Back
at the ranch, I was sipping coffee and eating a roll with homemade
raspberry jam while reading the paper on the porch when some people
stopped at the bottom of our driveway and were taking pictures of the
place. I called to them and the driver said he grew up here, so I
invited them up for a look around. He was Tom Knebes who grew up
here and then moved away. They said they lived near San Diego now.
His wife Sue and friends Gil and Gail Loppnow were on a Wisconsin
memory tour of sorts staying in Cashton at a bed and breakfast the
night before and heading down to the Great River Roadhouse to visit
Dan Connelly from here. While I gave “the tour,” Tom recounted
stories of his youth here and asked after neighbors. Nice folks.
Later,
I loaded the four wheeler up with Ellen's lopping tool, two doghouse
hunting blinds, and my trail camera, and Scout and I bounced and
growled our way up the ridge road. I put up one blind in the Corner
Woods, snipping out just enough of the prickly ash, poplar saplings,
little elms, and berry bushes to make for shooting lanes. We crossed
the farm and put up another blind 50 yards down the hill from the Oak
Stand. By this time Scout was in need of a breather so she flopped
in the shade. I also set up my trail cam nearby. I'll check it by
week's end.
I
shot 18 arrows from my bow later in the afternoon. I hit the target
every time, mostly in the middle. In fact, I split one arrow, the
groupings were so good. I will practice a bit more before I head
into the woods to hunt though. The Packers didn't lose!
Last
week, Ellen and I took a boat ride on Thursday morning. We put in at
Stoddard and motored north around the bay. The sun was getting
higher and the fog on the river was burning off. The sky was clear
and dark blue. There were long lines of pelicans spread out across
the water from Stoddard. We glided over smooth water to Brownsville
and Lawrence Lake to try our luck at panfish. We didn't find any, so
we went back over along the Wisconsin side of the river and tried a
wing dam along Highway 35. I hooked a walleye right away, but no one
else was interested there so we went into the Goose Island area,
pushing through a man-made cut in the marsh grass and then sliding
over sand bars to get to a channel south of the park that had a line
of boats in place. Ellen hauled in an 11” perch, but otherwise it
was nuttinhoney. We saw another fisherman land a sheepshead. Most
of the pairs of fishermen were moving around casting about to find
fish, but that was it. I had heard a story that they were all taking
limits home every day. Maybe, but we didn't. On our way in, the
pelicans were coming out of Stoddard Bay in droves. The big fish
eaters are not popular with the local fishermen, but they are a sight
to see, gliding gracefully down on the water or spiraling up in
migrating groups. Anyway, the morning was perfect, the fishing was
good - even if the catching was not. Nice boat ride.
On
Saturday, our young friends Eli Jackson and Pat Colby, stopped in
after a bow hunt on our ridge. Pat said he saw a doe while Eli “got
a rock” so to speak. They both said the bugs were nasty. The boys
had some memory cards from the trail cameras up there to check out on
the computer. We had coffee and visited and looked at the over 500
pictures of soybeans, trees, and brush, that occasionally held a shot
of a coyote, raccoon, and whitetails. There were a couple good bucks
and many does and fawns and even a couple shots of two young bucks
sparing. Ellen fixed BLT's for lunch for all of us. Eli and Pat ate
two. You can't beat fresh tomatoes and grilled bacon for a taste
treat. Anyway, I guess I have to get out in the woods.
My
nephew Chet called me later and said that he a little problem with
his archery equipment. It, along with his daughter Tess' bow and
arrows, vanished from their garage in La Crosse last week. Chet
called the police. Chet actually found his equipment posted for sale
online and set up a sting I guess. The creep showed up with Tess'
bow, but not his. My former La Crosse Central lineman nephew said he
wanted to grab the guy and pound him when the police pulled into the
parking lot. The thief ran, but left his car. The police waited by
the car and then followed the thief's sister when she came to
retrieve it. The police know who it is, but Chet hasn't got his bow
back yet. El and I were remembering about when this happened to our
son Ben out in Colorado a couple years ago, when some thieves broke
into his truck by smashing out all of the windows and stole his
Mathews bow and arrows along with his bass guitar, camera, cymbals,
and microphones and cords. There have always been villains out
there, but it just burns me that some cretins think they can just
take whatever they want. Hopefully Chet will get his stuff back soon
or be able to afford to replace it.
In
this day and age, it has become a truism that you should never do or
say something anywhere anymore because it will probably be spied upon
and recorded. On Saturday afternoon I drove over to Goose Island
Park to test my chest waders, that is, make sure they don't leak
before I use them for duck hunting. I put the waders on at home and
drove to the landing at the far north end of the park. There was no
one around - I thought. Anyway, I waded out along the dock as far as
I could without taking on water. The waders were fine. It did start
to rain by the time I was back at the pickup changing. I didn't
notice anyone anywhere, but on Sunday morning after church, Ellen was
accosted by our old friend Gene Feuerhelm who asked her, “What the
heck was Greg doing at the landing the other day? I was grabbing for
my life preserver and thinking about calling 911!” When Ellen
explained the test, Martie Konop asked Gene if he was prepared to
give mouth to mouth; without hesitation, he said, “No!” Anyway,
it didn't end up on Youtube, but you just never know who is watching.
Until
next time, get out - the Wisconsin DNR wants your help again this
season to gain
a better understanding of the relative abundance and distribution of
deer and other wildlife in the state. The DNR is again developing a
long-term database of deer hunter observation data. The survey period
is September 14 - January 5. You can help with this survey by
recording the following from your deer hunting or hiking or
sightseeing trips:
- date hunted;
- number of hours hunted;
- county;
- deer management unit (map);
- weather conditions; and
- type and number of animalsSubmit your date on line via the Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YJNPKPJ or mail in a tally sheet available from the DNR. Reports should include sightings of: badger, bear, bobcat, coyote, deer, elk, fisher, house cat, opossum, otter, porcupine, raccoon, red and gray fox, ruffed grouse, skunk, turkey, wolf, and other wildlife not normally seen in your area. The DNR would also like Wisconsin based trail cam photos of the following animals: marten, badger, Canada lynx, cougar, Franklin's ground squirrel, moose, stone marten, wolverine, or any other animal not normally seen or identified. For more information about the surveys contact: Brian Dhuey Survey Analyst/database Manager for the Bureau of Science Services, at brian.dhuey@wisconsin.gov or call him at: 608-221-6342. You don't have to be a hunter to do this either; just record your sightings and such and report them. I so love Fall! Enjoy.
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