warm December, no snow for Santa

A high pressure ridge over Greenland has been blocking the passage of low pressure systems from crossing the Atlantic and is ruining our December. Very mild weather with fog and rain is what we are getting. It has been warmer here in Newfoundland than in Orlando Florida the past few days. I was bitten by a mosquito at work today. We should be tracking moose and hares in the snow. The warm weather extends up into the eastern arctic. Yesterday Iqaluit on Baffin Island was warmer than Havana Cuba. We don't get really cold here on the island but we generally get a great deal of snow. I have new back country skis. Hope to use them soon.

Sam seems to be on the mend so all is not lost. He is still not 100% but he seems pretty good.

French Heartworm may be the culprit. It is not the same heartworm that is found on the continental US but something unique to Europe and maritime Canada.

Fingers crossed here.

I hope to be grouse hunting Christmas week and a cousin asked me to guide him moose hunting. He hasn't been big game hunting before so needs a hand. Looking forward to Christmas week.

regards

Dan

Dan.

Sick dog

My English setter Sam is sick. He is coughing and gagging. Congestive heart failure has been ruled out. Looks like a mild obstruction or maybe lungworm. He is not coughing so much now but salivating a fair bit and gagging a little when excited. I have him on Sentinel. He has cost me $300 in vet visits and still dont know whats wrong. Life sucks when pup is sick!!!

It won't be long before we get this


One of my dogs was sick and I was getting worried. He seems to be getting better. I was sick, wasn't worried, seem to be getting better. Haven't been on the barrens since the 14th but hoping to change that this weekend.I have to drive about an hour and a half now for ptarmigan, grouse are out the back door. Heading for the open barrens hopefully Saturday

Last ptarmigan of the season

Well I was off for 8 weeks and started back to work yesterday. The ptarmigan season is closed now on the eastern part of the island.(Closed Sunday.) I may or may not get a few days in the central part of the island depending on the weather. If not I will spend my weekends now hunting grouse/ hares and then maybe a few seabirds as we get into the winter. I did not draw a big game licence this fall but probably will next fall. I do know that I will get in the woods every chance I get. I got out Friday, Saturday and Sunday and the weather was fantastic. I am about to clean my last bird now. It was a great fall

Last few days out

Beautiful weather forecast for the next three days. Last week was rough but we still did ok. After Sunday work. UUGHH

Windy

The wind has been blowing all week but it remains mild. We had some frost this week but nothing too bad but the wind has been giving the dogs a hard time. They get a bit of bird scent and up get the birds. Flushing way out of range. I saw 9 birds in singles and doubles Wednesday 20 minutes out of the truck and didn't pull the trigger. Walked then 7 hours for two birds. Today I saw about 10 birds and killed one. The dogs are enjoying it and thats the main thing. My older Gordon is having a great fall and this will probably be his last for all day hunts. saw caribou and moose everywhere today.Sorry pics aren't great, too busy, having a great time

http://honest-food.net/wild-game/chilindron-spanish-red-pepper-stew/

He is not wrong when he calls it the ultimate game stew. I have had it with moose,ptarmigan(partridge,) snowshoe hares ( rabbits ) even Turr anything turns out well with this. I am on the first pot of the year and it will carry me through a long day tomorrow on the barrens hopefully. Its not done yet

Week and a half left

I still have close to two weeks off but am waiting out a spell of weather. Coming into November the weather is always a bit iffy here especially with the wind. I will start doing a bit of grouse hunting and rabbit slipping now and head for the open country on fair days. I was going to say good days but they are few and far between now

We have been getting out a fair bit and the dogs have been doing well with the birds. The weather has been fair with frequent showers and a bit breezy but today was beautiful and sunny but still a bit of wind. I am afraid that this will be the last year for all day hunts with Duncan the Gordon but he loves getting out. It is time for me to get another dog and i am looking at getting a Gordon for my daughter this spring. Sam is doing well. Last year I hunted the dogs separately most days so I would aways have a fresh dog but this year have been working them together.

3 more weeks left off. Life is good

Still Getting Out There

Big sky

In the video on the barrens you can see Duncan the Gordon going along but Sam is difficult to see. He gets out there when the country opens up. Next time I will show some pics of the dogs on point. I want to do the best for my dogs after their hard work so I don't get enough photos of the dogs pointing. Hopefully going again tomorrow

As strange as it may seem there are also a great many moose in this country. They lay in the spruce/fir breaks in the valleys where you get brooks and small streams. It used to be good caribou country years ago but numbers have declined greatly in this area

Southern Shore Barrens Cape Race

This is the eastern edge of North America. Big coastal barrens. The pictures don't do it justice

Up on the ridges you can walk for a long ways

Beautiful day

Yesterday was a beautiful day on the country. It was calm sunny and warm just perfect for walking. On days like it you feel as if you could walk forever. A little more of a breeze would have helped the dogs more. Duncan the Gordon is still going all day. Pretty good for a 11 year old dog. Sam the English burns up the horizon

Pics
Boiling up on the barrens. I boil the kettle most days. When its cooler I use an open fire but on days like today I use a small stove.
Dogs taking a break as I boil up.
Going again tomorrow

Hoping to get out soon

With the weather and a few other things I was tied up most of last week. I only got out Monday. The dogs and I are restless,the weather looks good hoping to get out quite a bit this week.

Politically Incorrect in Canada

tail gate

Tailgate photos and photos of dead game have passed out of fashion but i like them sometimes. I look at game as a gift so it is something I am grateful for. The birds they are gifts.

Out after the blow

Well most of last week was a write off. We had the remnants of Igor blow through last week. It was the harshest wind i have seen anywhere outside of Antarctica. Gusts were recorded at some locations of 167 kph or 107 mph. We had 150 mm of rain some spots recorded over 250. There are still communities isolated from roads washed out. Nearby there were utility poles knocked down and we were without power, water or phone for 24 hour. This was Tuesday and Wednesday some communities are still down. We are used to harsh weather here though.

Anyway yesterday dawned sunny and I got out for a few hours. I had to pick up my daughter at 3pm so i loaded dogs and my new Browning Superlight feather and headed out. I am extremely pleased with the new shotgun and have shot clays with it a few times. I have shot better with it than any of my other guns it just seems to fit and its fast

No hunting Tomorrow

Forecasting 150mm rain (6 inches) wind at 120 Kms/hour. heavy surf. Remnants of igor going to pass pretty close.
dan

First day

Was a wet windy day to start so I went in a few hours before dark. The dogs worked well and a few birds are chilling in the fridge. From now on I will be carrying the camera. Its good to get back to the real world.

Saturday it starts again.

Well I am finished work for 9 weeks. Dogs are in shape, I have tuned up on the rifle range and the trap field. Lots of shotgun shells.Dogs are raring to go and so am I. One last trip to town tomorrow for licences and permits and if all goes well weeks of hunting the wild country. Dogs are leaned down a bit from running after work in the evenings. I wish I could say the same for myself. The country around here though is changing slowly though. The slopes are getting steeper at an increasing rate every year. I have young Sam who doesn't know what slow is and Duncan who like myself needs a little more breath to get up the hills and like myself is a little slower now getting into hunting trim. I love this time of year and walking from dark to dark in tundra and bog. 50 years old and too excited to sleep. Life can be wonderful.

Another Fall is Near

It looks like we will probably make it to the fall. In less than three weeks I will be throwing work aside for another full season to spend hunting. I finish work on the 16th of September and in the past few weeks myself and my dogs have been getting ready. I spent a only few evenings trout fishing the summer and didn't even wet a fly for salmon this year. . I might have been out in the canoe once or twice but mostly have been busy with work. I did get away once a week or so to the local range to shoot a bit. Trying to get myself and my dogs back into hunting shape is what we have to do most evening now.

As I get older I find it takes longer to get used to the days in which you start walking at first light and probably still are walking after the sun set. I hope to be actively blogging as well again this fall. All my life I loved this time of year.

We are still kicking

I haven't posted in a while but hope to resume doing so soon. The snow is gone and trout fishing is about to open. I have been running the dogs quite a few birds made it through the winter.

Just behind my house

ptarmigan country in the snow

There


We have been having a very mild winter here in Newfoundland while it seems most of North America is getting hammered.The temperature here is expected to hang around the 32 degree Fahrenheit mark for the next week or so. We will get snow and rain. I had occasion to cross some barrens this afternoon and took a few pics. There was not much sign of life on the barrens, I walked for two hours and never cut a track or sign of life. All wildlife is in the woods clear of the open country
dan

looking for a pup

I am looking at getting another dog come spring. I am thinking about another Gordon, one for my daughter. We have a Gordon and and English setter now but the Gordon is starting to get up there. I am hopeful for a year or two with him yet(the older Gordon). I love having a pup around the house

I also need a couple of dogs in the fall as I take the last two weeks of September, and all October, November. Its always good to have a fresh dog on hand

Dan

Old dogs gone

This was taken a couple of years ago I used to spend quite a bit of time in after hares with beagles. It was great fun and a great deal more productive than hunting without dogs

Hunt,fish, eat

We are just coming through a blizzard here on the east coast of Newfoundland but at least its mild. I have been out a fair bit looking for snowshoe hares on weekends and evenings when I can get away but am seeing more signs of coyotes than hares. Hunting has been poor for me this winter meatwise but I had a great fall. I am still eating moose 5 days a week and ptarmigan,hare or waterfowl for a change. I might have a bit of chicken on Sunday otherwise I have eaten nothing but game since November.
I just finished a big pot of Chilindron made with moose. I got the recipe from here http://www.honest-food.net/blog1/wild-game/chilindron-spanish-red-pepper-stew/.It is really worth trying as well as the other recipes on this great website. I have been eating this since Thursday night and am sorry to see the last of it go. Tonight I will be having ptarmigan fried in a cast iron pan with olive oil and a bit of garlic with a few pieces of broccoli, cauliflower and leeks. Trout fishing for brook trout through the ice is next. I should really start working on those coyotes as well. I am not keen on shooting if I am not going to eat it but the coyotes are getting very thick here in some places. In one spot they are following me and taking hares from my snares.
regards
Dan

I was out at evening looking for snowshoe hares with a 22 rifle and had no luck. Bird season and big game is long gone so I spend a few evenings now looking for hares with a 22 rifle that my dad bought for me a long time ago. We have had a very mild winter here in contrast to what most of eastern North America has been having, with very little snow. We normally get a great deal of snow, I mean meters of snow. This year so far no snowshoes are needed in the woods. Anyway today was damp cold not winter cold this evening in the woods and very little has moved in the woods since the last snowfall. I am home now, my daughter is home from nans and I am having a rum and coke with a bit of lime while frying a nice piece of moose with mushroom and onions. Life is good. Dark in the winter but still good. The moose and ptarmigan, ducks and geese that I shot the fall will keep me through the dark months. The sun is already on its way back north.
Its going to be a busy winter at work. It looks like I am going to be working a lot of 7 day weeks so I am glad to have gotten out the fall. Its now time to pay for it

regards
Dan