Outdoor Adventures with Gary Lee - Vol. 339

We had a white Thanksgiving in most of the north country, and it looks like they may be getting some to the south of us tomorrow by all reports. This weather moved some more birds to my feeders and moved some of the ones I had further south. Last count this morning I had thirty-three Evening Grosbeaks taking over the feeders from the Blue Jays. I guess when your beak is stronger you can do that. Then just this morning I had a Red Bellied Woodpecker which I haven’t had in several years. The last time I had a pair, and they even nested on the property that summer.

Thanksgiving always brings back some memories a few years back now. I was station at West Canada Lakes Ranger Station in 1965. Starting in August there this remote station was fifteen miles from any road, and most people came via float plane. While Karen and I were there at the end of that summer we had visitors walking via the Northville to Lake Placid Trail or by sea plane every day we were there. Some stayed and fished, others were just walking through. Our daughter Erin was less than six months old when we went in and Karen was pregnant with our son Michael. During October Karen had some teeth problems and she flew out. I didn’t see her until the day before Thanksgiving. That day the phone was still working a miracle, and I had called Buster Bird the day before to see if he could fly out some of our things. It was 10 degrees that morning and he called to say he had broken ice out on Sixth Lake, and he was able to fly out. He was coming in with the super cub to pick up my stuff. I was going to walk out the fifteen miles and get a ride to my car. West Canada being a deep lake wasn’t frozen even at 2300 feet elevation. The dock was a glare of ice as wave action froze on the deck. I had gotten all the stuff I wanted flown out down by the dock. I had a half of a deer, bobcat, two cases of sauerkraut, one red and one white that campers had left me and a bunch of personal gear. We loaded the back of that little plane, and he said Sonny, if you can lay up on top of that stuff you can go also. Being a little smaller and more agile than I am now I wiggled myself in, laid on top of that gear, and said goodbye to the cabin for the year. About twenty minutes later we landed on Lake Pleasant and only a two-minute walk to my car. I thanked Buster many times for that trip out and making the next day a real Thanksgiving for me.

This week I received a few pictures from my daughter in Florida where they were celebrating Christmas at Thanksgiving as they were coming back north for Christmas with all their family. In their park they can drive around in a golf cart and my son-in-law David had taken all his Christmas lights which lite up their home up here with him and put them on his. It is quite a show piece as they drive around the park, and he had left none for their tree. Well, he also decorated their two palm trees in the front yard, no inside tree this year.

By the time you read this the snowmobiles may be running the trails which open on the 8th in this area as it looks like colder weather and snow is going to last several more days. Another super full moon coming this week on Thursday might even see this one.

With this quick freeze coming so fast there may be some loons that don’t make it out and get froze in. This seems to happen often the last few years. These birds can be saved if reported and if the ice is safe enough for a rescue attempt.

Be careful of that early ice and check it before you go out but that’s another story. See ya.

Photo above: Twitchell Creek