Doc

As already mentioned, check out https://www.wildcenter.org/?gclid=CL6w9cTh-s0CFYwfhgodgKYIIg We were up that way a bunch of years ago and came up about a month short of their initial opening and have not been back to Tupper Lake since. But the site noted above looks like we missed a great place to visit. If you are going to be there, it would be a shame to miss it .... I think.

We had a raccoon acting weird in my driveway. As we drove up the driveway after being out town for breakfast, we got up toward the yard end of the driveway, and there was a young-ish raccoon stumbling and staggering around, repeatedly falling over on its side. I didn't see any foaming at the mouth. I was running late for some work that I had to do, so I ignored it thinking that it was just about finished off. I went out in the field to do some tree spraying, and when I came back, he was gone. Of course the bushes in the thicket alongside the driveway is filled with wild rose and other thick forms of brush, and there was no way I was going in there after some crazy critter, so I've got no idea where it went or how much longer it lived. I guess it is worth noting that distemper is pretty common in raccoons and imitates rabies in a lot of ways. Relative to whatever attacked growie's dog, there is another potential candidate. Somewhere recently, I read about a rabid bobcat, and I believe it was not too far from the western NY area. Smallish tooth pattern and jumping on the dog's back suggests a possibility of a cat attack (bobcat or house cat)

The problem with uncontrolled dogs is that they kill just for the fun of it, unlike coyotes that kill for their own subsistence. Back when I was a kid, we raised sheep and had several instances where dogs came in and went through the flock doing just enough damage to kill the sheep and never eating any of them. And why would they, they simply go home and get some nice dog food fed to them. So to them it is all just sport. would they kill fawns when they find them? ..... probably.

I had one camera out for a couple of days, and got these pictures. I also have seen a few fawns down in the driveway. They are around, but this time of year the thick foliage makes them hide pretty darn good. Also at this age, they and their mother are pretty much home-bodies and don't move any great distances. So if trail cams aren't in the exact right spots, you likely won't get pictures of them. After the winter we had, the fawn success rates should be pretty good.

Isn't it amazing how much we study whitetail habits and how little we really know about them? Of course if you count how much we THINK we know, then maybe whitetail hunting should be considered a guaranteed activity ..... lol.

I hope no one is surprised by this. We know where these anti-gun wackos are heading with their efforts. They're a busy bunch of SOB's aren't they?

They are pretty disgusting things. I generally leave them alone only because they are useful, but they aren't something that I have any particular love for.

At age 11, I carved a pretty good longbow out of hickory. I did use baling twine for string and some willow branches for arrows. I managed to bring down quite a few of those barn pigeons up in the hay loft. I cleaned them and my mother cooked them up for me and that was my first bowhunting kill. It started quite a lifelong hobby.

Frankly, I don't give a damn whether a "hunting dog" section is added or not. It doesn't affect me in even the smallest way. It's not my thing, but I do know that a lot of hunters are into it. It is a legitimate part of hunting whether I or others participate or not, so why not have a section on hunting with dogs? There are a lot of sections here that I do not access, but then the site isn't just for me either.

The real good news is that he apparently is not shy about coming out in the daylight like so many deer of this size.

Love that shooting bench, and the pavilion-type shelter. Did you build all of that yourself?

Not every bullet is used on game. I do spend quite a few hours simply bench-rest shooting so yes, cost is an issue. I also know competition shooters whose hours of shooting make my shooting look very casual. I'm sure the cost of ammo is even more important to them. One would have to give up an awful lot of lattes to cover an extra $10-$20 a box. That is a "big deal."

The date on the photo is April. That is the time they are shedding their winter coat.

That is what I have heard (read)..... moisture and humidity enhance the animal's ability to pick up scent.

I always wanted to build something like that, but we don't really have a whole lot of open land around here anymore. The older I get, the more I would appreciate some of the creature-comforts that such a rig could provide ..... lol.

You done good Water Rat. You got a hell of a laugh out of me. That was good!

The older you get, the faster time seems to go by. Retirement has really cranked up the pace of time for me. I don't like it. But I guess it is true that time flies when your having fun. What really makes you realize how fast time has burned by you is when those grandkids graduate, get married and start having kids of their own. I look at my kids, and they are starting to look old .... lol.

Hey! .... There goes one now.

I have hunting grounds that I have used for decades. In fact, I began running around our hills when I was 11 yrs old (that's 61 years). I'm not likely to find too many surprises, but annual conditions of food and various kinds of interferences do occasionally pop up. So one or two trips up the hill in a September time frame gets me updated to any important deer hunting changes. As far as cameras are concerned, I use them just to spy on the local critters and perhaps a chance at getting pictures of sasquatch or any resident cougars that happen by .... lol. No seriously, I do always hope to get something unusual like bear pictures or something like that. Many of my cameras are not even set up to take deer pictures. A good picture of a beaver or muskrat or coyote, and my day is made. If a deer goes by ..... great, but that really is not the mission of my game cameras.

Is that 97% a real documented, credible stat? ....Source?

It's not just tomatoes. Every year we get some rogue potato plants all over the garden. We do some pretty thorough harvesting, but you can't get them all, and the tiller turns them into seed potatoes. Seeds from un-harvested squash will germinate even in years when the stuff you plant won't. We had a mystery cucumber plant last year, and we didn't even plant any.

I have no idea whether this global climate change or whatever is legit. I am not trained in that area of expertise just like no one else here likely is. All I know is that if you offer enough grant money, you will have no problem finding all kinds of scientists that will prove whatever agenda item that you have. Sometimes I think the more outrageous the findings that these researchers can concoct, the higher their grant money grows with the next year's funded study. It seems that no matter what the findings from the "experts", you will have another group of equally credible and qualified "experts" on the other side of the aisle with exactly opposing "guaranteed" findings. So are manmade climate changes a reality? Who the heck knows? Take your pick of what "experts" you have a need or desire to believe.

As dry as it is, and with everyone seeming to have access to all kinds of fireworks, it makes you wonder why there are not more fires started with these things.

This kind of thing is getting to be pretty commonplace. Yesterday I had a guy stopped at a stop sign as he was supposed to be doing. I saw him looking right at me and then just before I got to him, he pulled out like he was looking right through me. I had to jam on the brakes and get way over on the shoulder to miss him. Things got a little hairy there for a moment. What the heck is wrong with people these days? I have had all kinds of these crazy things going on. I do think that half the reason that I did manage to miss him is that I have come to expect that kind of stupidity and was not completely surprised.

Nope! I drove for 20 miles with the wipers on and a fairly good rain ...... until I got within 3 miles of home. And then it got down to a very light sprinkle. Within a mile of home it was barely damp, and bone dry under the trees. By the time I got home, no rain at all. The dirt is absolutely dry. I have enough water drawn for one more garden watering from what's left of the pond (almost dry, and I can't get enough in a pail to draw any more). No real rain predicted for several days. There's a good chance we will lose the best looking garden that we've had in years. By the way, the sun is shining right now. We're on a well, so drawing water for plants is not an option.