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Outdoor Tips From Tom:Late Spring Doldrums |
The Morel Of The Story
It's been another wacky spring in '08. I'm writing this article on the 19th of May, with a temperature of 45 degrees and a cold rain.
I had planned to go out and pick one of my favorite spring crops (wild asparagus) but decided to put it off until a nicer day.
Undoubtedly, it will be late coming up this year anyway.
The same is true with my shitake mushrooms and the wild morels. Normally, by this time in the spring I have harvested a halfbushel of shitakes from the oak logs I've cultivated.this year so far I've picked only three.
Here's a tip for you wild morel hunters (if and when they show up . as of today, after five forays for them I stand at morels, zero; wood ticks, about 60 and counting).
When you find one morel there is almost certainly more in the immediate area, so search carefully. Always leave one or more so they can reseed themselves for next year and never carry them out in an enclosed bag. Instead, use a mesh bag such as old onion or potato sack. That way as you're walking through the woods, the morels you have picked will be dropping spores along the way, reseeding the woods for next year's harvest.
I learned that trick from a fellow I met at a sports show many years ago. I had traded some of my Deer Fly Patches for one of his "Spore Boy" gathering bags. If you would like more information, go to his website at www.Morelheaven.com.
Tom Got A Tom
I had a successful spring turkey hunt, bagging a twenty-plus-pound tom with a 10" beard on the third day of my season.
In the process, I found out that the Metropolitan Mosquito Control helicopter not only gets rid of mosquitoes: when it flew directly over my blind on my first day out, it sure made the two toms and four hens that had been meandering towards my decoys disappear in a hurry!
For the third year in a row, I field-dressed, and then plucked my turkey. Soaking it in hot water for a minute or two prior to plucking makes the job really easy. Doing this makes the bird much more moist, no matter how you cook it.
Just ask avid turkey hunter Mike Gallivan of Hugo! He told me that last year he skinned his turkey rather then plucking it and ended up with the driest turkey jerky he had ever tasted.
After my bird is cleaned, I drop it off at Spence Grundhofer's Old Fashion Meats here in Hugo and have him smoke it for me.
I then take the unfrozen, smoked bird, debone it, and cut it up into serving size portions. Then I vacuum-seal and freeze it.
You can count on it - come opening morning of the fall deer season, I will be munching on smoked wild turkey while sitting in my stand. Thanks to Spence for doing such a great job!
One Crazy Coyote
My wife, Kate, had a close encounter with a coyote last weekend while riding her horse in the back forty.
Our springer spaniel, Muggs, was with her as usual, and as they headed across an open field, she saw the coyote come out of a patch of woods and run directly towards the dog.
Muggs, of course, was interested and turned to head for the coyote. They met about 50 feet from where Kate sat in a state of panic on her horse, not knowing quite what to do.
The dog and coyote sniff ed and nipped and pawed at each other for a minute or two in what looked to Kate like playful behavior, but she wasn't sure when or if it might turn into something more ominous.
Then the coyote started back towards the woods, looking over her shoulder periodically as if inviting Muggs to join her (Kate is convinced it was a female).
Muggs followed and then Kate really panicked, thinking the coyote might be trying to lure the dog towards its pack-mates where they would gang up on him and take him down.
She charged towards the coyote on the horse, yelling and whooping until it ran off about 100 feet or so and she got the dog to heel up close to the horse. They then headed rapidly towards the closest road with the coyote trailing behind, but staying about 50 feet back. When they finally got to the road the coyote gave up and the incident came to an end. Kate still isn't sure whether the coyote was just being playful, looking for love, protecting a litter of pups by trying to lead him away from the den - or, with her pack-mates, looking for an easy meal.
Whatever it was, it is highly unusual for a coyote to be that brazen around humans, and Kate said she won't be taking the dog out riding with her in that area again!
[Postscript: Kate saw four coyote pups when she checked back during the last week of May.]
Finally, a note to the person who asked me what the limit was for the spring Snow Goose hunt.
I checked: the answer is that there is no limit on the number of birds you can harvest.
I actually heard of a local group of hunters who started their spring Snow Goose hunt in Arkansas, following the migration north to North Dakota, hunting all the way.
Hunt safely and follow the rules.
Tom Drewry, a resident of Hugo since 1987, enjoys the outdoors as often as he can.