Hunting season is upon us. Though this sport has lost favor in the last few years, I still await clothed hunters who now with bright day-glow orange are easily recognized at convenience stores and gas stations. Most sport their tags on the backs of their jackets.
The famous and successful Elda Zulick of Grist Mill Reality and I spent a recent afternoon chatting about the changing face of Saugerties, now decorated with Dancing Tulips, Happy Paws, Love Bites and Diamond Mills. Some longstanding businesses that have endured the changing times are still with us.
These mostly diurnal (daytime activity) raptors are easily seen while the trees are bare of leaves. I have consistently seen a variety of hawks, some easy to identify, others not so easy. Most are content to sit watching diligently down onto the surrounding area with great patience, waiting for that moment to pounce upon an unsuspecting creature for a meal.
Turkeys admittedly have small brains, and many know-it-alls who have never hunted them consider them dumb. But when it comes to hunting, they are far from dumb. Very wary by nature, they are among the most difficult quarry to target and kill.
Acorns are a symbol of abundance and security. It is said that carrying an acorn will bring you a long and healthy life and good luck. Acorns placed on a window sill will protect your home from lightning. Planting one under the light of the moon will bring luck and prosperity to you and your home.
State wildlife expert Richard Thomas found that a woodchuck could (and does) chuck around 35 cubic feet of dirt in the course of digging a burrow. If a woodchuck could chuck wood, Thomas estimated, it would chuck an amount equivalent to the weight of the dirt, or 700 pounds, which is a big pile.
It is the year of the chipmunk. These pocket-sized creatures are having a banner year, invading my yard in great numbers. I have a spending posse. As a group, they’re officially named a scurry.
If I only fished to capture fish, my fishing trips would have ended long ago.
Although not recognized as a disorder, Facebook certainly is an addiction. It has filled many of my hours, while my vacuum has stood silent and the dishwasher patiently awaiting emptying.
I have read somewhere that a pond can contain examples of virtually every single major group of animals on the planet. Little did I know that I would have been privileged to experience this phenomenal event right in my back yard.