by Gary Lee
The east coast cities ducked another blizzard this week that had the potential to be worse than the storm of a couple weeks ago. Weathermen say it was like a winter hurricane that stayed out in the ocean and only brushed Long Island and Cape Cod.
There was some snow inland but not enough to stop the New Hampshire presidential primaries.
The primaries are about all you hear about on the news; even this morning, just the day after Super Bowl 50, it took about an hour before it was reported and then they only gave the score.
I was for the Broncos…their defense won the game for them.
I was glad to see a defensive player, linebacker Von Miller, get the most valuable player award.
It is the second time in three years that a defensive player got the award, so it’s not all about the team that scored the most points this season if you have a defense to stop that scoring.
Peyton Manning won his 200th game. He should probably retire and go out on a winning note.
I’m sure my friend Bob Schenck out in Carbondale, CO was having a beer and enjoyed watching the Broncos win the game.
The ice fishermen were out in force this weekend on the Fulton Chain, Raquette Lake and Limekiln Lake.
The ice was slick so creepers were the order of the day. I didn’t get any reports of fish taken except for some nice crappies and a legal laketrout from one shack on Raquette.
You need to be careful out on the ice and stay away from inlets as they are still flowing well out into the lakes.
The frigid cold blast coming this weekend should tighten things up but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
There was a report from a bay on Lake Ontario where five to seven inches of ice and waves from the big lake were moving the ice up and down. Not many fishermen braved it to fish.
I remember one day of ice rescue training that we had on Abanakee Lake, near Indian Lake.
A new air boat operator was being trained and was making some spins around the open water and running back up on the ice.
I was training a group on solid ice and ice screws and my ice spud. They had their backs to the action of the ice boat, but I could see a wave created by the boat was coming toward us moving the ice in a wave as it came.
We were on ten inches of ice but it still went up just as if we were riding a wave.
All the guys made a run for shore figuring they were going in the drink. I stood there without a class for few minutes until they saw the ice wasn’t going to break up.
Lake Champlain bays open up with the mild weather and wind which makes it dangerous to go out and fish.
A couple guys got rescued after a big chunk of ice broke off and floated out in the lake.
An airboat went out and got them, leaving their gear to sink when the ice flow broke up in the waves.
I went out this morning (2/8) and the titmouse was singing a great song…something I don’t hear that often.
I had 16 ravens and three eagles on the dam today grabbing a snack.
The eagles were two adults and a two year old. They seemed to know each other as they fed on the same carcass together.
The ravens are thinking about building a nest this time of year and they had all kinds of chases going on. They are great fliers as they dip and dive in and out of the trees during a chase.
These birds take bits of food and store it for future use. Today that group of birds consumed a sixty-pound beaver and a twenty-pound otter, leaving only the skeletons behind.
This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count, so keep those feeders full and I’m sure some will show up.
With the cold blast that’s coming down from the arctic, most birds will be looking for a snack.
In my travels I’ve seen several flocks of birds still out eating wild foods, birch seeds and spruce and balsam cones.
My white–throated sparrow is still hanging around. I thought he might make a run for it during the warm spell but he was still here today.
The bare ground spots have given some of the birds a place to find some food.
When the snows come this week that should change and these birds know where they got their last good meal.
The cardboard sled races will be held in Inlet during its Frozen Fire & Lights event on Saturday, February 27… but that’s another story. See ya.