Friday, October 13, 2017

Opener Eve

Weathered but ready for action: a punt boat full of decoys seemed like the perfect still life primer for the
excitement and enthusiasm that goes into duck hunting preparation

I don't feel like I'm a procrastinator, and Roy and I pride ourselves on planning ahead. But somehow, the last few days before the main duck season opens always feels like I'm running with my hair on fire. Tomorrow's the day.

The reality is we are and have been in pretty good shape. All of our major projects should be behind us -- barring something truly unforeseen. Roy is a master at anticipating the unexpected. He's been down this road a few times.

And the punters (particularly Jimmy) really make preparation for hunting itself pretty painless for the rest of us. He handles all the eager phone calls from adrenaline-infused lease holders on the West Marsh. And my guys leasing the East are very self-sufficient. Once we get the water levels where they need to be -- to facilitate access by both the hunters and the ducks, a task that is now just about complete -- punters and hunters put the finishing touches on blinds, insure access lanes are trimmed, and get the dogs and decoys ready. It's quite a ritual. But after decades and decades of fine-tuning, it's a pretty well-oiled (albeit unconventional) machine. People know what they need to do. And some of the fun of pushing finishing touches to the end is that it just builds excitement. For an avid duck hunter, the year really boils down to these few months.

The table is set. All we need now is for the weather -- and the birds -- to cooperate. Should be fun.

Much of yesterday was spent installing this 20' dock in the access to the Tower Marsh; I rebuilt itin two sections a year ago,
so I've been waiting a while to get this photo -- project completed

Our pedestaled boat blind as it is getting "grassed" (camouflaged with clumps of Phragmites and willow limbs);
the beauty of this system is the combination of mobility (it floats and pulls easily) and stability (the corner posts drop to
the bottom and make it as fixed as walking in your living room) -- it is as comfortable as anything I've ever duck hunted in 

"New #16" -- a modest 2-3 person fixed blind, now in place and ready to go near the footprint of its legendary predecessor
("Old #16"); the colors will blend as the temps drop and the surrounding vegetation continues to brown 


Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Walking the West Marsh

Grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, and others with six legs continue to be having a field day with these prolonged warm temps;
I don't know my insects very well, so I could use some help on this ID -- seemed to be a cricket (making noise with its legs
rather than wings, as hoppers do), probably 1-1/4" long, big jumper
With the sun shining (for a few hours at least) yesterday, I took the opportunity to photo monitor the West side of the property. I'm taking over 120 landscape images (monthly) for historical reference over there, but again, I could't resist capturing critters as they presented themselves. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite photos from the day.

We've had nearly four inches of rain in under a week with more unseasonably warm weather, so duck activity is still modest at best. But winds just shifted northeast, and we are supposed to cool off quite a bit -- at least for a day or two. By the time I drove home, the cloud cover had built up again and the temps were dropping. Afternoon highs reached the low to mid-seventies, but it was probably more like 62 by the time I got home about 6:00 last evening. That should usher some new birds down. And that's a good thing; the natives (duck hunters) are getting restless -- Opener is Saturday!

This parent trumpeter and its mate were accompanying four cygnets (young) through our newly emerging cattails in what
was millet last year; they were a ways away (~75 yards) when I took this shot, but both adults kept standing up
on muskrat hutches to keep an eye on me (Note the capture of water droplets from its bill . . . at 75+ yards!)

I like this photo because it shows several steps in restoration progress; from left to right: the water is up against the newly
installed stone protection in preparation for duck season; the middle of the image not only shows the heart of the new dike
(last year's effort), but newly emerging grass -- finally popping after all this water; and the right side shows the reds of a
bumper crop of smartweed -- a fowl-friendly food source that pioneered after the millet and will further 
encourage the proliferation of sustaining perennials like bulrush and cattail