Outdoor Adventures with Gary Lee - Vol. 250
Weather for the end of March is up and down the scale on the thermometer not much above freezing with some kind of precipitation snow, freezing rain, rain to snow and snow to rain for all but two days for the rest of this month. The folks to the west of us got the brunt of the weather before the weekend with ice balls the size of baseballs and two feet of snow in places. Getting all our winter in a week I guess with temperatures near record lows for the whole winter. With the temperature difference between the north and south there is a good chance of violent storms and tornadoes. I don’t think there was a month all winter that there weren’t some violent weather happenings or tornadoes some place in the country and other places worldwide.
Many of the birds have started north and some just made a pit stop here for a couple of hours to refuel. I had twenty-five Red- Winged Blackbirds and ten Common Grackles clean up the platform and ground under the feeders and then take off never to be seen here again. The Canada Geese were flying up with the jets flying overhead where I could hear them but barely see them with the naked eye. They were above the clouds that day with several V’s of more than one hundred birds in each.
I’ve had two Song Sparrows here all week and I saw seven on the Inlet Golf Course along with a few Robins yesterday. Since it froze overnight, I don’t think the Robins were finding any worms and I couldn’t tell what the Song Sparrows were eating. I did see some other Sparrows in my travels eating on the snowmobile trails. There was a hatch of midges during the week, and they may have been cleaning up some dead ones as they were intent on eating something. There have been over fifty Pine Siskins, several Purple Finch, and American Goldfinch. Many of them are now wearing bands as they head north.
Yesterday 3/17 as I was walking in some evergreen woods, I jumped a snowshoe hare, and it looked like a marshmallow with legs running through the bare ground woods. They started the winter on bare ground and now here they are white on bare ground again, a meal in the woods waiting for a Barred Owl to have lunch and supper. It didn’t give me time to snap a picture before it ran under some thick evergreens.
NYS DEC released the Hunter Safety Statistics for last year and it was twelve, tying 2019 for the second fewest incidents. Hunting related shooting incidents, even though low, two hunters did die. One was pulling a loaded firearm up to his tree stand and the other was a hunter helping drag out a deer with a loaded firearm killed his partner. These two incidents surely could have been prevented. Being a hunter for most of my life and a Hunter Safety Instructor for over thirty years I’ve been remarkably close to some incidents and luckily the gun was pointed in a safe direction when it was accidentally fired, and no one was injured, only pride.
From all reports fun was had at the St. Patrick’s Parade in Old Forge. I missed it after being at View taking in artwork for the Regional Show that day I went home. I know it didn’t rain on their parade or snow either.
Speaking of the Central Adirondack Art Show which opens on Friday the twenty-two from 5 to 7 for viewing. Working again to get the show in and up in the galleries this week I’ve seen some beautiful work in all mediums. I’m always impressed with the local artists, who come out and show their beautiful work. I don’t think I’ve missed a show in over thirty years and this show gets better every year. It was nice to meet several of these artists as I was taking in their work, so I got a sneak peak of some neat things. Most of these pieces are for sale. Local Greg Klein also has a new show Shadows of the Evening in the Eco Gallery which opens that evening.
My daffodils didn’t make it out but the crocus growing right beside them did yesterday just in time to get snowed on.
Trapping a few beavers that have a habit of flooding some of the local trails and highways but that’s another story. See ya.
Photo Above: Crocus Out
