Grouse Hollow Journal for February 19, 2015 by Greg Koelker

Like all lovers, it doesn't make much sense until one spies the heart on the right.

Grouse Hollow Journal for February 19, 2015 by Greg Koelker

On Sunday afternoon after the Badgers soundly whooped the Illini, Scout and I took a stroll down Proksch Coulee; I chose to head south into a southerly breeze so we could walk with the biting wind at our back on the way home. Scout's nose, while handicapped a bit by the cold, worked well enough for her to be constantly digging into brush and snow piles in search of only she knows what. Right now a walk along a country road or in a field along a woods reveals scenes that are only hinted at behind leaves in July. The skeletons of tree tops, deadfalls, fence rows, and what little snow cover there is are a sort of black and white artwork, india ink on white paper. The gray effect feels as if there is nothing moving except an occasional crow or sparrow. I saw a hawk on vigil in a dead elm overlooking the neighbor's fields. No doubt a mouse or perhaps a rabbit dinner was on its mind. The comings and goings of most living things are laid bare by tracks left in the rained on icy snow cover; the snow is such that my Labrador can pretty much walk on top of it. In the dormant alfalfa fields, one can see where deer and turkeys have been making a living, their meandering paths punctuated by darker digs for something green to eat.

Someone recently said to me that they thought this was an easy winter for wild things. It makes sense, I guess; however, for some reason, it seems like the deer are moving a lot. Twice in the last couple weeks, I saw a herd of six deer run across Proksch Coulee road when I was driving down to Stoddard in the morning. I have seen plenty of deer out foraging in fields in broad daylight. When I got to De Soto Middle School to substitute teach on Monday, kids came running up to report to me that their school bus had hit a deer just down the road from our house. They said six deer ran across the road in front of the bus and the last one didn't make it. (When I got home that afternoon, the yearling doe fawn was still there on top of a snow bank, so I called the sheriff's office and got permission to get rid of it; we don't need Scout's nose letting her know that there is a wonderful rotting carcass to play with within a minute or two of our yard.) I have been seeing two big group of wild turkeys on occasion. One flock is made up of maybe dozen long beards. Of course the cardinals and other birds are making out just fine at Ellen's bird feeders. There were at least twenty-five bright red cardinals out there at one point this morning. Rodents must be helping themselves to the leftover feed as you can see the tracks and tunnels where they have walked on and under the snow.

On Valentine's Day, Ellen went snowshoeing up on the ridge and photographed a maze of narrow, opened tunnels made by what we figure was probably some sort of rodent or perhaps a mink or weasel looking for breakfast. The funny - and I might add perfect - thing was the the almost perfect three foot tall heart shape on one end of it. Jerry Hochhausen, a friend from high school saw the picture said he figured it might be “Muskrat Susie and Muskrat Sam doing the jitterbug out in muskrat land” but since this isn't really muskrat habitat, well . . .

Speaking of wildlife surviving, I have been trying to get some breakdown on this last season's Wisconsin deer kill, but no one has or will give an answer. A lot of people have asked me if I knew how many deer were taken with a cross bow. Out of curiosity, I'd like to know the numbers from the holiday hunt and January metro unit hunts. The numbers should be available I'd think, as the last hunt ended almost three weeks ago.

Until next time, get out - the DNR Spring Rules Hearings are scheduled for Monday, April 13 at 7:00. The Vernon County meeting is at Viroqua High school. Scout and I turned around at the neighbors and as usual the fickle wind turned on us, biting our fronts from the north as we walked home. Enjoy.