Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Good morning, All~
We enjoyed a nice "first real snowfall" of the Winter a few days ago - about 8 inches of dry flakes.
After cleaning up and preparing for a deeper dive by Mr. Mercury - spurred on by crystal clear skies under a very full moon....
...my thoughts turned to the pursuit of a duck or two on local waters. All the ponds froze up a week or so ago - so the rivers are now the only available habitat for our web-footed neighbors. My 13-foot Sweet Gherkin would be available in the unlikely event that I needed to retrieve a downed bird.
Because hunting with traditional floating decoys can become both problematic - and downright vexing - when water decides to solidify, I typically employ "field decoys" in severe cold. I find a shelf of ice in some likely spot - and set the decoys upright - and dry-shod - on said shelf. My field decoys - unused in recent seasons - reside in the Granary - our smallest barn.
As the Granary is long overdue for a new roof, it has become inhabited - infested? - with Red Squirrels in recent years. They spent countless hours ferrying Black Walnuts from our side yard into shelter for the Winter. They have been very busy this Fall - an exceptional year for Black Walnuts hereabouts.....
Whereas the Granary had long provided well-organized and secure storage for a wide variety of valuable objects, it has suffered benign - but nonetheless woeful - neglect in recent years.
As it happens, my field decoys are hollow plastic. Our Rufous Rodents could not contain themselves - but discovered that the decoys could contain lots of "seeds"......
Most of my 2 dozen field Mallards have been saving-for-hungry-squirrels a full-to-bursting cache of Walnuts - most deposited with their full husks over the past couple of months. Sadly, they do not tumble out freely - like some misguided gumball machine. Most need help with their escape.
The scientist in me required an accurate census - at least for one "pregnant" drake...
Yup! Thirty-seven (37) walnuts in a single decoy.
Waterfowl hunters know that it is illegal to hunt ducks and geese over bait. While corn and wheat have long been used to attract waterfowl (it is legal to feed them prior to the open seasons), I am now wondering if the Law would view Walnuts as duck food. Would hunting over a decoy that I had not freed of its captive "kernels" send me into the world of felons???
As it happened, Mr. Mercury kept me from my intended field trial. When I arose earlier on Friday - all prepared to set a small rig on some accommodating ice - our thermometer alerted me to the below-zero air outside. (Ignore the time - it was shortly after 5:00 AM when I came downstairs.)
After reading and writing a few e-mails, the heat just kept on its flight into the upper heavens.
The moon had not yet set when I went out to fire up the JackieBaru (named for my grandson) and stoke the shop stove.
The car - unaided by a warm house - gave a sterner warning. In a rare encounter with Wisdom, I recalled a 5-below hunt years ago. The triple on Snow Geese from that adventure - wading knee deep in a steaming river - did not compensate for the frostbite in both hands... I decided to not hunt on Friday.
Nevertheless, I went to visit the river and enjoy its fresh ice.
Although not a good spot for gunning, the bridge offers a safe place to park and take in both the sights and sounds of a river that is in the process of "making ice".
Sweet Gherkin was happy to "sleep in" this morning.
Having grown up hunting in ice - on Great South Bay - I enjoy it simply for what it is - and for what it can do.
Of course, the ice here in dairy country is freshwater ice - a very different species from saltwater ice.
The river keeps it moving - and always changing. Mostly, though, it encourages the hardiest ducks and geese to head South for an easier Winter.
I left the river around sunrise and - as is my habit - headed to my nearest hardware store for some boat fasteners.
I had to pull over for this photo. The magic of adiabatic cooling keeps the temperature dropping even as the sun rises (as long as there is no wind). By the time I got back home - the air had warmed up to 0.0 degrees Farmingheight.
Now - out to the shop again - and probably to the river. Pretty sure the Model 12 will stay cased once again, however - even though 'tis now 26.8 degrees above.
All the best,
SJS
We enjoyed a nice "first real snowfall" of the Winter a few days ago - about 8 inches of dry flakes.
After cleaning up and preparing for a deeper dive by Mr. Mercury - spurred on by crystal clear skies under a very full moon....
...my thoughts turned to the pursuit of a duck or two on local waters. All the ponds froze up a week or so ago - so the rivers are now the only available habitat for our web-footed neighbors. My 13-foot Sweet Gherkin would be available in the unlikely event that I needed to retrieve a downed bird.
Because hunting with traditional floating decoys can become both problematic - and downright vexing - when water decides to solidify, I typically employ "field decoys" in severe cold. I find a shelf of ice in some likely spot - and set the decoys upright - and dry-shod - on said shelf. My field decoys - unused in recent seasons - reside in the Granary - our smallest barn.
As the Granary is long overdue for a new roof, it has become inhabited - infested? - with Red Squirrels in recent years. They spent countless hours ferrying Black Walnuts from our side yard into shelter for the Winter. They have been very busy this Fall - an exceptional year for Black Walnuts hereabouts.....
Whereas the Granary had long provided well-organized and secure storage for a wide variety of valuable objects, it has suffered benign - but nonetheless woeful - neglect in recent years.
As it happens, my field decoys are hollow plastic. Our Rufous Rodents could not contain themselves - but discovered that the decoys could contain lots of "seeds"......
Most of my 2 dozen field Mallards have been saving-for-hungry-squirrels a full-to-bursting cache of Walnuts - most deposited with their full husks over the past couple of months. Sadly, they do not tumble out freely - like some misguided gumball machine. Most need help with their escape.
The scientist in me required an accurate census - at least for one "pregnant" drake...
Yup! Thirty-seven (37) walnuts in a single decoy.
Waterfowl hunters know that it is illegal to hunt ducks and geese over bait. While corn and wheat have long been used to attract waterfowl (it is legal to feed them prior to the open seasons), I am now wondering if the Law would view Walnuts as duck food. Would hunting over a decoy that I had not freed of its captive "kernels" send me into the world of felons???
As it happened, Mr. Mercury kept me from my intended field trial. When I arose earlier on Friday - all prepared to set a small rig on some accommodating ice - our thermometer alerted me to the below-zero air outside. (Ignore the time - it was shortly after 5:00 AM when I came downstairs.)
After reading and writing a few e-mails, the heat just kept on its flight into the upper heavens.
The moon had not yet set when I went out to fire up the JackieBaru (named for my grandson) and stoke the shop stove.
The car - unaided by a warm house - gave a sterner warning. In a rare encounter with Wisdom, I recalled a 5-below hunt years ago. The triple on Snow Geese from that adventure - wading knee deep in a steaming river - did not compensate for the frostbite in both hands... I decided to not hunt on Friday.
Nevertheless, I went to visit the river and enjoy its fresh ice.
Although not a good spot for gunning, the bridge offers a safe place to park and take in both the sights and sounds of a river that is in the process of "making ice".
Sweet Gherkin was happy to "sleep in" this morning.
Having grown up hunting in ice - on Great South Bay - I enjoy it simply for what it is - and for what it can do.
Of course, the ice here in dairy country is freshwater ice - a very different species from saltwater ice.
The river keeps it moving - and always changing. Mostly, though, it encourages the hardiest ducks and geese to head South for an easier Winter.
I left the river around sunrise and - as is my habit - headed to my nearest hardware store for some boat fasteners.
I had to pull over for this photo. The magic of adiabatic cooling keeps the temperature dropping even as the sun rises (as long as there is no wind). By the time I got back home - the air had warmed up to 0.0 degrees Farmingheight.
Now - out to the shop again - and probably to the river. Pretty sure the Model 12 will stay cased once again, however - even though 'tis now 26.8 degrees above.
All the best,
SJS
