Saturday morning I emptied the rain gauge here at the Aerie. It had rained pretty hard all Thursday night and again, although somewhat more briefly, Friday night. I estimate we had 0.7 inches of rain from the Thursday-Friday rains and another 0.2 inches in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Those, however, were what I would call Camelot rains, that is, they occurred over night when we (the cats and I) were safe and snug in our home.
Saturday, Sunday and Monday were lovely fall days with bright sunshine and cool temperatures topping out around 60 degrees. There was plenty of wind to go along with that, however, and leaves were falling line crazy. I would estimate that 80% of the leaves have fallen from the trees. Only a few of the oaks and aspens continue to hold on to their reddish-brown and yellow foliage. The locusts on the edge of the yard are still green but they are slow to emerge in the spring and late to give way in the fall, and when they do drop, the leaves are often still green.
The rain returned on Tuesday morning just before daylight and it's been falling off and on since with varying degrees of intensity.It won't be a surprise to find close to another inch of rain in the gauge when it finally stops later today. (At least that's what the weather gurus are saying--that it should end this afternoon.)
******
Terry has left on the second half of her fall tour of sewing conventions. She got back on Sunday from going to New Jersey to visit her Mom and daughter Jessica. This after she had been down to South Carolina (family) and Atlanta (SAGA). She spent Monday doing her laundry and packing her bags and the Aveo for her trip to Hattiesburg, MS (military reunion of her Dad's old unit) and Santa Fe, NM (EGA). Early Tuesday morning she headed south in a slight drizzle, hit a few pockets of heavier rain in southern PA, but then saw the sun come out as she crossed Virginia. She stopped in northern Tennessee just off I-81 for the night. That's about half way to her destination so she should make Hattiesburg this evening.
The military reunion used to be for the remaining members of the Polar Bears who served under Gen. Omar Bradley during WWII. As time and age have reduced their numbers, the offspring of those soldiers have continued to meet more or less as a commemorative of their parents' sacrifice and service. Hattiesburg, MS was the place most of them did their basic training before heading over seas and so marks the beginning of their involvement in the war. With so few left, it may also mark the end of the original members' involvement in the reunions. (I think, at last count, those able and willing to travel to these events was down to half a dozen as most are now in their nineties.)
A few days in Mississippi and then Terry will be heading west to the Embroiderers Guild of America convention in Santa Fe, New Mexico for hours of classes, interspersed with banquets, barter, and sight seeing.
******
Yesterday I went to the local Agway to purchase a new collar for Miss Kitteh. She had slipped out of the fancy red rhinestone job--again--and I couldn't located it. That red number was just like any belt with a series of holes through which a metal bar would go, but it was too lose on her little neck. Not only could she get her front leg through it to wear it like a bandolier, but she could, through vigorous scratching, undo the catch mechanism.
So I got her a bright pink job with a click catch instead...and a metal food bowl of her own...and a Tick Twister tick remover. The Tick Twister worked great in removing the large, swollen tick that was on her neck just behind her right ear. It looks like the claw end of a hammer and is used almost the same way as that claw hammer would be used to remove nails with one important difference: instead of pulling the tick out, you twist it out. It took me about two minutes to get the thing out but that was more because Miss Kitteh has some very fine, long fur. And the Vasoline I had applied the day before was still gunking that fur up a bit even though it had little affect on the tick. Any way, tick is now toast.
Kitteh has a new collar. I had to put a bell on it but when she gets her shots, the tag will replace the bell. I did find the old one stuffed along side the cushion of a chair in the basement where she has been known to nap the afternoon away. The collar was unhooked and not merely squirmed out of. The chair is convenient to the litter boxes, the dry food, and the water dispenser. She may be young, but she ain't stupid! It took her one day to figure out that when the other cats make a racket outside our bedroom door in the morning it means someone is going to show up in the kitchen and put food in the bowls for her to eat! And, now, she has her very own stainless steel bowl.
******
I got a call from up north Tuesday morning from the logger. He and his assistant moved some equipment over to my place on Monday and marked the state line a bit better in preparation of removing some trees. They will be taking firs for molding and pulp wood as well as hardwood. I just hope they take enough of the firs to open things up a bit. I was going to just cut the damn things down and let them rot in the hope that sunlight might dry up some of the marshy areas that have been created by the dense trees. With luck, any tire ruts he makes will also help drain the area. There are no marsh flora or fauna involved here, it's just plain wet with cedar and fir trees. Some drier areas have hemlock too. Al of these keep the sun from reaching the forest floor and prevent any sort of understory from developing.
Showing posts with label Logging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Logging. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Home on the Range
I spent the morning and part of the afternoon in the backyard of the Bolt Hole throwing lead.
This morning I took both of the scoped long guns out there and put 10 rounds through the slug gun--a Remington Model 870 Express Magnum in 12 gauge-and another 25 rounds through the Remington Model 700-a bolt action in .270 caliber.
My "range" is 50 yards long and has a pile of old logs as a back stop and miles of forest behind that. The target area was in and out of the shade as the breeze blew the tree tops about but the scopes certainly made things a bit easier. I also do not have a bench rest to work from so I was sitting in a plastic lawn chair and using a 3" diameter apple tree to steady my aim. Talk about real life scenarios!
I hadn't fired either one in a looong time so I was pretty pleased with the results. The .270 needed some adjustments on the scope and the slug gun still needs some fine tuning to get it where I really want it but these aren't too bad.
I shot 12 gauge, 2-3/4", 1-14 oz Lightfield slugs and they can and do pack a wallop-both on your shoulder and the game you're targeting. They also shoot very, very flat for a slug. I haven't had to, but my buddy Joe has killed deer out to 175 yards using the Lightfield Hybred EXP slugs. The box shows a trajectory of +2 inches from the line of sight at 50 yards and 0 inches at 100 yards. (It also says I purchased them back in October of 2008. Shows how little I've been shooting.)
As you can see, the shots are a little to the left and almost exactly 2 inches high. It actually looks worse than it was because I hit the copper pipe that was holding the target in place-twice. The first time caused it to lean into the bullseye zone and the second time I cut the pipe in half. Those two shots ricocheted off to the 2 o'clock position and tore up the target just a wee bit. ;-) I also made an adjustment on the scope when it seemed too many hits were to the right of center. But I think I turned the dial the wrong way!
The bolt action Model 700 has been my field weapon for a couple of years now. I just wish I had gotten one with a flat matte finish to the stock instead of the high gloss. The ammo here was Remington's Core-Lokt 130 grain soft point. My notes on the box say I purchased these in "pre'91" days. While Joe has reloaded some for me, these are off the shelf cartridges.
I was pretty happy with this final five group as four of the shots were exactly 2" high and on either side of the center. (The fifth shot was 3" high but pretty close to dead center.
The muzzle loader had to wait until after lunch. The .50 caliber Knight inline smoke pole is a lot of fun to shoot even though I haven't outfitted it with a scope...yet. And, using 209 shotgun primers as an ignition source, it has never misfired even if I load it on Monday and carry it through the rain for four days. You can ask Mark about that. He doubted it would fire until I proved him wrong. The only problem is that, like most muzzle loaders, it's not really meant to be fired a whole lot without at least a swabbing out. Sit down and put five or six shots through it and you better get the cleaning rod and a patch out. I didn't do so today and shots seven through fourteen were all over the place. On a couple of occasions I'm pretty sure it was because I hadn't seated the 245 grain bullet atop the powder properly--a dangerous situation!--but I escaped and damage to myself or my rifle.
Not too bad for iron sights. That little 5 inch diameter circle that is the outer orange ring was darn near impossible for me to see as the sun and shade battled to expose and obscure the damn thing. I'm also pretty sure I messed up my sight picture a little as the apple tree kept swaying and the chair sank deeper into the forest floor. Still, it's the first shot that counts! Right? And numbers 1, 3 and 6 were just an inch away from center at 10 and 11 o'clock. At 50 yards, numbers 2 and 5 may have produced a kill, but number 4? Unlikely unless the deer tried to duck in preparation for taking off.
******
On a side note...
There is a logger working some lands around here. He's taking hardwoods AND soft woods, something the fella that logged here before did not do. The soft balsam and cedar may be going to Canada to become molding while the birch and maples become saw logs for area mills. Hemlock may go either way depending upon what it looks like once cut. He's also taking pulp wood (balsam and fir and hemlock too small to be used up in Canada).
My shooting was interrupted this afternoon when he and I finally met. I've been wanting to open the woods up a bit for quite some time and this may be a chance to pocket some cash in the deal. I spent an hour and a half walking him and his helper around and showing them the property corners and three of the four lines. (I'm not 100% sure of the location of the fourth corner up here on the jeep road. But I gave him a pretty good feel for where it might be and he felt he could stay away from the line without losing too much timber.)
We discussed places to stage his logs and where he could easily get his machines in and out. I mentioned the sanctity of the rejuvenated apple orchard and how disappointed Mark would be if any of his babies were damaged by anything mechanical. We talked about where he might leave some logs as firewood should they not be suitable for the mill. He promised to take good care of the woods and not tear things up too badly nor leave piles of tops and limbs all over. (Especially since some of those tops can become pulp.)
We also talked price. Essentially, this is a percentage deal. We will go 50-50 on the hardwoods, 40-60 on the soft (I'm the "40" in this split) and a flat $12 per cord for any pulp wood. Since he and his helper are doing ALL the work from cutting to hauling to finding a market, I thought this a fair deal.
******
Also...
Terry reports that they came to the Aerie to take water samples today. The person who was taking the samples had a little better idea as to where Shell--for it is indeed Shell--will be drilling in the next six months or so.Seems they will be on the top of the hill near the existing windmills. Now, there are windmills on both sides of our road and the intersecting Mountain Ridge Road at the top of the hill and I estimate that there are five or six within a mile of our property, so, while the water sampler's information was nice to have, It didn't really narrow down the location to be drilled terribly much.
This morning I took both of the scoped long guns out there and put 10 rounds through the slug gun--a Remington Model 870 Express Magnum in 12 gauge-and another 25 rounds through the Remington Model 700-a bolt action in .270 caliber.
My "range" is 50 yards long and has a pile of old logs as a back stop and miles of forest behind that. The target area was in and out of the shade as the breeze blew the tree tops about but the scopes certainly made things a bit easier. I also do not have a bench rest to work from so I was sitting in a plastic lawn chair and using a 3" diameter apple tree to steady my aim. Talk about real life scenarios!
I hadn't fired either one in a looong time so I was pretty pleased with the results. The .270 needed some adjustments on the scope and the slug gun still needs some fine tuning to get it where I really want it but these aren't too bad.
I shot 12 gauge, 2-3/4", 1-14 oz Lightfield slugs and they can and do pack a wallop-both on your shoulder and the game you're targeting. They also shoot very, very flat for a slug. I haven't had to, but my buddy Joe has killed deer out to 175 yards using the Lightfield Hybred EXP slugs. The box shows a trajectory of +2 inches from the line of sight at 50 yards and 0 inches at 100 yards. (It also says I purchased them back in October of 2008. Shows how little I've been shooting.)
All ten shots of the slug gun.
As you can see, the shots are a little to the left and almost exactly 2 inches high. It actually looks worse than it was because I hit the copper pipe that was holding the target in place-twice. The first time caused it to lean into the bullseye zone and the second time I cut the pipe in half. Those two shots ricocheted off to the 2 o'clock position and tore up the target just a wee bit. ;-) I also made an adjustment on the scope when it seemed too many hits were to the right of center. But I think I turned the dial the wrong way!
The bolt action Model 700 has been my field weapon for a couple of years now. I just wish I had gotten one with a flat matte finish to the stock instead of the high gloss. The ammo here was Remington's Core-Lokt 130 grain soft point. My notes on the box say I purchased these in "pre'91" days. While Joe has reloaded some for me, these are off the shelf cartridges.
Five shots with the .270.
I was pretty happy with this final five group as four of the shots were exactly 2" high and on either side of the center. (The fifth shot was 3" high but pretty close to dead center.
The muzzle loader had to wait until after lunch. The .50 caliber Knight inline smoke pole is a lot of fun to shoot even though I haven't outfitted it with a scope...yet. And, using 209 shotgun primers as an ignition source, it has never misfired even if I load it on Monday and carry it through the rain for four days. You can ask Mark about that. He doubted it would fire until I proved him wrong. The only problem is that, like most muzzle loaders, it's not really meant to be fired a whole lot without at least a swabbing out. Sit down and put five or six shots through it and you better get the cleaning rod and a patch out. I didn't do so today and shots seven through fourteen were all over the place. On a couple of occasions I'm pretty sure it was because I hadn't seated the 245 grain bullet atop the powder properly--a dangerous situation!--but I escaped and damage to myself or my rifle.
The first six shots with the muzzle loader.
Not too bad for iron sights. That little 5 inch diameter circle that is the outer orange ring was darn near impossible for me to see as the sun and shade battled to expose and obscure the damn thing. I'm also pretty sure I messed up my sight picture a little as the apple tree kept swaying and the chair sank deeper into the forest floor. Still, it's the first shot that counts! Right? And numbers 1, 3 and 6 were just an inch away from center at 10 and 11 o'clock. At 50 yards, numbers 2 and 5 may have produced a kill, but number 4? Unlikely unless the deer tried to duck in preparation for taking off.
******
On a side note...
There is a logger working some lands around here. He's taking hardwoods AND soft woods, something the fella that logged here before did not do. The soft balsam and cedar may be going to Canada to become molding while the birch and maples become saw logs for area mills. Hemlock may go either way depending upon what it looks like once cut. He's also taking pulp wood (balsam and fir and hemlock too small to be used up in Canada).
My shooting was interrupted this afternoon when he and I finally met. I've been wanting to open the woods up a bit for quite some time and this may be a chance to pocket some cash in the deal. I spent an hour and a half walking him and his helper around and showing them the property corners and three of the four lines. (I'm not 100% sure of the location of the fourth corner up here on the jeep road. But I gave him a pretty good feel for where it might be and he felt he could stay away from the line without losing too much timber.)
We discussed places to stage his logs and where he could easily get his machines in and out. I mentioned the sanctity of the rejuvenated apple orchard and how disappointed Mark would be if any of his babies were damaged by anything mechanical. We talked about where he might leave some logs as firewood should they not be suitable for the mill. He promised to take good care of the woods and not tear things up too badly nor leave piles of tops and limbs all over. (Especially since some of those tops can become pulp.)
We also talked price. Essentially, this is a percentage deal. We will go 50-50 on the hardwoods, 40-60 on the soft (I'm the "40" in this split) and a flat $12 per cord for any pulp wood. Since he and his helper are doing ALL the work from cutting to hauling to finding a market, I thought this a fair deal.
******
Also...
Terry reports that they came to the Aerie to take water samples today. The person who was taking the samples had a little better idea as to where Shell--for it is indeed Shell--will be drilling in the next six months or so.Seems they will be on the top of the hill near the existing windmills. Now, there are windmills on both sides of our road and the intersecting Mountain Ridge Road at the top of the hill and I estimate that there are five or six within a mile of our property, so, while the water sampler's information was nice to have, It didn't really narrow down the location to be drilled terribly much.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Aerie Report: Tuesday 7/7/09
Ix-nay on the avel-tray.
I'll not be heading to the Bolt Hole this week after all. While the work on the roofs still needs doing, the guy Mark took to look at the project pointed out even more that needed to be done and said he didn't have the time.
I may have to go north to cut grass early next week, but until then I'll be sticking around the Aerie.
******
Terry and I were awakened by a T-storm this morning at 6 AM. It rumbled through for a little over an hour. We might have been able to stay in bed but Chester started howling for his (and the girls') breakfast.
Another T-storm moved through around noon.
The total rainfall from the two amounted to 0.3 inches.
I blame Terry. Last night she said we'd have to water the garden today. God must have been listening.
The temperature this morning was a cool 55 degrees and it never got above 72 this afternoon. A gorgeous day even with the rain.
******
The rain caused us to postpone a visit to the Blueberry farm until Wednesday. If the bushes are producing like they were last summer, we should be able to fill up a couple of buckets (about 4 quarts each) in no time. This batch will be for cereal topping, muffins, coffee cake, pancakes, and the freezer.
******
Logging continues in the Aerie woods. The crew was in and out over the weekend and again early Monday morning. They must be cutting and hauling by species so as to not have to sort at the staging site. My guess is that they are a little more than half way toward completion. Then it will be my turn. They are leaving the tops where they fall ad I'll have to go in to cut them up into fireplace sizes before hauling them out. And for that task, I'll have to get the ATV from the Bolt Hole down here--and for that I'll need a trailer. I could simply put the ATV into the bed of the Tundra, but the bed is a smidge too short which would leave part of the rear of the ATV on the tail gate, and the bed is a little to high to comfortably drive the ATV up and down a ramp.
******
Started practicing with my bow (an old Jennings Lightening with 65# draw and about 50% let down). Damn thing must be a Democrat. I started out by putting all my shots to the left of where I was aiming. I've since adjusted my sight and am hitting pretty close to center at 20 yards.
I don't use a peep on the string so I've got to be precise as to the anchor point against my cheek. Bringing the fletching of the arrow to rest in the corner of my mouth and looking through my sight which is mounted on the bow just above my left hand, there are many things that could cause me to be off by a half foot or more over 20-30 yards. Tilt my head slightly, tilt the bow (although the sight has a level built in to prevent that), twitch my left hand upon release of the bow string, be off of my anchor point just a quarter of an inch up, down, left or right and the result is a blown shot. A peep on the string would allow me to have to visual points much like a rifle's iron sights. That's far more accurate way to shoot but it's not easy for me with my glasses.
I can do 28-35 shots before the muscles start telling me to quit. I'll just have to do it over and over every day until I can make 50 or more shots. I also want to move out to 30 yards and be able to put all my arrows into the kill zone on a regular basis.
I'm shooting a 125 grain field point to match the 125 grain Magnus Snuffer broadheads I've got. There's a noticeable drop of the arrow even at 20 yards which makes me want to try a couple of 100 grain field tips to see if the arrow would fly flatter. Even then, I might not make the switch. The Snuffer broadheads go for $33-35 per three and I would want at least six, preferable nine--like I already have in 125 grain. The switch could get expensive.
So could the switch to a more modern single cam bow with far more let down than the Jennings. I started bowhunting with the Jennings back in the '80s and it has been a good solid bow. Perhaps too solid. It's a heavy piece of equipment to hold out with one arm while that buck is looking right at you. Still, the price of a new bow....
******
Still do NOT wish to talk about he Mets. Although, I will say, it's something of a relief not to have to wait until the last day of the season this year.
I'll not be heading to the Bolt Hole this week after all. While the work on the roofs still needs doing, the guy Mark took to look at the project pointed out even more that needed to be done and said he didn't have the time.
I may have to go north to cut grass early next week, but until then I'll be sticking around the Aerie.
******
Terry and I were awakened by a T-storm this morning at 6 AM. It rumbled through for a little over an hour. We might have been able to stay in bed but Chester started howling for his (and the girls') breakfast.
Another T-storm moved through around noon.
The total rainfall from the two amounted to 0.3 inches.
I blame Terry. Last night she said we'd have to water the garden today. God must have been listening.
The temperature this morning was a cool 55 degrees and it never got above 72 this afternoon. A gorgeous day even with the rain.
******
The rain caused us to postpone a visit to the Blueberry farm until Wednesday. If the bushes are producing like they were last summer, we should be able to fill up a couple of buckets (about 4 quarts each) in no time. This batch will be for cereal topping, muffins, coffee cake, pancakes, and the freezer.
******
Logging continues in the Aerie woods. The crew was in and out over the weekend and again early Monday morning. They must be cutting and hauling by species so as to not have to sort at the staging site. My guess is that they are a little more than half way toward completion. Then it will be my turn. They are leaving the tops where they fall ad I'll have to go in to cut them up into fireplace sizes before hauling them out. And for that task, I'll have to get the ATV from the Bolt Hole down here--and for that I'll need a trailer. I could simply put the ATV into the bed of the Tundra, but the bed is a smidge too short which would leave part of the rear of the ATV on the tail gate, and the bed is a little to high to comfortably drive the ATV up and down a ramp.
******
Started practicing with my bow (an old Jennings Lightening with 65# draw and about 50% let down). Damn thing must be a Democrat. I started out by putting all my shots to the left of where I was aiming. I've since adjusted my sight and am hitting pretty close to center at 20 yards.
I don't use a peep on the string so I've got to be precise as to the anchor point against my cheek. Bringing the fletching of the arrow to rest in the corner of my mouth and looking through my sight which is mounted on the bow just above my left hand, there are many things that could cause me to be off by a half foot or more over 20-30 yards. Tilt my head slightly, tilt the bow (although the sight has a level built in to prevent that), twitch my left hand upon release of the bow string, be off of my anchor point just a quarter of an inch up, down, left or right and the result is a blown shot. A peep on the string would allow me to have to visual points much like a rifle's iron sights. That's far more accurate way to shoot but it's not easy for me with my glasses.
I can do 28-35 shots before the muscles start telling me to quit. I'll just have to do it over and over every day until I can make 50 or more shots. I also want to move out to 30 yards and be able to put all my arrows into the kill zone on a regular basis.
I'm shooting a 125 grain field point to match the 125 grain Magnus Snuffer broadheads I've got. There's a noticeable drop of the arrow even at 20 yards which makes me want to try a couple of 100 grain field tips to see if the arrow would fly flatter. Even then, I might not make the switch. The Snuffer broadheads go for $33-35 per three and I would want at least six, preferable nine--like I already have in 125 grain. The switch could get expensive.
So could the switch to a more modern single cam bow with far more let down than the Jennings. I started bowhunting with the Jennings back in the '80s and it has been a good solid bow. Perhaps too solid. It's a heavy piece of equipment to hold out with one arm while that buck is looking right at you. Still, the price of a new bow....
******
Still do NOT wish to talk about he Mets. Although, I will say, it's something of a relief not to have to wait until the last day of the season this year.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Aerie Report, June 20
Not a heck of a lot to report from the Aerie the last few days. It's been raining...a lot. It's been cool...a lot. It's been breezy...somewhat. And it's supposed to be that way for a couple of more days.
******
We have had two visits from a bruin in the last four days. One evening (Wednesday? Thursday? they're starting to run together) it was raining hard as the sun set and I left the bird feeders out rather than get wet. The next morning one had been pulled down and the other emptied of every single seed. Since puling the feeder down required actually breaking the wire loop on which it was hung, I assumed it was a bear. Then tonight, we did get to see the bruin as it came to the feeder that remained just as I came up stairs from the basement to bring it in. It was a small bear of about 180 pounds--quite possibly a two year old. Terry says it's the smaller of the two she had come by while I was up at the Bolt Hole. "The other is three times the size," she said. And she had told me it was a mom and her cub? More likely it's two males just hanging out together. Anyway, I'll be whistling and clapping when I go out to pick up the feeders the next couple of nights. Just in case there's something in the brush or around the corner.
******
We signed a contract with a local to cut some hardwoods on our property. The money will come in handy but more importantly, as far as I was concerned, was the opening of the forest canopy, the removal of marketable white ash before the emerald ash borer (it's been spotted two counties to the west) gets to them, and the creation of one more logging skidway on my steep-sloped land. This new one will connect two existing skidways and cut across the face of a hill along which there has been deer movement in the past. When they get done, I'll be throwing some clover and other seed along that road and the others the equipment is likely to tear up. Plus, the loggers will be leaving the tops of the trees where they fall. The larger pieces will make good firewood next summer and the leaves on them now will be instant deer food. Or. at least the would be if it wasn't for the fact that the neighbors are also getting their property logged by the same crew so there will be lots of tree tops down in the surrounding 100 acres or so.
******
There's a rumor that tomorrow is officially the First Day of Summer. I hope it's true. So far we haven't seen much in the way of summer-like weather. One week back in the beginning of May and that was it. I got a laugh today when I checked the Old Farmers Almanac and reread their prediction for June in the Appalachian area (#3) which stretches along the mountains up passed Elmira, NY. It said we were to be warmer than normal (+3-5 degrees) and drier than normal (-1 inch). So far, at least for our area, their magic formula is a big 0-2 for the month of June.
******
We have had two visits from a bruin in the last four days. One evening (Wednesday? Thursday? they're starting to run together) it was raining hard as the sun set and I left the bird feeders out rather than get wet. The next morning one had been pulled down and the other emptied of every single seed. Since puling the feeder down required actually breaking the wire loop on which it was hung, I assumed it was a bear. Then tonight, we did get to see the bruin as it came to the feeder that remained just as I came up stairs from the basement to bring it in. It was a small bear of about 180 pounds--quite possibly a two year old. Terry says it's the smaller of the two she had come by while I was up at the Bolt Hole. "The other is three times the size," she said. And she had told me it was a mom and her cub? More likely it's two males just hanging out together. Anyway, I'll be whistling and clapping when I go out to pick up the feeders the next couple of nights. Just in case there's something in the brush or around the corner.
******
We signed a contract with a local to cut some hardwoods on our property. The money will come in handy but more importantly, as far as I was concerned, was the opening of the forest canopy, the removal of marketable white ash before the emerald ash borer (it's been spotted two counties to the west) gets to them, and the creation of one more logging skidway on my steep-sloped land. This new one will connect two existing skidways and cut across the face of a hill along which there has been deer movement in the past. When they get done, I'll be throwing some clover and other seed along that road and the others the equipment is likely to tear up. Plus, the loggers will be leaving the tops of the trees where they fall. The larger pieces will make good firewood next summer and the leaves on them now will be instant deer food. Or. at least the would be if it wasn't for the fact that the neighbors are also getting their property logged by the same crew so there will be lots of tree tops down in the surrounding 100 acres or so.
******
There's a rumor that tomorrow is officially the First Day of Summer. I hope it's true. So far we haven't seen much in the way of summer-like weather. One week back in the beginning of May and that was it. I got a laugh today when I checked the Old Farmers Almanac and reread their prediction for June in the Appalachian area (#3) which stretches along the mountains up passed Elmira, NY. It said we were to be warmer than normal (+3-5 degrees) and drier than normal (-1 inch). So far, at least for our area, their magic formula is a big 0-2 for the month of June.
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