Disturbed Forest

Northern New England -- the "Great North Woods"-- is logging country.   What is important to folks like me is that when the loggers come in and cut and remove (i.e. "disturb") parts of the forest, they begin a 'regenerative process' that provides habitat for deer, grouse, rabbits, song birds, small mammals and diverse other wildlife that CANNOT successfully exist in mature, full grown forests.

When some one like me walks through such 'regenerations', he ends up with bruised knees and scraped shins due to the remnants of the logging process--stumps, logs, branches on the ground and saplings galore. He falls from time to time and usually has a "full-body-ache" at the end of the day. Such a pursuit is worth it to K-Lee and I, because we are seeking things that are wild.  We're having our own little adventure with the possibility of harvesting nature's bounty--although, if you've ever tried to take a ruffed grouse "on the wing", you know that there are absolutely no guarantees of success!  To me, that's alright.  If the ideas of grouse and woodcock hunting were about meat alone, it would prefer to visit the local grocer.  It's cheaper, easier, and more dependable than my feeble attempts at shotgunning. 

Today we have a large problem in that  many of our forests are not being managed scientifically.  There are lax "overseers" who opt to do nothing and avoid the sentimental push-back of the ill-informed--a decision which has its own negative effects.  I believe that our society has become so removed from nature and the "elemental things of life" that the unpleasantness of the natural process is considered "ugly" and "bad".  Oh, if only men and women would wake up and not live by sound-bytes!

 

Copy either link into your browser and travel to a recent video from the Ruffed Grouse Society which explains the truth of why we need "disturbed forests":  

https://www.facebook.com/RuffedGrouseSociety/videos/990152764401675

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taFNXt1vAMk

 

THE HIGH COST OF "STUFF"

I've been working on the things in my last (Jan 20th) post.  The pigeon coop idea is still in design phase.  There are lots of plans on the internet, but I haven't seen anything that I wanted to copy per se.  Rather, I'm picking up an idea here and a concept there, hoping to "marry" them all into a "design" of my own.  The pondering goes on.

As far as my future "style" of grouse hunting goes, I'm seeing lots of "pros" who talk about hunting a covert for a few hours and then moving on to another.  That matches up with my now-diminished physical abilities.  For me, it's pretty clear that learning is the key.  As I've been squirreling around, I found a really good "nut".

I recently purchased a "Strategic Grouse Hunting DVD" from Northwind Enterprises.  (Blog note: Northwind is not affiliated with the Pudelpointer Chronicles.)  Owner Ann Jandernoa and Skip Souther have done a great job of digitizing Ann's grouse hunters' workshop.  It is "hands down" the most informative "grouse" DVD that I've ever purchased.  The three DVD set is priced slightly higher than other "how to" DVDs, but after seeing the video, I believe that it's worth every penny.  Warning:  There's so much good information that you'll want to watch it over and over...and over again.

I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to things like this, and I'm learning things that I didn't know and UN-learning things I knew that are not true.  The more I understand, the more I realize that I can still hunt without setting long-distance records.  I think about three to five miles a day should "do it".

Recently, I measured my steps while K-Lee and I walked in the woods.  Not surprisingly, my stride varied between twenty and twenty-four inches.  So let's say (for argument's sake) that my stride is all of twenty-four inches.  If I have only one extra pound of weight in my vest/pack and I move it two feet at a time, in the course of only one mile, I am moving that weight two thousand six hundred and forty times.

That's the "labor equivalent" of moving a little more than one and a quarter tons of one-pound weights two feet--one weight at a time!  Imagine if I were carrying four extra pounds with me or more!

So I thought, "No more 'Navy Seal approach' for me!" and I decided to get rid of some of the gear I was carrying around.  Compass?  Nope, need that.  GPS?  Not letting that go!  Knife and length of "emergency" cord?  No and no.  Map? Uh uh!  Shot shells?  Gotta have those!  As I continued to paw through my hunting vest, I realized that I didn't want to hunt without any of my "stuff".

That left me with only one viable option and I realized the high cost of "stuff":  I need to eliminate some body weight.

(Sigh)....Weight Watchers, here I come.