My thermometer read minus 10 degrees this morning when I got up to let my dog out. She didn’t like it either and didn’t waste any time outside before she was in her favorite position beside the woodstove. Many people have been praying for snow, and when it came it came by the dumptruck load.
We got about 16 inches from the December 21 storm. It wasn’t unexpected, but I am always taken aback when it does come. Where I live, we have to walk to the house because of its location; the road that leads to the house is not plowable because of the steepness, hence my unexcited attitude about snow in the winter. Martha and I joke that the walk up and down the mountain (actually a large hill) is the reason why both of us are in reasonably good shape for our ages.
I joke to her that some night I won’t make it home from the office at the appointed time, and she will find me the next morning lying stiff in the trail down the hill. They say there are worse ways to go than freezing to death.
In my travels, I have noticed that the deer are already in their wintering yards. It is amazing how deer know when the end of hunting season is. David John showed me a picture he took in Magalloway, Maine, the day after muzzleloader season ended of a nice 10-point buck. It was standing out in an open field looking at him without a care in the world. David said that there were a couple other nice bucks with him, all unconcerned about their safety.
With the amount of snow we recently received, I imagine the deer will start getting active and making trails through their winter yards so they will be able to get around later in the winter.
When I lived in Oqoussoc, Maine, for two winters, I used to look out the window behind my house and watch as groups of deer would continuously walk around, keeping trails open. They would walk in line, one behind the other, and when one got tired of breaking trail, it would step aside and another deer would take its place. When that one got tired, it too would step aside and a new one would take over. They did this all winter, and I never tired of watching them. The trails they made seemed endless and crisscrossed each other all through the woods. I made several attempts to try to follow them to see if there was any pattern to them, but they were far too numerous.
However, as the winter wore on, the deer abandoned many of the outlying trails and seemed to focus on the main artery trails that were in the heart of the deeryard. Late in the season, I noticed that when deer were breaking trail in new snow, they didn’t have the stamina they had earlier in the season and would takes turns more quickly.
I am always on an endless journey here in the North Country, whether it is driving to the office in Berlin, traveling around and visiting with customers or just running around doing errands. It seems like nothing is ever close when I have to go somewhere. All this driving allows me to see what is going on around here. I am always amazed when I see a new house or camp being built and how quickly it goes up. In October, there was a cellarhole dug in Millsfield along Route 26. One day I saw the concrete truck pouring concrete for the foundation. I drove a different route for three days and when I did drive past the construction site, there already was a house on the foundation. I couldn’t believe they could build a house that quickly, and I investigated and found that it was a modular home built in two parts and transported to the site and put together. On the other end of the spectrum, there is a log camp being built in Wentworth Location that is going on its second year. I think whoever is building it is a stickler for details and is handscribing each log with meticulous precision; or they are very, very slow and not too ambitious.
If anyone wants to see some deer this winter, take a drive up Route 16 into Wilsons Mills, Maine. There are always a few deer in Wentworth Location around the area where the headquarters for the Lake Umbagog Wildlife Refuge is located, but there are always more in the hamlet of Wilsons Mills. About a mile south of Aziscoos Dam, there is a beautiful log home being built, and watching its progress this fall has been quite interesting. When it is finished, it will be something special. But when driving through the town, keep a sharp eye in the woods off the sides of the road because that is where you will see deer as the town is actually one huge deer wintering yard.
I am looking forward in participating in the 2009 3rd annual Whitetailzone fun hunt. I was invited to participate in this annual event by Rick Mercier and Shawn Lettre of Berlin, who are members of the Internet group of outdoorsmen. The hunt will take place the weekend of January 17 -18 and will involve about 15 guys with 13 or so beagles all in quest of snowshoe hares. I say that in jest because I think it is more like a get-together than an actual hunt.
I was introduced to www.whitetailzone.net by Rick, who encouraged me to check it out. It is a very interesting website, and I recommend it to anyone looking to connect with other outdoor enthusiasts from the area. The forums are interesting and informative, and some of the humor that these guys write would enhance any sitcom on television.
I hunted with Shawn and Rick last winter and am looking forward to hunting with them again. Shawn operates Shoot-A-Hare Guide Service out of Berlin and has some nice dogs to hunt over, if anyone is interested.
There have been mixed comments about this year’s deer season. I have heard everything from an excellent season to one that was “way off” from past years. Bill Mateson of Swiftwater Way Station in Bath said their numbers of tagged deer from last year to this year were off only by a couple, but the local game warden told him that he expects to see at least a 10% reduction in this year’s deer kill over last year. Bill pointed out that last year was a banner year, and even with 10% decrease, it would be better than most years in the past.
I have probably talked with over a hundred hunters, and I didn’t hear one say they saw no sign or saw no deer. As a matter of fact, almost everyone I have talked to seemed to think that the deer population is healthy and growing here in the North Country. It does seem that Carroll County’s kill was off. Lee Pilkovsky of Wolfeboro Bay Outfitters said his numbers were way off from past years and that hunters complained that they were not seeing as many deer as in years past. Lee blamed it on winter kill from last year’s heavy snowfall.
I have received hundreds of photos of deer people have shot, and I am impressed by the racks many of these deer support. Many of the younger, 3 year-old deer have racks that imply that if they make it to 4 years of age, they will be wearing some impressive headgear. Let’s hope that is true, as not all those 3-year olds were shot this season.
I hunt the big woods, and I usually see quite a few tracks from big bucks. I am talking 200 pounders here, and what I saw in my usual hunting areas leads me to think that we lost some of these ole big boys last winter, because their tracks were not as evident as in past years.
I have this favorite ridge I hunt along the Maine/New Hampshire border in Pittsburg which usually supports a half dozen big bucks, and I used to enjoy cutting one of these tracks and following it all day. It usually never paid off, but it has taught me quite a bit about these big boys’ habits over the years. I had plenty of snow during the season, and in all my time hunting this ridge, I never once cut a track of a buck that I estimated weighed over 200. But I did see plenty of young deer and sign, which leads me to believe next year those big deer will be around. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope so.
I am looking forward to January. Martha and I will be attending the Rockingham Sportsman Expo in Derry over the weekend of January 9. If you go to the show, please stop by and say hello and maybe swap a story or two. I am more anxious about getting out and setting some tip-ups and fishing. I have a couple of fishing buddies that I need to motivate first, one being Martha. She is pretty exhausted having worked two full-time jobs for the past two months—teaching 6th graders in Colebrook and her college job—and needs a week or so of rest. But come the end of January, she had better be ready or I will be out on the lakes and ponds by myself. Perhaps we will bump into some of you.
All indications are pointing to an excellent winter fishing season and predictions of the weather are for a mild and enjoyable winter. Have a happy New Year everyone!