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| Weather prediction, temperatures and precipitatin |
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| Wind forecast |
The not-such-good news is that the temperatures will be cold enough that the snow will be dry and fluffy. 10 mph sustained means 20 mph gusts and the 20 mph sustained on Thursday means 35 mph gusts on Thursday. Anything shoveled out is going to fill right back in with drifting snow. Ditto for the Saturday-Sunday snows/winds.
'Possum bed
I was walking with Zeus out in the woods when he started sniffing at a half-barrel. The barrel was plastic and had been split lengthwise, perhaps to feed grain to livestock. It had been discarded and was on the ground, concave side down.
Zeus flipped it over and it had been stuffed with leaves. Then, growling, he stuck his head in the middle of the pile of leaves and pulled out a possum.
Possum have it rough in the winter. They are not adapted to our climate. They do not hibernate. They have bare feet and heads and the fur they do have is not very thick.
Ragnar Benson was a "survival" author who was an advocate of "den traps". The idea was to create an ideal den and for the trapper to have a mean of shutting the entrance and to have a trap-door into the body of the den. He contended that a fellow could capture a woodchuck-sized animal from the same den two, three, maybe four times a year with the simple effort of putting a chunk of wood over the entrance and opening the trap-door.
Other woodsmen will leave 8' lengths of scrap drain-pipe, chimney pipe or old culvert in prime rabbit or pheasant habitat and harvest the residents at-will.
Most of us never met true HUNGER. A bit peckish perhaps, maybe a weekend fast.
ReplyDeleteReal HUNGER means even grass and mud is useful to quiet that belly.
Trapper meat is pretty good when you're Hungry. VERY GOOD when you're HUNGRY.
It is interesting in spring when the deer are poor eating indeed from near starvation all winter that the woodchucks are still a fatty meat for the pot.
February is the worst month, here. Cold and snowy, and we’re getting old. Takes a couple days to recoup from shoveling and plowing, and then we do it again.
ReplyDeleteI like the trap you described. Sounds relatively easy and efficient.
Had deer tracks in the yard and at the bird feeder this week. I’m sure they’re hungry.
Southern NH
As of now, 9:11 a.m., it has warmed up to -9 with 34" of snow in the past 11 days.
ReplyDeleteAnd the deer are out there in the driveway waiting for me to feed them. Youse guys got it easy down there. ---ken
Winter in the north...
ReplyDeleteHere in upstate SC, it was 79° two days ago after over a week of right at freezing temps. Now for the next week it is rainy and cold with temps only making it to the low forties. This time of year wrecks havoc with my sinuses.
ReplyDeleteThe den trap absolutely works. One problem though, is that you're likely to catch a skunk.
ReplyDeleteThere is not a day goes by that I don't learn something here!
ReplyDeleteDuring the depression, my Grandfather used box traps to harvest meat twice a week for his family of six kids. 1x8 sides, 1x6 top and bottom. One end wire covered so as to be seen through. The opposite end had a hinged door that swung inside and could not be pushed out. The door was set up with a twig - animal crawled in, knocking door down while passing by. The bait - small piece of corn cob or carrot did the trick.
ReplyDeleteThese traps were left out year round, unset. When meat was needed, the bait was pitched in and door set up. The traps were not used all at once, two or three max at a time. Cottentail, opposum and the occasional skunk was found in the trap.
How did they deal with catching a skunk?
DeleteWe didn't have skunks here in the UP until about 40 years ago. Friendly little guys. Unless your dogs or cats messed with them. Then not so good. Not many now. No 'possoms here. Yet. Hopefully won't get here. --ken
DeleteWhen I catch a skunk in my live trap, I walk up slow with a beach towel, cover the trap and either relocate or ......
DeleteHaven't been sprayed yet.
Thanks.
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