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In
this Issue FIN,
FUR & FEATHERS
The dog days of summer are upon us as I write this in mid-August. Finally, a couple of dousing frontal storms have arrived, and showers are forecast for tomorrow, with less heat. The hot, dry spell meant daily watering of both vegetable and flower gardens, and they flourished. I hate butternut squash, but the rest of the clan loves it, so we put some in, for the first time in many years. Its vines are growing into the pool area, all over the tomatoes and cukes, and heading across the lawn toward my neighbor to the west. He’ll probably end up picking some this fall. A couple trips to the saltwater have put stripers and bluefish on the menu, while my brother, seemingly at will, can go to the Quabbin and put limits of decent rainbow trout and salmon in the boat, even after a 9 a.m. start. Other Quabbin anglers bemoan the fact that they rarely get a bite after 8 a.m., the rest of the day being a boat ride until they’ve had enough sun to call it quits. The other point of interest is that I’ve noticed a lack of tackle maintenance on the part of these saltwater professionals. They seem too busy trying to get the sports into fish, or to get the fish in the boat for the commercial catch. Four times in the last two trips I’ve seen the knot where the wire line meets the backing fail, once when I had on what was obviously the best bass of the day. But all these skippers learned a lesson. Losing $12 worth of wire, a lure costing $4 to $15, and a bass easily worth $60, all at once hurts. Big fish always find any flaw in tackle or technique, and it’ll bite you in the end. Unless they pull off a late hatch, waterfowl numbers will be down this season. All that cold rainy weather during the nesting season had high chick and egg mortality. I haven’t been in the woods enough lately to get an idea of how the grouse and woodcock fared, but will offer an opinion when this has happened. Pup is taller than she is long, excluding the long, lashing tail, of course. Race horse legs and a nose that looks like 6 inches of 2x4 stuck out from the front of her beautiful forehead bode well for the coming season. If sensitivity is proportional to nose length, hers should be a vacuum cleaner capable of detecting stinky pheasants 200 feet away. Summer’s back is broken. Soon long pants will be comfortable again. I read of a fellow inn the back woods of Maine who in the hottest weather kept a large block of ice in the kitchen sink. With the window above the sink open, his central air conditioning was in operation, and amazingly effective, according to the writer. This fellow would also be reading Jack London’s book of Alaskan adventures. Reading of –20 degree adventures, with fingers and nose numb, got his mind off the heat, and in fact, gave him an occasional chill. Mind over matter, I guess. Sweet juicy peaches are available at local orchards and will have you looking forward to flannel shirt days with sweet cider, crisp sweet apples, and the delicious baked goods. It all gets better from here until the heavy snows, bbrrrr. Get the guns and bows out and practice, and then take the dogs out for a romp in the cool evening. Get a good night’s sleep with the bedroom window open and the A/C off. Get up early and try the browns at South Pond. There, that’ll keep you busy. I hope to see you at the Massachusetts Outdoor Exposition, Sept. 25, at the Hamilton Rod & Gun Club in Sturbridge. As usual, my crew will be there teaching people who have probably never held a shotgun to hit clay targets, in the air. It is free, fun, and all of the outdoor disciplines are covered. It is great hands-on entertainment for the entire family, on National Hunting and Fishing Day. |
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