Living
Al Brown | Tracking the Seasons
Observing the characteristics of a snowless winter
The deer woods are quiet now, save for the occasional snarl of a hardworking chainsaw.
The winds of autumn helped bring down a number of once-stout trees throughout our woods, and the absence of snow made salvaging the firewood a more enjoyable chore. The important thing is to get the wood cut and moved before we get deep snow.
Serious rabbit hunters should be taking advantage of the snowless winter and create new bunny-haven brush piles from the trimmings of salvaged fallen trees.
Old brush piles only last a few years before they collapse and rot away. At this time of year, one never knows when we'll get hit with a foot of new snow which can easily drive rabbits underground if they have no better place to hide.
If you're a bird lover and serious about feeding the feathered visitors in your backyard, you should also be thankful for the snowless winter so far.
Maybe you've noticed the feeders aren't emptying out as quickly as when there is a blanket of snow on the ground.
Without that snow cover a suet block lasts about three days, while the black oil sunflower seed feeder needs refilling about every other day.
Once the ground has a two-inch snow covering, the birds empty the feeders twice as fast, and your pocketbook feels the pinch too. At $27 for a 50 pound bag of black oil sunflower seed, that's barely enough for a month unless the birds are on short rations.
So far, the milder winter has been a big help on the fuel bill, but it has been perplexing to ice fishermen and bait dealers alike.
According to John Laimon, owner of Smokey's Muskellunge Shop on Pewaukee Lake, "It's been tough on everybody, fishermen, bait dealers, even promoters of ice fishing contests. Some have already been canceled because of poor ice."
Greg Nickolaus, owner of Musky Mike's Bait & Tackle in Okauchee, echoed the same concerns. "With poor ice, the bait business has been very bad so far this year. It may not recover until spring."
Unless conditions change and we get some snow and ice to draw most of us outdoors before spring, many of us could end up suffering from bouts of cabin fever.
Should that malady strike, the best cure is a good book and the time to read it.
Having suffered cabin fever myself and survived more than a few times over the years, I recommend reading "Will to Live: A Saga of Survival" by Gary Edinger who, on Feb. 15, 2007, lost his foot and nearly his life in a logging accident in northern Wisconsin.
It's not a long read, but the story of one man's will to survive is not one you'll put down until you've finished the last page and are ready to head outside yourself.
- For the birds: grape jelly draws a flock
- New layout gives deer hunters options
- New layout gives deer hunters options
- A tale of two days on the turkey trail
- Learn to hunt program pays dividends for newbies
- Early spring means spear fishing
- Catch a turkey in any adverse weather
- Some trophies are found, not caught
- Everything you need to know about turkey season
- A taste of hunting
- Absent snowfall meant thin harvest in 2011
- Wolves getting expanded role in wildlife picture
- New rules allow opportunity to appreciate wild game
- How new concealed carry law affects hunters
- Now's the time to hone weapon of choice
- Overlapping seasons create color conundrum
- Hunting calendar is upon us
- Weary anglers getting their chance
- Passing down knowledge of the hunt
- Appreciating the gifts of Mother Nature
E-mail Newsletter
Top stories from the Lake Country area. Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings.
Enter your e-mail address above and click "Sign Up Now!" to begin receiving your e-mail newsletter
Get the Newsletter!
If I could travel in time ...Judging is currently in progress with an anticipated publication date of June 3 for winning entries.
Lake Country residents share their views on news, happenings and current events.
LivingLakeCountry.com features more than a dozen community bloggers - a group of volunteer conversation leaders who are up on the latest topics and never short on an opinion. Just a few are pictured here. Check out the rest and see what they have to say!
View All Blogs
Discussion Guidelines
Do you want to become a Community Blogger? LivingLakeCountry.com welcomes your thoughts and opinions. Contact us for more information:
I want to blog
Posted Friday, May 18 |
|
Photo of the Week by Todd Ponath: ROCKIN' IT - Fred Eide, left, and his daughter Ashley, of Eide Painting and Sandblasting, use spray guns to paint the individual rock shapes on the underside of the I-94 overpass at Highway P in Oconomowoc Wednesday, May 16. Each "rock" is painted individually and then speckled with black paint to make it look like granite.
News or Feature Story of the Week by Andrea Budde: Bigfoot sighting in Eagle turns out to be less than meets the eye
Sports Story of the Week by JR Radcliffe: Netters win 'unofficial' titles conference
Page or layout design of the week by Lisa Leonard: Drop a line and relax
|
MORE: See full gallery
SUBMIT: Post Your Photos now
Do you have news or an event that you would like to share with the community? Whether it's a community organization, a business, a local school, or a notable neighbor, we'd love to hear about it!!
- Discover Composting
- Christ the King Church of Delafield Resumes Summer Service Schedule
- Greendale Schools June 1 Celebration of Education
- “Savvy Social Security Planning” Seminar to Detail Strategies for Maximizing Benefits
- U.S. Cellular Hosting Free Device Workshop
- Tour Our Very Special Gardens - free - June 25
- Host Daniela from Mexico at Oconomowoc HS
- Very Special Garden Tour - Free - June 23 and June 25
- Wisconsin Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Hits Home Stretch of Annual Milwaukee Man & Woman of the Year Campaign
- Neuroscience Nurse Appreciation Ceremony
MORE: See the rest of Your Stories
SUBMIT: Post Your Story now
Information on Mukwonago Publications
We encourage your comments but will strive to remove discussion that contains personal attacks, racial slurs, profanity or other inappropriate material as outlined in our guidelines. We post-moderate comments on most content, but may choose to pre-moderate some comments so please be patient if you don't see yours appear right way. We also ask for your help by reporting comments you think are inappropriate.
Please login or register to post a comment.