For The Hunter in Chief

Threecollie from over at Northview Dairy made a comment on an earlier post of mine:

Our hunter in chief is dropping out of fisheries and wildlife and switching into agricultural engineering because he simply can't stand the liberal and so often totally illogical, if not downright wrong, bias of his professors. Having to swallow global warming whole and spit out papers supporting the government lockstep viewpoint has proven to be too much for him. It makes so so sad...I will miss spending the whole evening milking time helping him learn his Latin names and talking about wildlife biology. I don't blame him a bit though.

I can't say I blame him for doing so since he's paying the tuition to have these professors cite bad science as gospel. However, I'd like him to know that there are many in the wildlife field who do not lean so far to the left that they are in danger of falling down. My freshman roommate (from way back in 1967-68) is currently a professor of wildlife biology at Iowa State and, while I can't vouch for all his politics, I can infer some due to his being an avid hunter and fisherman. (That's one of the reasons he got into the field...literally.) I know many other COs (Conservation Officers) who are also avid outdoors men and women.

Take a serious look at the professors fields of study. (I'll assume that even at the small school you attend, they have to do some research.) Are their research projects as biased as their teachings? If so, you've made the right decision to go in to agriculture. If their research projects are not but are, instead, "real" science then you might want to stick around and offer up well thought out and researched arguments to their proselytizing. Hey, you might even succeed in swaying them!

I got my Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science just like my frosh roommate, but didn't have the foresight to go on to grad school like he did. (Besides, I was already in debt and in love. The dirty rat introduced me to my wife our senior year.) So I got a teaching certificate. When I tried to return to grad school for wildlife biology, I was limited as to my options since my wife had a pretty good job--with the USEPA--in NYC. Still, I got my Master's of Science (Ecology) but kept on teaching. I don't regret my decisions, but there were days when I wished I had gotten that degree that would have sent me to work with wildlife and not junior and senior high school students! Bears--even rattle snakes--might have been easier to handle.

What I'm saying is think it over long and hard. I can tell from threecollie's writing that you really enjoy both the farm and the woods. Which do you love more? Which will not be there for you in the future? Yeah, the road forks. There's no telling if they come back together later but they might not and you have to think of that as you make your plans.

Aerie Report, November 19, 2009

Sheesh! I managed to make it back to the Aerie a little after 2 PM yesterday after a lovely drive. No clouds, lots of sun and light traffic made it enjoyable. The only thing that stank was the $2.90 per gallon I paid for gasoline as I started out. Thank you President Spend and Print!

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One good thing about driving between Noon and 3 PM is the talk radio. Yeah, I'm a bit of a ditto-head. Like to hear him pontificate, but finding more and more that he's a day or so behind the blogs that I frequent. (And which he often sites as sources.) And I find some of his callers to be just a tad, well, looney. I'll hut the radio off maybe five or six times just to regain my sanity as I listen.

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Oh, and the other thing that ticked me off was the change in heart the weatherman apparently has had. Tuesday, the rains showers were supposed to happen on Friday. Yesterday they moved them up to Thursday afternoon and early Friday morning. And they bumped the odds from 40% up to 70%. Since the stuff is coming from the southwest, that means it will be raining at the Aerie earlier...perhaps as early as my departure after my PT.

It's currently foggy as all get out with the "ceiling" at around 1900 feet. Since the Aerie is at 2100 feet that means we're in the clouds. Sort of a Shangri-La moment, if you will. Who knows what's happening down in the valley below? IS there a valley below?

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The Tiadaghton Audubon Society diner last night was a small affair. Only about 25 people were in attendance to hear one of the two men who work on endangered species within the PA Game Commission. I kept my mouth shut--mostly--and only challenged him a couple of times. Once after he harped on the fact that many raptors were shot in the 1800s and early 1900s because shooters didn't like them. (Hello?! Can you say bounty paid for by the state? Hard times? Loss of chickens, turkeys and other small critters that would have been either supplying breakfast or serving as dinner to hawks and owls?) And again when he started on our "destroying habitat". We don't destroy habitat. We change it. Sometimes this benefits a species, sometimes it doesn't. He mentioned the changes after around 1870 or so and I brought up the number of farms that went back to forest around that time as men either did not return from the Civil War or opted for 1) higher education 2) city/factory life. Coupled with the mechanization of farming practices, the old sloppy hedgerow disappeared either into the woods or under the plow. Either way, species who found the hedgerowed farm ideal habitat had to move on.

I'll think on this a bit more and perhaps start writing a few posts about what is wrong with our approach to wildlife management and the use of key phrases that are geared to stir up the pot but are too often misused.

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I've my PT in a little over an hour. Then it will be a quick lunch and back to the Bolt Hole.

Bolt Hole Report, November 17, 2009

A glorious day here at the Bolt Hole. It was 20 degrees with not a breath of wind to disturb the few remaining leaves on the trees when I woke this morning at 5:30 AM. Everything was covered in a thick layer of frost. It was interesting to see the sun come up over the mountain to the east and melt that frost away. It started at the tops of the trees ad worked its way down to the lawn and then across the lawn from thee west to the east changing the white to green.

That's about all there was to watch. Nothing moved through the field behind the cabin. Even the birds seemed to have taken it on the lam. No blue jays, chickadees, juncos or even ravens. One lonely red squirrel complained about my sitting on the deck for a few moments before even it shut up and went about finding a warm spot. It didn't seem to be searching the pines for any remaining cones.

I did take a brief walk through the woods around noon when the temperature under the sun had risen to 40 degrees. Even with the rise in temperature, there was still frost in the shaded areas and ice heaved the earth in the really muddy zones. No signs of deer anywhere I walked, but I did kick up three grouse and get the attention of two ravens who came to investigate what I was doing.

The knee got quite the workout with my little walk. Slow motion walking puts a good bit of stress on the leg muscles. You may not get any cardio from taking one step every 5-10 seconds, but, believe me, your balance is tested as are the quads and hams. That balance puts your joints to the test. Ankle, knee, hip--they all take the strain. I avoided all the rocks and roots this time around and got back to the cabin after going just about half a mile in an hour and a half.

Nothing happening in the late afternoon either. There air was still as witnessed by the lazy moving smoke out of the chimney. And the sky still contained no clouds. Not even the contrails of jets could be found--and that is really unusual as the Bolt Hole seems to be on a regular hourly route to points west. (I've actually seen six or seven contrails at once formed by these flights. All hanging in the air like so many lines on a music score waiting for some ethereal hand to mark in the notes.)

With the still air and lack of clouds I expect tonight will be a cold one. It's already down to 26 degrees outside at 8 PM. It would be a two dog night for sure--if I had any dogs. Instead, I'll just have to stoke up the fires and make sure to stay under the comforters.

Early to bed and early to rise for tomorrow I'll be heading back to the Aerie for dinner with the Tiadaghton Audubon Society and then my PT/evaluation on Thursday morning. (At least this year the TAS won't have a speaker propagandizing Global Warming! The topic will be Endangered Species, instead.) I'll probably come back to the 'Dacks on Thursday afternoon just to be present over the weekend. There's a 40% chance of showers Friday according to weather.com. With any luck that might become snow at my slightly higher elevation (1800 feet). I don't know where they get their readings from, but we are usually 5 to 10 degrees cooler than they are. For example, they are currently saying the temp is 33 degrees while my digital thermometer says 26.6 degrees.

There's a weather underground station at a farm about 5 miles west of the cabin as the raven flies. It's station is under some trees 20-25 yards from the house and at just over 1400 feet in elevation and the temperature there is usually 3-5 degrees lower than here. (Currently 29.6 degrees there, 26.7 degrees here.) I like to check their info to see what's happening from time to time. Much more local and personal than the big guys.

Bolt Hole Report, November 16, 2009

Yeah, I'm back at the scene once more. Don't intend this to be a long stay. I just have to pick up some things I left behind and then it will be back to the Aerie. I've a dinner to attend on Wednesday evening and one more PT session on Thursday morning. Whether I return to the Hole for the weekend is yet to be determined.

I had a restless night sleeping. No, nothing to do with the knee just several things on my mind and lots of sinus pressure. The result was I woke at 4 AM and, since I couldn't get back to sleep, rolled out of the sack at 5 AM. I would have packed the Tundra and headed north then but Terry and I had some business to tend to at the bank so I had to hang around until they opened.

While drinking my morning coffee I checked my email to see that Mark had left a note saying that there was a fresh rub line in the apple orchard right behind the barn and that there were reports (and personal sightings) of bucks running all over as they seem to have finally gone into rut. He recommended I be sure to bring my rifle and said I should just sit on my deck from dark to dark. This report alone made me change what I was packing in the truck.

I finally got on the road at 11 AM and had an uneventful drive along the western shore of Seneca Lake and east on the NYS Thruway. Mostly sunshine and 45 degrees all the way. Little or no traffic to speak of. Even construction was at a minimum. They finally opened up the long stretch east of the Geneva where they had been resurfacing about 5 miles of the road. There are still a few spots where there's minor construction going on, but no more do you have to worry about shifting lanes and narrow roads with concrete barriers (Jersey barriers, they are called) hemming you in. Made one stop for lunch on the thruway and another at a Stewart's as I got closer to the cabin for some groceries before pulling into the yard at 3:00 PM.

The knee let me know what it thought of being folded in one position for all that time. Thankfully the kinks were nothing new. That's one of the other reasons for the stop on the thruway. Two hours or so in the truck and I have to get out for a bit of a walk about to stretch the legs. Besides, the cup of coffee I borrowed from the bank wanted to be released.

Unloaded the truck; turned on the water; built some fires in the stoves (only 51 degrees--inside--when I arrived); and then loaded the rifle to take a walk behind the barn for a look-see. Sure enough, a small apple tree not much more than an inch in diameter had a fresh rub on it. And, off to the west about forty yards there was a small hawthorne that had suffered the same fate. If the size of the rub is indicative of the size of the deer, well, he might feed a family of four--once.

I'll take a good long look off the deck in the morning and then maybe take a short walk along one of the trails around lunch. I actually don't have much hope of seeing anything, but, hey!, you never know!

Week 12 Top 25 (more or less) and their opposition

Going into Week 12 of the college football season and things are shaping up for the bowl season. There are still many conference championships to be determined, however and that alone will produce some movement in the weeks to come. That said, there appears to be only one game this week that could be considered a real tough one: Stanford vs California. (Well, maybe Oregon vs Arizona or LSU vs Mississippi or BYU vs Air Force or North Carolina vs Boston College.) Anyway, there are quite a few BYE weeks for members of the Top 25 (more or less) and quite a few games that can be considered mismatches (Alabama vs Chatanooga?). Here’s a look at this week’s rankings of the Top 25 (more or less) and who’s playing whom. (The rankings are from the AP/Coaches Poll/CBSSports 120. Those in parentheses are those going into week 10.)

1/1/1 (1/1/1) Florida (10-0) The Gators host Florida International Golden Panthers (3-7)

2/3/3 (3/3/3) Alabama (10-0) The Tide hosts the Chattanooga Mocs (6-4 in the Southern Conference of the FCS)

3/2/2 (2/2/2) Texas (10-0) The Longhorns play host to the Kansas Jayhawks (5-5)

4/4/4 (4/4/6) TCU (10-0) The Horned Frogs will be on the road against the Wyoming Cowboys (5-5)

5/5/5 (5/5/4) Cincinnati (10-0) BYE

6/6/6 (6/6/5) Boise State (10-0) The Broncos will play at Utah State Aggies (3-7) on Friday night.

7/7/7 (7/7/7) Georgia Tech (10-1) BYE

8/9/8 (9/9/8) Pittsburgh (9-1) BYE

9/8/9 (8/8/13) Ohio State (9-2) The Buckeyes play at Michigan Wolverines (5-6)

10/10/14 (11/11/15) LSU (8-2) The Tigers are on the road against the Mississippi Rebels (7-3)

11/11/10 (16/16/11) Oregon (8-1) The Ducks head south to face the Arizona Wildcats (6-3)

12/13/16 (18/18/19) Oklahoma State (8-2) The Cowboys host the Colorado Buffaloes (3-7) on Thursday night.

13/12/12 (17/17/17) Penn State (9-2) The Nittany Lions are on the road against the Michigan State Spartans (6-5)

14/17/13 (NA/NA/NA) Stanford (7-3) The Cardinal host the California Golden Bears (7-3)

15/15/11 (13/13/10) Iowa (9-2) The Hawkeyes host the Minnesota Gophers (6-5)

16/16/21 (21/21/22) Virginia Tech (7-3) The Hokies host the North Carolina State Wolfpack (4-6)

17/14/15 (20/20/21) Wisconsin (8-2) The Badgers play at the home of the Northwestern Wildcats (7-4)

18/19/19 (NA/NA/25) Clemson (7-3) The Tigers host the Virginia Cavaliers (3-7)

19/18/17 (22/22/20) Brigham Young (8-2) The Cougars host the Air Force Falcons (7-4)

20/20/23 (NA/NA/NA) Oregon State (7-3) The Beavers head north to play the Washington State Cougars (1-9)

21/24/22 (15/15/9) Miami (Fla.) (7-3) The Hurricane hosts the Duke Blue Devils (5-5)

22/21/NA (10/10/12) Southern California (7-3) BYE

23/23/NA (14/14/14) Utah (8-2) The Utes host the San Diego State Aztecs (4-6)

24/22/NA (12/12/16) Houston (8-2) The Cougars host the Memphis Tigers (2-8)

25/NA/25 (NA/NA/NA) Rutgers (7-2) The Scarlet Knights play at the Syracuse Orange (3-7)

NA/25/20 (NA/NA/NA) North Carolina (7-3) The Tar Heels are at the home of the Boston College Eagles (7-3)

NA/25/NA (NA/NA/NA) Nebraska (7-3) The Cornhuskers host Kansas State Wildcats (6-5)

NA/NA/24 (19/19/18) Arizona (6-3) The Wildcats host the #11 Oregon Ducks (8-2)

Post Week 11 BCS Rankings

As expected, there's been a shakeup in the rankings this week. The top 9 remain pretty much untouched but USC took a big hit after being dominated by Stanford last weekend. Right now, it's a three-way race for the championship game. However, the current numbers 1 & 2 must still meet to determine the SEC Champion so....

BCS Rank

1 Florida 0.983

2 Alabama 0.952

3 Texas 0.926

4 TCU 0.869

5 Cincinnati 0.854

6 Boise State 0.795

7 Georgia Tech 0.772

8 LSU 0.665

9 Pittsburgh 0.657

10 Ohio State 0.65

11 Oregon 0.626

12 Oklahoma State 0.471

13 Iowa 0.453

14 Penn State 0.413

15 Virginia Tech 0.404

16 Wisconsin 0.358

17 Stanford 0.341

18 Southern California 0.271

19 Oregon State 0.249

20 Miami (Fla.) 0.194

21 Utah 0.191

22 Brigham Young 0.187

23 Clemson 0.183

24 Houston 0.115

25 California 0.093

Week 11: Results

“Everyone is playing this week so there’s likely to be some shaking up of the standings.” Well, not in the top nine slots, but from #10 (Southern California) on down there should be cha-cha-changes galore. I count six (6) upsets and three (3) other games in which ranked teams lost to higher ranked teams. (The rankings are from the AP/Coaches Poll/CBSSports 120. Those in parentheses are those going into week 10.)

1/1/1 (1/1/1) Florida (10-0) The Gators beat South Carolina (6-5) 24-14.

2/2/2 (2/2/2) Texas (10-0) The Longhorns routed Baylor (4-6) 47-14.

3/3/3 (3/3/3) Alabama (10-0) The Tide rolled over Mississippi State (4-6) 31-3.

4/4/6 (6/4/8) TCU (10-0) The Horned Frogs creamed #14 Utah (8-2) 55-28.

5/5/4 (4/7/4) Cincinnati (10-0) The Bearcats held off # 23 West Virginia Mountaineers (7-3) on Friday night 24-21.

6/6/5 (5/5/6) Boise State (10-0) The Broncos destroyed the Idaho Vandals (7-4) 63-25.

7/7/7 (10/11/11) Georgia Tech (10-1) The Yellow Jackets manhandled Duke (5-5) 49-10 clinching a spot in the ACC playoff game.

8/8/13 (15/12/13) Ohio State (9-2) The Buckeyes squeaked past #13 Iowa (9-2) in overtime 27-24 earning themselves a trip to the Rose Bowl.

9/9/8 (14/14/15) Pittsburgh (9-1) The Panthers held off a late surge by Notre Dame (6-4) 27-22. Time for ND to look for a new coach?

10/10/12 (12/13/12) Southern California (7-3) The Trojans were the latest in the PAC 10 to fall to the Stanford Cardinal (7-3) 55-21. Yeah, that’s 55-21.

11/11/15 (9/9/9) LSU (8-2) The Tigers had a surprisingly tough time overcoming Louisiana Tech (3-7) 24-16.

12/12/16 (13/15/16) Houston (8-2) The Cougars fell to Central Florida (6-4) 37-32.

13/13/10 (8/6/5) Iowa (9-2) The Hawkeyes dropped a lackluster game to #8 Ohio State (9-2) in overtime 27-24.

14/14/14 (17/16/17) Utah (8-2) The Utes got creamed by #4 TCU (10-0) 55-28.

15/15/9 (16/17/14) Miami (Fla.) (7-3) The Hurricanes got beat by North Carolina (7-3) 33-24.

16/16/11 (7/8/7) Oregon (8-1) The Ducks quacked all over Arizona State (4-6) 44-21.

17/17/17 (11/10/10) Penn State (9-2) The Nittany Lions managed to come from behind to beat Indiana (4-7) 31-20.

18/18/19 (18/18/21) Oklahoma State (8-2) The Cowboys edged Texas Tech (6-4) 24-17.

19/19/18 (21/19/18) Arizona (6-3) The Wildcats got tamed by California (7-3) 24-16.

20/20/21 (24/22/23) Wisconsin (8-2) The Badgers beat the snot out of Michigan (5-6) 45-24. Is it time for Michigan to look for a new coach?

21/21/22 (22/24/24) Virginia Tech (7-3) The Hokies routed Maryland (2-8) 35-9.

22/22/20 (25/25/22) Brigham Young (8-2) The Cougars had a surprisingly tough time with New Mexico (0-10) but prevailed 24-19 in the end.

23/23/NA (NA/NA/NA) West Virginia (7-3) The Mountaineers fell to #5 Cincinnati (10-0) in a close one on Friday night 24-21.

24/24/23 (NA/NA/25) South Florida (6-3) The Bulls got dominated by Rutgers (7-2)
31-0 on Thursday night.

25/25/24 (NA/NA/NA) Auburn (7-4) The Tigers got tamed by Georgia (6-4) 31-24.

NA/NA/25 (NA/NA/NA) Clemson (7-3) These Tigers roared North Carolina State (4-6) 43-23.

Aerie Report, November 15, 2009

While points east of use, meaning the coast, have been buffeted by the remnants of Id and folks out in the Rockies are facing a significant snow storm, we here in north-central PA have enjoyed an extended Indian Summer. The sun has been shining and the temperatures will soar into the high 60s today. Interestingly, it's almost 10 degrees cooler down in the valley. There hasn't been much of a breeze for the last three days which translates into dense fog along all the water ways below us. The hills have looked like islands in a white sea each of the last few mornings.

While the temperatures will return to normal starting tomorrow, the prospects of precipitation remain minuscule until Friday. Even then it's a 50-50 shot right now according to weather.com. they say there's a better chance of precip next Monday and Tuesday (the 23rd and 24th)--which is to be expected as those are the first two days of bear season. *sigh*

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On the personal injury front: My left knee feels about as good as it did before the slip and fall. That means it still hurts a bit but I'd feel comfortable going back into the woods. The therapist gave me some exercises to do at home to strengthen that leg and they seem to be having a positive affect. I may have to start doing the same for my right leg soon or I'll be lopsided.

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I'll be heading up to the Bolt Hole for an overnight visit. There were some things that I left behind when I had to bug out after the injury. I don't intend to do any hunting while there. Talking with Mark, it would be futile to look for any whitetails. He did a walk about after there was a bit of snow on the ground last week and saw only coyote tracks on his side of the road and not even that on my side. He's up there for a day or two as I type. Of course, should he call tonight and say he saw something interesting, I might throw my gear in the truck after all.

A Long Way to Go (and a short time to get there)

As Rev. Paul says, the 300 mile round trip to Cabela's IS a long way to go to do some shopping. But what are you going to do when the discount cards can only be used in store? If it was up to me, I'd let UPS do the driving but....

I got to thinking this morning about that 300 miles and try to put it in comparison with other silly things I've done. To wit:

I would, when I was still working, on occasion drive the 250 miles from NJ to the Bolt Hole, cut the grass (a 2-3 hour job) and then drive back to NJ all in one day. A 500-mile round trip with 2-3 hours of pushing a mower in between.

When we traveled to Colorado Springs with the travel trailer, Terry and I would do make the 2250 mile trip in four days. That's a lot of hauling!

It took us just two and a half days to get to Spokane, WA when Rick returned from his tour of duty in Iraq.

Going out to Eugene, OR for Rick and Sandy's wedding, we made the trip (sans trailer) in just three days.

Terry and I once drove nonstop from the Denver area to NJ when we decided we had had enough vacation. That was 36 hours straight. (We did stop at the original Cabela's in Sidney, NE for a couple of hours, though.)

When we go fishing in Quebec, we leave the Bolt Hole around 9 PM, drive until sunrise, rest an hour or two and then drive another two hours on the "good" dirt road to get to the float plane launch site. Then reverse the process when the trip is over.

What can I say? I enjoy driving.

Looking over the itinerary for the Good Sam's Club Caraventure this summer, Not one day (after we leave Dawson Creek with the caravan) is more than 200-220 miles. It's going to seem like a real vacation! Of course, getting TO Dawson Creek and then back to the Bolt Hole may be another story.

Now all we have to do is find someone to babysit the three cats. They get car sick after just 5 minutes.

He's heading in the wrong direction but the idea is sound:


And, although I can't play a lick, this is one of my favorite traveling songs: