The other side of the mountain.

I made an extended shopping run to a town on the other side of the mountain yesterday, which always results in a very long day. I don’t do it any more often than necessary, but there are times when it simply can’t be avoided. While over there I stopped to take this picture.

Of course this is Mount Shasta, taken from just off Interstate 5 south of Yreka. The mountain is over 14,000 feet tall and dominates the landscape over there. In the summer months hikers and climbers come from all over to have a go at the mountain, but there are always a few who just have to try it in the winter. Injuries and rescues are common place, and unfortunately fatalities are far from unknown; including one just last month.

Spring surprise

Just when everyone thought it was spring! This was the view from my living room window this morning. Added up to about 4 inches. I had an appointment with the dentist in town this afternoon, and by the time I left home it had stopped snowing and turned to a slight drizzle. When I arrived back home it was blowing snow again. According to the forecast tomorrow might bring more of the same. Oh well, it’s still March. If you don’t like the weather just wait a minute.

Rescue

Fire places may be pretty to look at, but they aren’t very efficient when it comes to heating a home. Unless they are set up properly most of the heat goes right up the chimney, and they burn wood by the cord. When I moved into this house, almost 34 years ago, there were 2 fireplaces. They were all metal, including the flu which was painted to look like a brick chimney, so there was little fire danger; but the design of the fireplace was about as bad as it gets. The back and sides were, and still are, straight up; so about 90 percent of the heat went up the chimney instead of into the house where it was needed. The first thing I did was block off both fireplaces with sheet metal and install woodstoves on the hearth of each with the flu running into the fireplace through a hole in the sheet metal. 34 years later I still have the same setup. Woodstoves have fireplaces beat hands down when it comes to putting out heat. One stove is in the dining room/kitchen area where I spend most of my time, and the other is in the living room. The stove in the living room is actually rarely used, except during prolonged power outages that occur during the winter.

This morning after breakfast I was relaxing with a final cup of coffee when I heard noises coming from inside the fireplace in the living room. Uh oh, it’s that time of year again! I knew exactly what it was, because I go through the same thing at least once almost every spring. There was a bird trapped in the fireplace. Apparently the birds are looking for a suitable place to build a nest, and they manage to fall down the flu. They end up trapped in the fireplace behind the woodstove where they can‘t get out or back up the flu.. It is almost always the fireplace in the living room because there is no fire in that stove, and therefore no smoke coming out the flu.

There were a couple of times, years ago, when I went through the process of moving the woodstove away from the fireplace to get the bird out. That stove weighs 325 pounds, and it didn’t take but a couple of times until I tried something different! The solution is simple. I open the door of the stove and put a trouble light inside the stove, aimed toward the flu where it passes through the metal plate and into the fireplace. Sit back and await results. Usually within a few minutes the bird is attracted to the light, makes its way from the fireplace into the woodstove, and then out the open door and into the room. I’m left with a badly frightened bird, flying madly around the living room trying frantically to find a way out. I open a door or window and the bird makes its escape. This time it was a European Starling as it almost always is. I wonder what it is about that chimney flu that is so attractive to them?

FIRE

I wrote the following for a group that I belong to. May as well post it here too. Might give someone some ideas.

**************************

Fire, and the ability to create it anytime and anywhere, is what
separates man from the animals. Sadly modern man often falls short in this
regard.

There are a few of what I call essential items that you will seldom find me
without. I like to make up a little kit that weighs practically nothing, but
that can be a life saver. It consists of wooden strike anywhere matches in a
water proof match safe, a disposable cigarette lighter, a flint and steel
striker, and a few cotton balls. This makes 3 different ways of starting a
fire, and I like to have at least 2 of them with me; preferably all 3. All of
this will fit in a little water proof pouch, and you will find such a pouch in
every back pack I own, in my saddle bags, and the same items in the glove
compartment of my truck. I also have a little pouch that I can hang over my
shoulder in case I should become separated from my horse. It contains a small
digital camera, a cell phone, and a cigarette lighter. Admittedly there are
places in these mountains where a cell phone won't work, but there are lots of
places where it will. At my age, and considering some of the places where I
find myself, it's a good idea to have one along.

Another item that can come in handy is a piece of candle or some cardboard
soaked in wax. There is a home for disadvantaged children in town, and they
make and sell a simple fire starter as a fund raiser. I won a whole box of
these at a raffle once. They are nothing more that cut up pieces cardboard
soaked in wax. They must have a form of some sort that they put the cardboard
in, and pour the wax over it, as they are all about the same size and shape.
About the size of a large biscuit or small pan cake.

Several years ago some friends talked me into riding to a high country lake for
some late season trout fishing. It was November, and we had no business going
up there, but you know how it is when ya just gotta scratch the itch. We
saddled up and made it up the mountain, but when we arrived at the lake there
was 6 inches of snow on the ground and the lake was mostly frozen over. Manuel
immediately set to work breaking dead branches off some trees and peeling some
cedar bark. He had some matches, but he couldn't find enough dry tinder to get
a fire going. I had a cake of that fire starter in a plastic bag in my saddle
bags, and I tossed it to him. In a couple of minutes he had a fire going, and
we could all warm up. Here's a link to a photo taken at that spot.

http://photos.imageevent.com/bobmc/packtrips/websize/At%20Mavis%20Lake_%20Nov.%2\
02000%20copy.jpg

The education of Chigger

Well so much for the weather forecast. After the fog and the frost burned off it turned into a beautiful day. Still cool enough for a jacket though. I hitched up a horse trailer, saddled and loaded Sis, and took Bear and Chigger out for a little ride.

This was Chigger’s first time out with a horse. Of course he knows Sis from here at home, but he has always considered her to be just a big playmate. Fortunately Sis is good with dogs, and has the patience of a saint where pups are concerned. She will go out of her way to avoid stepping on one. The biggest danger is that Chigger, or any other pup, could grow up believing that all horses or mules are like Sis. Believe me they aren’t, and I’ve known mules especially that would go out of their way to kill any dog they could catch. On the other hand, I used to ride a mule that was almost as good with dogs as Sis is. You just never know, sometimes not until it is to late.

Anyway, I went just a little way down the road to get away from the houses, then unloaded Sis and turned the dogs out. Chigger headed out with his Uncle Bear just like he had been doing it all his life. Of course he has been out with Bear and I before, just never with a horse. He made the usual puppy mistakes of stopping to smell things right in front of Sis, expecting her to step around him. That is where a horse like Sis really pays off. Every pup I have ever raised has to eventually learn about horses the hard way. They are big and heavy, and it hurts like heck when they step on you; even if it is an accident.

I kept the ride short. I’m soft, Sis is soft and of course carrying winter hair. The dogs are in somewhat better shape. At one point we jumped something from the timber below us. The dogs didn’t see it, and I wouldn’t have either if Sis hadn’t seen it and alerted me. I only glimpsed it through the trees, and I honestly couldn’t tell if it was a deer or coyote; but I’m thinking coyote. We made a little circle and ended up back at the truck and trailer without any wrecks. Chigger did well for his first time out with Sis. I’ll leave the trailer hooked to the pickup for awhile now. There isn’t anyplace I need to go with the truck anytime soon that I can’t drag the trailer along if I have to. The weather forecast still says rain or snow showers in the near future, but I’ll take advantage of the nice days to get in a little riding time.

Hard to believe!

According to our local gossip sheet and the Forest Service, our snow pack is 146 percent of normal, and the water content is 129 percent of normal. This is in the mountains at the south end of the valley, where they normally take the measurements at 5 different locations. More is expected before the end of the season. You could have fooled me! I haven’t had more than an inch or so of snow on the ground at any one time all winter, and darn few times at that. From where I’m sitting there isn’t enough snow on the mountain behind my house to mention.

We’ve had some beautiful weather lately, at least in the afternoon. Got my mare up and brushed her the other day. Yesterday I saddled her and climbed aboard just to see if I still could. I had in mind hitching the horse trailer to the truck and leaving it that way for awhile in anticipation of doing some riding. Now they say the rain or snow is coming back, starting tonight and tomorrow, and continuing off and on all week. Hard to believe. There isn’t a cloud in the sky this evening.

Season's end.

Chigger's favorite position at 5.5 months old. LOL.

Today was the last day of the 2009 - 2010 squirrel season. The morning started out with pea soup thick fog, so I waited until it burned off and the sun came out. Squirrels usually do the same, and wait until it warms up a little before they start their foraging. I loaded Bear and Chigger in the pickup and decided to go across the river to a place where I haven’t been for awhile. I reasoned that there would be less snow than on the mountain behind my house, making it easier to get around. I was right about less snow, although I did manage to get into some, but there was sure plenty of mud. I had to use 4WD to get up the road.

Once past the last of the houses, and in some pretty good squirrel country, I put Bear out in front of the truck and roaded him about a mile to sort of take the edge off. After a bit I decided to put Chigger out with him since there was no other traffic on the road. This was Chigger’s first experience roading, and he was thoroughly confused. At first he started right up the road with his Uncle Bear, and I thought this was going to be a pieced of cake, but he soon turned around and came back to the truck. I waited a minute to give him time to start back to Bear, then I happened to look in the rear view mirror and saw him running back down the road in the direction we had come from. I knew he was looking for me, and didn’t realize I was in the truck. I stuck my head out the window and called him, and he came right back and started up the road with Bear again. Pretty quick he turned around and went running back down the road looking for me again. He just didn’t seem to connect the dots, and that I was right there in the truck. He did this a couple more times, and I thought it best to put this off for another time. Chigger is still very much a puppy, despite the fact that he weighed 54 pounds the last time I weighed him which was a little over a week ago.

I put Chigger in the cab of the pickup where he could sit next to me, and he was a happy pup. I continued roading Bear until we came to a place where someone had cut a down tree out of the road. Just past that was a snow drift that no one had broken through yet. I didn’t particularly feel like being the first, so loaded Bear in the back of the truck and went back the way we had come. I took another dirt road heading back toward home, and roaded Bear, still hoping to find some squirrels which we hadn’t seen hide nor hair of. I passed another pickup parked along side of the road with what appeared to be a family gathered around it; a man and wife, and a couple of kids. The woman was carrying a shotgun, so I assume they had the same idea I had. Hope they had better luck. When I hit the paved County Road, I gave it up and headed for home, ending the season with an unsuccessful hunt. When I got home and pulled into my driveway, there was a squirrel chattering in a pine tree right across the road. Figures!

Storm report

I suppose everyone who watches or listens to the news has heard about the storms hitting California. You know the old saying, “When it rains it pours”. From a 3 year drought to floods. Locally it’s been no big deal. We’ve had some much needed and welcome rain, and some but not enough snow in the mountains. One doesn’t have to travel far from here to get a much different picture.

Not far south from here the towns of Weed and Mount Shasta City are virtually snowed in. Interstate 5 was closed yesterday due to blizzard conditions in the Mount Shasta Area, and heavy truck traffic was held back as far south as Redding. Only limited traffic getting through today. All I know about southern California is what I hear on the news, the same as everyone else. Heavy rain, high winds, down trees, and power outages.

More stormy weather is predicted over the next several days, but apparently the worst is over. It was clear and icy here this morning, but starting to sprinkle some this afternoon. There is nowhere I need to go, and I’m snug and dry in a house with a couple of Airedales curled up near the woodstove and heater.

Puppy update

Chigger and Bear in one of Chigger’s calmer moments. These pictures were taken yesterday (Christmas Eve).





Chigger continues to grow, but he hasn’t outgrown his puppy foolishness by a long shot. He torments his Uncle Bear something awful. Bear puts up with it, at least most of the time, although he has sent the pup rolling a couple of times. Old Sadie still won’t have anything to do with him, and Chigger knows better than to push his luck by pestering her.

There is a formula that says if you weigh a pup at 4 months old, then double the weight, you will be pretty close to the expected adult weight. The only way I have of weighing a pup is to pick it up and stand on a bathroom scale. Then put the pup down and weigh myself. Subtract my weight to get the weight of the pup. When I weighed Chigger he was actually 4.5 months old, but that should be pretty close. He weighed in at 40 pounds. If the formula holds true, he should be right up there with Bear when fully grown. Bear is a guesstimated 75 - 80 pounds. I wouldn’t attempt to pick him up and weigh him as I do a puppy. I’d throw my back out and be laid up for a month!

Puppies........#$%&!

I took the dogs out for a little exercise today, and to set up a couple of calling stands. I hiked to one of my good spots, tied Bear and Sadie to a couple of trees, and put an electric caller across a small gully from us. Had the video camera on a tripod as usual. It didn’t take long to see that this just wasn’t going to work. As soon as I turned the e-caller on (remotely) little Chigger had to run over there to see what was making those strange sounds. Then he came running back and jumped squarely in the middle of his uncle Bear; biting, chewing, and rough housing for all he was worth. A few minutes of this and the older dog made it plain that he wasn’t going to take it anymore, so the pup spent the rest of the time on the stand digging holes and attacking some bushes. He was having the time of his young life! Like a fart in a skillet, he couldn’t stay still for a minute. It’s ok at this point, as the main object right now is to get him used to being out and to hearing the distress calls, whether coming from an electric or mouth blown call. At least he didn’t start howling at the sounds as some pups do when they first hear them. A little hard on his uncle though, who was tied and couldn’t get away from the puppy attack. Chigger knows better than to try this with Sadie. She doesn’t like puppies at all, and she wouldn’t have tolerated his foolishness for a minute.

After spending awhile on the first unproductive stand I gathered up my toys and walked back to the truck. I loaded Sadie and Chigger in the pickup and roaded Bear ahead of the truck for awhile to give him a chance to stretch his legs. For the second stand I picked a spot where I could set up right next to the truck with the camera aimed down an old fire break, and the caller parked in a bush several yards down the hill. Bear and Sadie were in the back of the truck, and Chigger was up in the cab. He was tired by then, and content to take a nap on the seat without trying to eat it. This is a good spot, and I have called in several fox and a bear from here using exactly the same setup, but no such luck today. Not even a bird came to the call, so I ate my lunch there then poked along home. I fed the pup, and as soon as he had his belly full he crashed. It was an exciting day for him, and he was plumb tuckered out. So far I like what I see, even if he is full of puppy foolishness. That’s to be expected. He isn’t a bit spooked about being out in the woods, and on the walk to that first stand he was running right along with the older dogs; not trying to walk between my legs (and tripping me) as some puppies do.

Catching up

I’m finally getting my mailbox cleaned out and catching up on the news I missed while my computer was down. I’ve already introduced the new pup, so here is a little about his introduction to life around here.

Chigger is smart as a whip and learns fast. Now if I can just get him through the puppy stage before I kill him. He will tear up anything he can get hold of, and those puppy teeth are sharp as needles.

Chigger is his name (they get under your skin and irritate the hell out of you) and he has already been to the mountains just like a big dog, and has been hunting too. The first time I took him out I roaded Bear and Sadie up toward a trailhead for exercise. I had Chigger up in the cab with me, and when we got to the trailhead I let him out and walked around with him some. Pretty soon I felt the urge to use the outhouse. When I went inside and closed the door he panicked. Thought he had lost me. I could hear him raising heck, but he had sense enough to go back to the truck. When I finished my business and went outside I could see him down the hill, sitting next to the truck, and howling like a lost puppy. I called him, and he came to me on a dead run. He had found me, and he was happy as he could be. Then he sat down in front of me on his little butt, and I swear he called me every name in the book. I can’t remember ever being cussed out like that by a dog before. LOL.

The next time out was uneventful. I drove up to the Lovers Camp trailhead as I wanted to look at the new corrals that the Forest Service had built there just before the fire broke out, and to see if any sign of the fire could be seen from there. It couldn’t. There were about a dozen head of cows and calves in one of the corrals but no one around. I let the dogs run around some and ate lunch there, and just as I was getting ready to leave one of the rancher’s daughters drove up with a stock trailer to pick up the cows. These were the last of the bunch that had been grazing in Red Rock Valley right through the fire. She caught me up on the news of where the fire had burned, and said the cattle had no trouble staying away from it.

A few days later I took all the dogs up on the hill behind my house and set up a couple of calling stands. Nothing showed up but a few blue jays, and Chigger spent most of the time bugging the older dogs. A couple of days ago I took Bear and Chigger out and set up a stand close to home, behind a ranch just down the road. I had the video camera set up on a tripod, an electric caller a few yards out in front of me, and Bear tied to a tree just behind me. Chigger was either bugging Bear or laying under the folding stool I was perched on. Only a minute or so into the call, Bear came to his feet and started growling. He was telling me plainly that something had come in the back door. I swiveled around as best I could, and there was a coyote standing there looking at me. Kind of a poor looking coyote, and may have been a young one. No way I could swing the camera around to get him on video, and pretty soon Bear couldn’t stand it anymore and let out a roar. That ended it. The coyote put it in high gear and beat feet out of there. I turned Bear loose for a little run, and he was back in about 15 minutes or so with his tongue hanging out. Of course Chigger had no idea of what was going on, but he has plenty of time ahead of him to learn.

Meet Chigger

If anyone has been wondering where I’ve been, I’ve been right here. It was my computer that was sick and spent over 3 weeks in the hospital. It’s all better now and I’m just beginning to catch up.

The only major event to take place while I’ve been off line is the addition of a new puppy; another Airedale of course.





This is Chigger, grandson of my old Kelly. I knew from the first day that I heard about this litter that I would have to have a male from it. He is a little live wire, and has been keeping me busy, but puppies are fun to watch as they discover their world.

Chigger investigating the chickens:



Soon after this photo was taken, he caught 3 of the birds in less than 5 minutes. He got a mouthful of feathers from each one and looked like he had grown a beard. Got his little butt paddled for it, and so far that is the only time I have had to lay a rough hand on him. He didn’t like it much, and although he obviously still has an interest in the chickens a sharp “NO” is all that is necessary to stop him.

Chigger discovers Sis:



It’s a good thing my mare is good with dogs and puppies. A mule would have killed him by now! They don’t take kindly to puppies who snap at their heels and pull on their tails. Lots of horses wouldn’t tolerate it either.

Old Sadie will turn 14 years old next month, and she hates puppies almost as much as she hates other females. She is doing her best to ignore the new pup. His Uncle Bear will play with him some, but I can see that he is getting tired of being a chew toy. Those puppy teeth are sharp, and nothing is sacred. It’s the old story, “If you want it, keep it out of reach”. He will tear up anything he can get hold of! He is growing like the proverbial weed. He’s been here less than 3 weeks, and I’ve already let his collar out 3 notches.

Small predators

A few days ago I missed a chicken. A neighbor had told me that he had shot at and missed a coyote about a week ago, so that was the number 1 suspect. Last night, after dark, I heard a commotion outside, so I grabbed a flashlight and shotgun and headed outside to see what was going on. A skunk had dug its way into the pigeon coop and killed a bird. When I saw it, it squeezed out the way it had gone in and was trying to drag the dead pigeon out with it. I gave it a load of number 6 shot and figured that was the end of that. I didn’t want to deal with the smelly thing just then, so I left it where it lay and went back in the house. Sure looked dead to me. Later I went back out to take some garbage out, and the striped kitty was gone! I can still smell it pretty strong around the coop today, and can’t help but think it is laying dead around here some place and I just haven’t found it yet. Sure hope it didn’t get into my woodshed or under my hay stack. I’d have a heck of a time getting it out of either place. Today I filled in the hole where the skunk dug into the coop, and used the dead pigeon to bait a cage trap that I have sitting next to the coop; just in case.

Big predators

I received this in an e-mail from a friend today.

“I finally got a deer. First legal buck I have seen while hunting in the last three years in this area. Saw mountain lion tracks everywhere I went. The woods are full of them.Jess”

And that’s pretty much gospel! The northern states may have their wolves, but we have big cats. Two have been seen recently within 100 yards of where I hang my hat. Today I was hunting near home and saw a large track in the dust on the side of the road. It was badly dusted or I would have taken a picture with my pocket knife beside it for comparison. Big tom! I set up a couple of calling stands, but without luck. Nothing but blue jays showed up.

I did pick up a squirrel for dinner on the way home. I think I need a retriever! It treed right on the side of the road, but then fell down a gawd awful steep bank. Bear went down there and showed me where it was, but he won’t bring them to me. I sat on my butt and slid down there, but then I had a heck of a time getting back up to the road. Hey, it would have been tough when I was younger; but I ain’t young no more!

The fruit of my labor

The elderberries I brought home from the mountain cooked down to 1.5 gallons of juice. I used a gallon of it to make jelly. Twenty 12 oz jars and six 8 oz jars. I still had a half gallon of juice left over to put in the freezer for later use.

Normally when I finish this chore I pick a batch of blackberries for jam, but I still have a jar of processed blackberries and a jar of processed plums in the freezer from last year, so I think I’ll call it good for now. Besides, I’m running low on jelly jars.

Manis

Sometime back, maybe a couple of years more or less, I saw the first praying mantis that I had ever seen. I broke open a bale of hay to feed my horse, and lo and behold, a mantis popped out! I had seen pictures of them, so of course I knew what it was, but I had never actually seen one. Yesterday evening I was watering what is left of my garden when I felt something on the back of my hand. At first glance I thought it was a bit of a leaf or a twig and I almost brushed it off - and then it moved. Another mantis! I carried it inside and placed it on a neutral background so it would show up well and took this photo; then took it back outside and released it back into the garden area. They are tiny predators, good at catching and eating other insects, so they are good to have around. No wonder I haven’t seen more. With that green coloration they would be hard to spot among vegetation.

Not quite a dry run

Our cool weather was to nice to last. Temperature is right back in the 90's every day now. I took Bear over to Quartz Hill today and set up a couple of calling stands. Stayed a half an hour on each stand. On the first stand I started with a fawn distress sound and didn’t see anything. After 15 minutes I switched to a woodpecker distress and called in a few blue jays. I used the same sequence of sounds on the second stand and didn’t see a thing. Bear treed a squirrel in between stands, and we brought that one home for dinner.

Aside from the oak trees in my back yard, I haven’t seen any acorns anywhere I’ve been so far. There are manzanita berries, and that will furnish wildlife feed for awhile, but the closer it gets to fall and cooler weather the more the deer and bear will be looking for acorns. I’ve seen a little bear sign, but very little. Most are probably still in the high country, but when they drop down lower for the big fall feed I’m afraid they won’t find much around here.

Got hot again today, and there is smoke coming in from somewhere. Might be from a small fire right on the CA/OR border.

Opening weekend

Small game season (tree squirrel, mountain quail, and grouse) opened here yesterday. Normally it is hot on opening day, but Saturday dawned cloudy and cool with a slight chance of showers in the forecast. I had 2 things on my mind; the possibility of bringing home a little meat for the dinner table, plus it was time to check the elderberry bushes up on the mountain. The berries here at home had dried up in the summer heat and didn’t amount to anything. I put a big plastic bucket and some plastic garbage bags in the bed of the pickup along with the standard hunting gear, loaded Bear in the cab with me, and headed up the mountain.

Usually there are some squirrels active around the few houses I have to pass, and this was no exception. I saw 4 before we passed the last house, but once we started up the mountain we never saw another squirrel. I put Bear out in front of the truck and roaded him through some of the best squirrel country, but they just weren’t moving. After awhile I picked him up and headed for higher country and the berry bushes, keeping an eye out for grouse or quail, which were even more scarce than the squirrels. By now the clouds had dissipated, and the temperature quickly approached the more expected 90 degrees.

The elderberries on the mountain didn’t let me down. They are even more prolific than last year if that is possible. I could practically stand in 1 place and pick a bucket full, and in short order I had 2 sacks filled. While I was picking berries, a fellow I know came driving down the road. He had been farther up the mountain with his black lab in search of grouse. He said there were no goose berries or snow berries on the mountain, favorites of the berry eating birds, and grouse were few and far between. His dog had flushed a couple without him getting a shot. Quail are seed eaters, but they seemed to be in short supply too.

Having picked more than enough elderberries to keep me busy for awhile, I loaded Bear back in the truck and drove back down the mountain to a shady spot by a creek to eat lunch. Along the way I saw 1 lonesome quail run across the road, and that was all the game I saw the rest of the day.

Today (Sunday) dawned cloudy and cool again, but unlike the day before the clouds stayed. It eventually warmed up enough to be just comfortable in a T-shirt. I left Bear at home today and took old Sadie out, not that she would be of any great help. She is fast approaching 14 years old, and the years are telling on her, but she still likes to go. She still looks pretty good bouncing around here in the yard, but she tires quickly. I roaded her a little bit at first, but she soon ran out of gas and I picked her up; then just road hunted for a little while to see what might turn up. If game had been scarce yesterday, it was non-existent today. Even the squirrels around the houses weren’t moving. I eventually parked in the same place for lunch where I had been yesterday, having seen a grand total of 1 ground squirrel. I know the hunting will pick up as we move closer toward fall and hopefully get some rain, but this is about as poor as I have ever seen it on opening weekend. For now, I know what I will be doing the next couple of days. I have a heck of a lot of berries to turn into juice, which in turn will be turned into jelly and syrup, and maybe even a little elderberry brandy.

A new begining

Looking at the date of my last entry here, I see that it has been a little over a year since my last post. I suppose I could blame that on several things, but foremost among them would be the loss of 2 dogs so close together, and nearly losing another. It kind of took the wind out of my sails. Losing Kelly was to be expected, he was an old dog; but losing Dove and nearly losing Bear too to poison was quite a blow. I never found out who did that, and probably never will.

Now, over a year later, things are looking up. Of course Sadie is the old dog now. She will be 14 years old in December. For a dog her age she still looks pretty good here in the yard, but she tires easily. She will never see the day when she can go out with a horse again, and who knows how much longer she will be here. Bear will turn 7 years old in November, so it is time to bring on another pup. The photo above shows a litter, 3 days old when the picture was taken. They belong to a friend in Oregon, and are sired by a son of my old Kelly. I am told that 1 of the males has my name on it, so this will be a grandson of Kelly. It will arrive here sometime in November, about 3 months old by then.

I have done some small game hunting, and predator calling to the camera locally, but I haven’t set up a summer camp in the mountains in the last 2 years. This is largely due to losing a good partner to medical problems. I camped all one summer and part of the previous summer by myself, and then decided to stay home for awhile. I planted a garden as much to keep me occupied as anything else, but when the triple digit temperatures hit here in the valley I was really longing to be camped somewhere in the high country. I miss the mountains too! I’ve pretty much decided to scrap the garden next summer and head back to the mountains. Now my old buddy is making noises about doing the same thing, so maybe we will get back to the old way of doing things. At least that is the plan at this time.

As of this writing, this year’s garden is winding down. The tomatoes are still producing, and I have yet to dig my potatoes. Small game season is just around the corner, and that is time to pick wild berries on the mountain too, for my year’s supply of jelly, jam, and syrup. Cooler weather will mean time to do some predator calling. Right now there is a fire raging in some of my old stomping grounds in the Marble Mountain Wilderness Area, a supposedly “controlled burn” set by the Forest Service that got out of hand. Hopefully we will have some rain soon, enough to put it out.

I really don’t know who, if anyone, reads what I write here, and maybe I am just writing it for myself; but I will make an effort to keep this journal more up to date in the future. If nothing else it is a diary of sorts that I may enjoy looking back over in the future. To those who might actually read this, I hope you enjoy some of my scribbling.

Dog poisoning update.

I talked to the local veterinarian this morning, and I no longer think I was a deliberate target (personally) for this. There has been more of it going on than I was aware of. There was a dog poisoned in Etna, a town about 12 miles from me, just about a week ago. That case and mine are the first the veterinarian knows of THIS YEAR, but there was a lot of it going on all around the valley last year. Poisons of choice have been strychnine or rat poison. Could be anti-hunters, environmentalists who don’t like people taking their dogs to the mountains, someone who doesn’t like farm dogs running loose, or someone who just plain doesn’t like dogs. No suspects so far.