off Lake Ontario and Erie, snow levels vary all over the place depending on wind direction. However, beware of March snow. Some of the nastiest storms that I can remember have happened in March.

If I had to guess (and that's all it is), I would say that it is badly distorted picture of of a fox, dog, or coyote with possibly the far right leg extended forward, blending in with the neck and snout of the head. Terrible motion distortion.

The one thing that I would like to do before I croak would be to make, by hand, my own longbow and arrows with knapped broadheads and take a deer with that stuff. I don't think that it will happen, but everything on a bucket list does not necessarily ever happen.

For those that do not know what a "Bucket List" is, it is a wish-list of things you want to do before you croak. I am curious as to what outdoor activities (Camping, trapping, hunting, fishing, hiking, etc.) you want to do at some point during the rest of your life that you so far have not done.

In the 1980's, a group of 4 of us bowhunting coworkers decided to go on a moose hunt. We drove everyone in the office crazy with our attempts at the perfect cow moose call, for about a year. We studied topo maps and researched every moose hunting magazine article we could find. Well, finally we did it. We went up to Shining Tree, Ontario Canada. We were required to use an outfitter so we had them get the licenses and we booked a cabin (which we didn't actually use) for a week's hunt. From the camp, we drove many miles on an old dirt road. Unloaded the canoes and gear at a very remote lake. We went to the end of that lake and portaged about 150 yards into another lake and went to the far end of that lake. We were in deep. So that evening we set up two tents and all the things that we needed for a wilderness camp. That night we were all sitting around the campfire in the pitch dark, many miles from any civilization, Yacking about the usual B.S. that hunters talk about at a campfire.... Oh but wait.....There was a nasty little prank that was brewing long before we ever left home. Our dog loved to play tug of war with an old bath towel and while she was yanking on the towel, she would start with this gosh-awful loud snarling and growling like some sort of deranged rabid wolf. It was scary. But it gave me an idea. I had this small portable battery-powered cassette tape recorder. So I put about a 15 minute empty segment on the beginning of the tape and then started taping a bunch of this loud wolf-like snarling and growling. Yeah, you're probably already guessing what I did..... Back to the campfire. I said I was going to take a leak, and I left the group and went off into the darkness with the tape-player. I turned the thing on and returned to the campfire. The 15 minute blank section of the tape let everybody forget that I ever left the campfire. Suddenly, there was a loud horrible wolf-like snarling and growling coming from out in the pitch black darkness not far from the camp. Panic set in as everybody scrambled for knives hatchets and any weapon we could put our hands on. By the way this was an archery moose hunt so there were no firearms in camp. I did my best he-man John Wayne act and volunteered to lead the way out to see what this creature was. When we got to the tape-player, I dove on it and turned it off. It took a while before everyone caught on. I guess it was my rolling around on the ground laughing that kind of tipped them off. It is surprising that they didn't throw me in the lake.

Ha-ha-ha-ha......Things happen. I will repost later.

Back in the mid 80's, 4 of us guys from work went up to Shiningtree, Ontario, Canada on moose hunt.......way back in. Old dirt road for miles, into a lake all the way to the end of that lake. A 150 yard portage into another lake and all the way to the end of that lake. It was damned remote. We set up a camp on the shoreline of the lake. But before we wet, I packed a special extra piece of equipment. We had a dog that enjoyed playing tug-of-war with any piece of cloth, and while doing this she would make these gosh-awful growling and snarling noise that sounded like some deranged rabid animal. I had a small portable tape recorder, and I taped a long session of all these loud growling and snarling noises, leaving a 15 minute empty section of the tape at the beginning. So the first night after our tent-camp had been set up we all sat around the campfire talking about the usual BS that hunters talk about around the fire, and I said I have to take a leak and went off into the total black darkness. I pulled the tape recorder/player out of my bedroll without anyone paying attention and took it with me. I turned it on and came back to the campfire. That 15 minutes of empty tape gave time for everyone to forget I had even left. Then all of a sudden, in the middle of the deepest, darkest Canadian wilderness came this horrible loud maniacal growling and snarling out of the darkness. Panic set into the camp as everybody grabbed knives and hatchets and anything they could to defend themselves. It was an archery hunt, so there were no guns. Finally, we decided to go out and see what vicious thing it was that was threatening the camp. So I put on the big brave John Wayne style act and led the crew through the darkness using just flashlights to light the way. When it turned out to be a tape recorder, I am not sure what kept those guys from throwing me in the lake.

So, can you imagine walking to your stand in the pitch dark with only a bow in your hands and all of a sudden you hear that screaming, snarling noise in the bushes just ahead of you? That just might get me thinking about turning around and heading back home.

Yuck! That place just has way too many rats.

Mange is a highly contagious skin disease caused by parasitic mites that burrow into the skin and cause inflammation. It is primarily found in mammals, including dogs, cats, foxes, and raccoons The sarcoptic mange is noteworthy because of the fact that it is a zoonotic disease which can easily be passed on to humans. So don't be handling any dead mangy critters.

The last bunch of days have shown me the best snow removal system with more predicted to keep the snow gone. It doesn't cost anything and it is all done by the same guy that put it there. Come-on spring!

I have seen foxes that were quite hairless and all crusted up with mange. Not a nice disease.

I was wrong. The Democrats are the political party that just keeps on giving and giving. They are really getting to be a great comedy act. That lovely singing that sounds like bag of bobcats and those clown videos where they are bouncing around trying to look like fighting stances, or more likely somebody going into convulsions. And those lovely paddle signs and the weirdo shaking his cane at Trump during his speech. I think they are doing their best to destroy the Democrat party......And maybe that isn't really such a bad thing.

Yup! That is an old-timer. I have seen them that size on our hill. The second pic looks like a great place to have a seat and take a break.

Check out that meat-pole. Has to be the result of AR's..... right?

Guys that are out there trying to ice-fish might find those things useful. Actually, ice has been a real problem on our driveway, and I have had a couple of close calls where I almost went down. Where did you buy those, and how much did they cost?

This one had a mange problem starting on his tail.

He had better not get too aggressive or he will quickly learn about skunks. Especially if he gets some of that in his eyes.

There has been a few times when I have noticed deer and turkeys hanging together. I often wondered if that was because they both kind of relate each other with finding acorns, and use each other to locate that food source. Do you suppose that they have formed some sort of symbiotic relationship based on food?

How does duck egg production compare to chicken egg production? Anybody know?

We had ducks years ago. The darn things became pets. They used to follow me around. Butchering time was not pleasant. We also had rabbits, chickens and goats. Yeah, we got caught up in that farming thing that everyone gets into out here in the country. It worked good for my two boys. They had chores to do, and they learned about responsibility and actually doing something for their allowance.