Accepting place

I decided a long time ago that this would not become an "I live at the beach" blog. At some point though I need to address where I live and how it affects me and the animals in my care.

In the course of my inner dialog, I often complain about where I live and how it impacts my hunting.

I live on a little spit of land off of the coast of North Carolina. There is not much to it. We are surrounded by the ocean on one side and the sound on the other. We are only about a mile wide at the thickest part, 200 yard in others. We are windswept and everything we due is based on the ocean and the weather.

I don't have mountains or large tracts of hunt able land. Most areas where I hunt are waterlogged, parts of it impassable due to swamp or bog. In the summer, we are inundated with tourists, which is both good and bad. We lose our elbow room, but they are our main economy.

I could go on, but instead of lamenting what I don't have, I've decided to embrace what I do.

I took my camera with me when I went to work cleaning pools the pother day and napped some pictures. Just random things I would see on any given day as I drive up the beach. Some of it is good, some not - but all of it makes this place what it is.


We have wildlife. More than most people would ever expect. but we are missing some of the staples of other areas. No skunk, no ground hog and not too many rabbits.

But lots of snakes and reptiles, plenty of deer, hog,and squirrel.

Lots of water, lots of boating and fishing, surfing and kayaking.

Tics and spiders and bugs.

And history.

We live in an area that was settled before Jamestown.
The local families can trace their roots back to shipwrecks and sailing vessels, piracy and plunder.

Roots go back to black beard and further to the lost colony.


It is very easy to complain - I know - I'm guilty. It is sometimes harder to appreciate what you really have. I've got access to hunting, I have wildlife, I have natural beauty.

I have space, and birds to trap.

falcons and accipiters.

Red tails

Of course I have family and roots.

I encourage you to take the time to look around and see what you have.

Try no to worry to much about what you don't.

I don't know scat

I went for a short walk the other day. It was a short one, no longer than 15 minutes. With cooler weather moving in, I'm finding that the wander-lust is upon me.

It happens every Fall. I get a yearning to travel, to start something new. This is the time of year I like to walk, to go places. So, a short walk to satisfy this hunger.

It is a well used path, and I saw the normal things. Lots of tracks; deer, fox, raccoon, mountain bike.

There are lots of spiders out this time of year and these are some of my favorite.

Presently, I came across some scat, smack in the middle of the trail. It looked like large dog and being that this is a well traveled path, I didn't think much about it.

As I passed I noticed that it was completely full of hair. I mean, it was completely hair.
My flip flop is a size 10.

Anyone have any ideas? Or is it just domestic dog.

Time to Step Up?

Hunters, as a general rule, care more about the environment than most groups in America. Historically, hunters have played a role in many of the nations major conservation efforts. Falconers have done the same, focusing especially on their birds and the environments which support their game species.

Cool Green Science writers believe that in the fight against climate change, there may be more that we can do.

... it’s heartening to see the Seasons’ End campaign, an effort by hunting and fishing organizations to find solutions to the climate change issue.

Supported by such respected sportsman-led conservation groups as Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, Pheasants Forever and others, the coalition offers substantial information on how climate change will affect game and fish species, and by extension hunting and fishing opportunities.

I admit that there is more that I could be doing to effect change. I could give more, spend more time, spread the word so that the future of my sport is sound.

Photo from http://munster.sasktelwebsite.net/PrairieSky.html

Check out the Season's End campaign. I'll be doing some reading, and then seeing what my wallet can handle.

Eagles

Ten years ago, I never saw eagles here. As a kid I saw them when we went out west, but in the east, they were rare.

Now, there are frequent eagle sightings for those who care to look. When I drove to Lillington yesterday, I saw three. I had one knock Gonzo out of a tree the other day near my house - that's a story for another day.

Occasionally, I get calls to come and rescue this bird or that. People here on the beach call me "the bird man". Most of them know I keep birds of different kinds, usually because of the school kids.

That's me in the hat.

I got a call one evening from Jen, a rehabber friend of mine who needed some help with an eagle. It had been rescued and was severely underweight. They'd brought it back from the brink, and after several months of work, decided that it was time to release the bird back into the wild.

Jen was nervous. She was the one who was had rescued the bird in the beginning, but she was going to be handling this bird now in front of everyone: newspapers, FWS people, as well as the public.

We pulled into Alligator River Wildlife Refuge.

It was rainy and nasty. The mud squelched under our feet and the rain ran in rivulets down the dirt road. The clouds hung low over the field where the release was ging to happen. It was miserable. Some people hung back in in their cars to stay out of the rain, but there was still a crowd, standing their dripping in the mud, waiting for the eagle to be released. My kids were there, so was Andrew, watching from the side.

I've never handled an eagle before. It was big. It's feet were huge! But even then, it wasn't large for an eagle. I reached into the dog Kennel, where it was being kept for transport and pulled the bird out, feeling its weight in my hands. It didn't want to be handled and was ready to escape. I cradled it in my arms and brought it over to Jen for the release.

It was a small tiercel (male) bald eagle. You could tell it was young because it didn't have its white head. It was brown all over, except for blotches of white beneath the wings. Maybe three years old.

He reluctantly stood for a moment to pose for pictures, and then Jen thrust him into the air.

He launched and circled our heads. I figured he would just land and sit in the puring rain. But he flew for us, looking huge and masterful close above our heads, and then he took off for the treeline.
It was cool.


.

How the City Hurts your Brain

I often comment that I don't like people. Technically, that's not true. I don't like large groups of people. Oh, I can take it in small doses, but soon enough I get claustrophobic and have to escape.

The Boston Globe writes:

Now scientists have begun to examine how the city affects the brain, and the results are chastening. Just being in an urban environment, they have found, impairs our basic mental processes. After spending a few minutes on a crowded city street, the brain is less able to hold things in memory, and suffers from reduced self-control. While it's long been recognized that city life is exhausting -- that's why Picasso left Paris -- this new research suggests that cities actually dull our thinking, sometimes dramatically so.

I can't say that I'm surprised. I often don't understand how "city people" can stand it.

For the complete article go here:

Turning 40- with snow

I turn 40 today.
There's no real change. My wife complains that there is no way to embarrass me, so my turning 40 isn't any fun. I was supposed to go hunting this morning with Andrew, but a winter storm whipped up overnight with high wind, so we called it off this morning.



Where I live we haven't had snow accumulate in over five years, so the kids are outside, giddy with excitement.

I got a camera, so I don't have to keep stealing my wife and kids to take pictures. I'll be taking the kids sledding in a little while. Then tomorrow, I hawk in the snow. It'll only be the second time in my life for that. I'll be taking pictures.

Oh yeah - Go Steelers