[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Whatcha Got Going On 2026 #175211

Went out yesterday with my BIL to try a hunter walking trail where he hunts grouse. On the way there I passed a hen looking for companionship. No sign whatsoever of anything with the goods she needed.

The HWT was easily the worst habitat for turkeys I have encountered. OTOH, it does seem to provide Bullwinkle what he needs – heard him in the brush as I came across this:

 

 

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Whatcha Got Going On 2026 #175129

We dodged the storms here in northeastern Minnesota for the most part, but it did feel like hell to this Duluth native when the temperature went into the mid 70s the day after the April 15th opener. So much for the tracking snow.

Went out again early today to ”slightly” different conditions:

Walked and sat for four hours without hearing any turkeys. Did find evidence of a recent passerby that lifted my spirits. This is on the fringe of the area that is the focus of efforts to restore a recently-hammered moose population:

Walked back to my truck, drove a quarter mile and spotted a turkey diving for cover:

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Whatcha Got Going On 2026 #175069

The population trend is the opposite here in MN. There’s even talk of increasing the bag limit in at least part of the state to two. The birds are now resident in all 87 counties.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Whatcha Got Going On 2026 #175065

”In Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of (gobblers).”

 

Eight days and counting, but the tracking snow will probably not survive the weekend. Sigh.

 

 

 

 

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Trouble with the Website #174998

Thanks, Webmom! Your efforts to provide a healthy alternative to The Dark Side are appreciated.

Meta hit with $375M verdict in New Mexico child safety case

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Whatcha Got Going On 2026 #174882

Nobody ever raised snowshoe hare for a restaurant menu, which I have seen done in Anchorage with rabbits. Here’s a good hare recipe:

https://honest-food.net/tuscan-hare-sauce-and-pappardelle/

On two separate occasions, I have found two arrows nestled one over the other behind a target on my home range after the snow melted. I usually have good luck finding arrows in the field in the spring, partly because I recall where I shot them and the frozen ground is harder to penetrate.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Whatcha Got Going On 2026 #174874

These are snowshoe hare I’m hunting. We have both hares and cottontail rabbits in town, but it’s illegal to hunt anything in Duluth except deer (during a city-sanctioned bowhunt.) The rabbits are ill-equipped for deep snow and I rarely see their tracks outside the city.

Finding arrows is hit or miss sometimes and their (temporary, mostly) loss is part of the game.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Whatcha Got Going On 2026 #174859

The hare season ends here tomorrow. Despite leaving some exceedingly fresh sign, this rascally bunny kept hisself safe this week by keeping his cool.

 

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Whatcha Got Going On 2026 #174839

We have a massive amount of depth hoar in the woods now (which would have scared the bejesus out of me when we lived in AK and WA). I was sinking up to my hips yesterday on my second-largest pair of snowshoes. That will be remedied for future excursions this winter.

 

https://www.mtavalanche.com/sites/default/files/MSA%20January%20Final_0.pdf#:~:text=Depth%20hoar%20forms%20when%20a%20shallow%20snowpack%2C,difficult%20for%20these%20grains%20to%20bond%20together.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Whatcha Got Going On 2026 #174834

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Whatcha Got Going On 2026 #174832

The inexorable advance of climate change has been slowed this month in Minnesota’s Arrowhead region. We’re enjoying a good old fashioned winter here at the Head of the Lake, with a recent storm dropping a fresh mantle of snow over the decaying remnants from earlier this winter.

Went out yesterday to set a trail camera in hopes of getting another shot like this one from January. First one is au naturel; second is a composite with me added for scale.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: 2025 is Here. Whatcha Got Going? #172838

Thanks for posting. The bow in my avatar photo was made for my father in 1943, the year before he entered the Navy at age 18 and then sailed for Japan in ‘45. VJ Day arrived before his ship did.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: 2025 is Here. Whatcha Got Going? #172765

2025 all-years e-Bird sightings

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: 2025 is Here. Whatcha Got Going? #172764

Thanks. I never imagined that turkeys would make it this far north:

2014 MN DNR planning map

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: 2025 is Here. Whatcha Got Going? #172760

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