Friday Fishing Outing

Today the whole family went on a fishing outing on the "Rough Draft." Problem was, with the recent rains and my being away on travel, the battery had been depleted by running the auto bilge pump. So we weren't going far. Undaunted, we commenced fishing from our moored boat, rather resignedly and unenthusiastically at first. Soon, however, we were having a ball! The pictures tell the story. We caught 7 bass and 1 bullhead. The bullhead was especially important because it was Charlotte's first fish caught all on her own, from cast to landed.

Spring Trolling

Got a chance to get out on the lake to fish the northern end. We launched from Cayuga State Park. Trolled from the mouth of Canoga Creek south to Garnsey's Cove and back...about a five hour tour.

To date, the Brown trout I caught is the "furthest north" Salmonid I have landed in the lake proper. We were directly out from Red Jacket Yacht Club, about 200 yards from shore, in water about 39-40 degrees F.

Many pickerel were caught, some large, and one large northern pike. It was a great fishing outing.

Grass is Good

I was recently forwarded this link to a story in the Auburn Citizen newspaper, covering a Cayuga Lake Watershed Network sponsored meeting on the many benefits of grass. Check it out.

Beavers have arrived

Last fall while deer hunting in our gully, subtle signs of newly arrived beaver (or perhaps just passing through) were observed. A small beech sapling "skinned" and spear-like, floating in the creek; a handful of chomped off dogwood and poplar in the flats near the creek.

The beaver sign came up in a conversation around the dinner table, replete with recollections from my childhood in Minnesota. Throughout the winter, the possibility of beavers on our farm has generated considerable excitement among our budding naturalists Charlotte and Victoria.

So, with the thaw and resulting loss of snow, combined with a growing case of cabin-fever, we decided on an exploration. We tracked to the creek, built a fire as a kind of central rallying point (quite a challenge in the soggy conditions!), and had a brief discussion about beavers and their habits. I set it up so that the children were in charge of locating evidence, and then building a case, that beavers actually were taking up residence in our gully. My what a ruckus... shrieking over here on the discovery of a Carpinus caroliniana all chewed up, whooping and hollering over there upon locating a perfectly preserved set of tracks. "Daddy, over here!" when the beginning of a damn was discovered, and also the holes in the bank that we all hypothesize serve as quarters for the new beaver family as they continue work on impounding our creek. What a blast.

It was interesting to me that the preferred food did seem to be Carpinus caroliniana, followed by Fagus grandifolia, despite the presence of poplar and willow relatively near by.


I have posted a few pictures, and will continue to update the status of our beavers.

Bluebird Day

We have had quite a thaw in the last few days... the ice on the lake is showing signs of its inevitable demise. The snow is losing its grip on our fields, our pastures, and today I heard, then saw, a blue bird. The most simple kind of hope is found in the song of a late winter bird on a sunny day.

New Imagery of Canoga Marsh Project

Before and after...

Winter Dawn

Seneca Saddle Club 4H Christmas Party

Muzzle-loader Fox

We've had a thaw here in the land of Canoga Creek. All the snow melted away in the last 24 hours and the creek is swollen and chocolaty. I thought perhaps the break in the weather would get the deer moving and slipped away from the toil of work to hunt the last few hours of daylight. The ground was moist and quiet, with that springy pungency not expected until April. There was an eerie mist in the gully, but no deer.

I amused myself by observing the squirrels on the hill beside me, chasing, and was just remarking to myself at how quiet their movements were in these damp conditions when a flash of yellow and a snarling sound interrupted my rodent reverie. What's this? A nice red bushy-tailed fox, and me with a loaded gun, albeit somewhat atavistic. How interesting...
















I shot the fox with my New England Firearms "Sidekick" .50 cal muzzle-loaded rifle.
I have big plans for the pelt, which is in perfect shape.

Thanksgiving 2008

We were blessed to have a crowd of good friends for Thanksgiving this year. The Tantillo/Tarlow family joined us, as did the Stedman/Nolen family, the Winchell/Perkins family, and the Parks family. We had 10 adults and 8 children for dinner! The menu and some pics below.

Pheasant Hunt

The Pheasant Hunt
By Victoria Tidball and Danielle Riegel

We were in a car riding toward the one and only pheasant field. We were very excited. Then we stopped and got our gear ready to go, and went. Miss, the dog, was also excited. The breeze was cold and the thorns scratched us terribly and in pain we went on. Right away our Dad shot one. It's head was blown off. Then we saw another across the field. We ran after it. Miss was ahead of the gang. We missed the shot. We went along and found a bird nest. It was too high. We kept walking. Our Dads were walking in the woods as we were walking in the field. We walked towards the car. And all of a sudden another pheasant came out of the bushes. Our dads tried to shoot it. Then we went home. That was our trip. The end.

Deer Opener (gun) 2008

An interesting 11 point buck. Just under 13 inch inside spread. My thought was that I had shot a 2 1/2 year old male who had some antler issues...he passed the 4 points on a side test, but turns out that, after DEC aging, he is only a 1 & 1/2 year old male! Shame...he would have been incredible as a 3 & 1/2. Still, a gift on a tough rainy opener, and memorable.

He will be tender and tasty.

We are officially "Bear Territory" now...

Southern Zone Bear Units Added

New regulations expand bear hunting to 13 additional Wildlife Management Units (WMUs), which include parts of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Erie, Wyoming, Genesee, Monroe, Livingston, Wayne, Ontario, Seneca, Yates, Steuben, Schuyler, Tompkins, Tioga, Cortland, Broome, Chenango, Madison, Onondaga, Oneida and Otsego counties.

The new regulations are effective immediately and will allow hunters to pursue bears in these areas during the bowhunting, regular, and muzzleloading bear seasons in the Southern Zone. An updated map of New York's bear hunting seasons is available on DEC's Black Bear Hunting Seasons web page. A map and boundary descriptions of WMU locations can be found on DEC's Wildlife Management Units web page. Details of the specific changes for the Southern Bear Range are included in the complete press release on this topic.

Bear hunting areas in the Southern Zone have been expanded to better manage the growing bear population in that area.

"In recent years, the bear population in central and western New York has grown in number and expanded in distribution," DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis said. "Hunting is an important component of a comprehensive bear-management program that also emphasizes safety, education efforts and responses to individual problem bears. Expanding the bear hunting area is a continuation of efforts to manage bear population growth and range expansion."