Catching up from Father's Day 2011 and an exciting herp observation to finish

I only have 2 followers (Thanks guys) but I am flattered by the number of emails I have gotten to nudge me back to posting.  Well I hope the wait is worth it, I'll have a few back to back because I had a lot ideas and pics to share. Plus deer season is coming, so lots to post. I'll start with one I intended to post a long time ago, Father's Day 2011.  The plan was to meet my Dad on my uncle Gilbert's farm in Chesapeake, Va and go fishing with my sons on the Ocean View pier in Norfolk. It turned into a lot more in my opinion and I cannot wait until 2012.

The ride through the back roads of Eastern North Carolina and Southern Virginia is one of my favorites for some odd reason.  From forest to rolling hills, then swamps, tobacco fields, peanuts corn, even a little cotton.  Eventually we got to Chesapeake.  As soon as I pulled into the drive way, I had to take this picture.  It is just a tractor, but the picture just had some hallmark quality about it to me.

So we get in (OK, we got lost and my Dad and Uncle had to come get us.  Long story no need to share.) and the gang is there ready to go fishing and uh oh!  I just noticed the cast on Uncle Gilbert's leg.  It appears that he had some minor surgery the day before and should have been resting........... not him.  We (Grandma, Aunt Ruth, my Dad and Uncle Gilbert) are in the kitchen talking when Uncle Gilbert invites the boys to see what he's working on in the barn.  Let me start by saying, my Dad and Uncle can build anything and this time he proves me right again....... You see, Uncle Gilbert builds horse buggies. 

Yes, horse Buggies!  These pictures really don;t capture the detail and quality of the work.  You could see the pride in his face as he showed us a nearly finished buggy and one in progress. 

Here is one that he's almost finished:

This one is in process

Walking around the barn and looking at the work and craftsmanship gave me a real appreciation for his art.  The only disappointments were those little spike cow horn antlers from a a deer harvested years ago............ Get a real buck, Buck (family joke).

As for the fishing trip, Uncle Gilbert could not make it, but my Dad, sons and I made it out.  A few croakers made the trip worth it for the boys and a night on pier with my Dad brought back memories from when I was their age.  It was great to see the smile on his face and to watch the boys run around.  Better yet, one of my dad's child hood friends joined us and I got to hear about all of their adventures.  Too good to miss.  By the way, Ocean View Pier and Norfolk in general looked really good, nice restaurant, pier and the palm trees were a nice touch for the beach.

Of course no trip is complete without the little man going for a ride.

The following Monday, I was met by my boys and the kid across the street.  All they could get out was, "you have to  come see, this is a picture for the blog...." So, I grab the black berry and follow them off across our back yard.  What I saw surprised me, a female fence lizard laying eggs under an old pine tree:

Had to finish with a strong herp pic!

Lunch time pick me up part 2

Shhhhh… Don’t tell anyone, but Kev2380 and I snuck in another fishing excursion during the lunch hour and landed this one…..   

Not as big as the day before, but a couple of pounds, probabaly good eating size.  Larger than this and they start to get that muddy flavor.  FYI, he's still swimming

No bass, but I’m sure they are there.  I have tried this spot twice and I am convinced there are some nice fish in there. Next time I’ll try some fly fishing.  The weeds are high and the body of water is large enough to assume that the breeze will be a constant.  That can make things tricky on the back cast (good form, keep the line high, double hauls).   I’ll be tossing lines with wind cutting power like a saltwater 6 or 8 weights.  Looking forward to it.  I can’t leave without my nightly ‘herp’ observation …. This guy greeted me at the garage last night.

He has to be fattest toad around and he had the audacity to eat as I took the picture!!!!!!!!  Obviously, this millipede was not bitter enough to save it’s self……

A little lunch time pick me up....

In case you haven’t noticed, I have zero fishing posts.  None.  Zip.  Zero! That is very odd.  Fishing is how I usually start each Saturday or Sunday morning.   Out at sunrise, on the water until about 9 or 10am and then it’s off to do whatever chores, or responsibilities await.  It doesn’t matter what kind of fishing, where or when.  My preference is small stream bassin’ with a saltwater 6 weight flyrod or a medium – medium light baitcaster.  A very close second would be a med-fast action 4 weight rod or 7’ ultralight spinning rod for bream.

Today, I was to meet a fellow RTP fly angler for some lunch time bass buggin on a rather large chain of office park ponds.   Unfortunately, he was unable to break away for lunch.   So, I decided to go solo for a few minutes before returning to the office.   We’ll get together again, perhaps tomorrow (look out for the next post….. can I get two fishing posts in one week?!?!?!).  Looking at the geography and fauna of these ponds, I’d argue that the majority are natural and/or of natural origin and altered to comply with environmental or wetland conservation standards.

After the weekend’s storms you could track a ‘possum across some parts of the water and given I was only going to be there a few minutes, I opted for my favorite baitcasting set up instead of the fly.   I saw some activity in the far corner of the pond where two streams came together, forming a point, before entering the main body.  This area was loaded with structure and the banks overgrown with weeds well above my waist.  After three casts in the direction of a swirl I got a hit, on a ¼ oz chartreuse spinner with chrome and gold tandem willow blades. 

I just knew I had a nice bass on the line until it jumped…….. I couldn’t believe my eyes, couldn’t be, really?!?!?  No time to think about it.  My reel was singing to me, line peeling off and the drag working.  I felt like Larry Dahlberg fighting a giant aimara for a minute.  This fish was strong; I had to reset the drag three times to bring him under control and away from the structure.   After about a 5 minute fight…………… I landed this nice white catfish!

Measuring the distance between markers on my rod, I could accurately measure him at 23.5” long which according to the catfish weight estimator means he has just over 8.5 pounds…. I believe it! 

It was a thrill! I cannot believe how he fought, jumped and dogged it like a largemouth bass.  I’ve caught cats on crankbaits and Clouser flies in the past, but never had one fight like this.  Usually, they just bulldog it to bottom. Before this catch, I'd never seen one jump.

NOTE:  I just found out that this fish qualifies for NCARP (citation size for you VA folks).  Minimum length is 21 inches, I can verify 23.5 for this one!  I'll get my application in this week!!!

A funny story

I stumbled across these pictures and thought about the funny story behind them.  Last summer, I was working in my yard while my then 2 year old daughter  was playing on the steps.  Suddenly, I heard her yelling, “Not nice, not nice”.  I looked and she was no longer on the steps but standing in the drive way looking into the neighbor’s yard.  She pointed to a pair of mocking birds and again said, “Not nice”.  Suddenly one of the birds dove down and the other followed.  They swooped on to a small black racer, picked him up about a foot off the ground and dropped him twice as I watched.  They would alternately swoop and peck him, each time drawing a rebuke from the three old about playing nicely.  I laughed and picked this little fella up.

We looked him over and the set him loose into a briar and blackberry patch.    Would you believe those birds followed us and sat until they realized he was not coming back out? 

The Accidental Herpetologist has an Audubon Day

I took a long overdue trip up to Maryland to visit family, friends and celebrate a niece’s first birthday.  I returned home about 1 AM the following Sunday, to find the torsion spring on the garage door was broken …….. Friday the 13^thHuh!?!?!  Even more pressing were the lawn, garden and patio being in serious need of maintenance.  The weather has been nearly perfect for the lawn which seems capable of doubling in length every week!  My garden is in trouble, but that is another post (hint: moles, voles, rabbits and deer!!!!!).

After almost 3 hours of struggling with the garage door: putting it on track, aligning the cables, setting the wheels and watching it fall apart I accepted that I needed professional help on this one.  The job proved well beyond my skill level…….. 

So, with that I went to what I could do……… the yard!

Through the tears welling in my eyes, as I mulled over the prospects of having to invest in a new garage door and opener, something caught my eye.  From beneath the refrigerator, I could see the head of large skink.  The boys call him Michael Angelo.  He’s been around for at least 3 years and seems to get bigger every year.  This year he is pushing a legitimate 10 inches with a huge triangular shaped head.  Initially I figured him to be a 5-lined skink, but I've come to realize that he is in fact a broadheaded skink. (Broadheaded Skink).  As soon as I started the mower, a fat American toad hopped or rather stumbled from the grass line (American Toad)……… Okay, two observations in 3 minutes, time to get the camera!  With grass this thick, rain the night before, over cast skies and cool temperatures this day had “herping” potential.

Camera in pocket, I ran into a moth about 2.5-3 inches long and fat.  It appeared as if he had just emerged and was in the process of pumping up his wings.  I took him up and put him on the window ledge.  Not a herp finding, but interesting. 

As I am leaving I look to my right and I see a huge green tree frog.  She is another regular who has lived around the house for at least 3 seasons.  I refer the frog as “she” because I have never seen a green tree frog this large and females tend to be larger.  Tree frogs are like ghosts that disappear during the day, so to find her “day spot” was quite exciting.  Her colors are so brilliant that she is easily distinguishable: lime green body with a solid and distinct cream band along each side with red eyes.  The colors are so strong and the markings distinct that she appears almost tropical.

Before moving to the backyard, I decided to see how the moth was doing.  His body was no longer as thick or long, and his wings were probably 3 or 4 times their length an hour earlier.  Dashing from the shutter across the bricks to the drain pipe is a juvenile fence lizard.  He’s only about 3-4 inches and thin for a fence lizard which hints at his age.

Two years ago there were few fence lizards around the house.   In fact, I recall only one.  A huge old male that ruled the front porch and looked at you with disdain if you interrupted him to ring the bell!  Recently, lots of juvenile swifts have been seen all over the patio.  Last year most were 1-2 inches long and I suspect this one is from that class.  As the number of swifts increased, the number of skinks seemed to go down.  If you look very closely there is the tail of a juvenile skink beneath the drain pipe.  Both were too active and wary.

The final front yard count was one toad, two skinks, one fence swift, a moth and one spectacular green tree frog.  I was hoping to round out with a salamander, turtle or snake.  I went over to check the garden and move some sticks and caught a glimpse of something moving around the branch.  I sat still and it came back……….. A green anole (chameleon)!!!!!!!!

I have never seen one here!   My assumption was that we were just outside of their range! I must have irritated him, because he was bright green when I saw him and brown when I snapped the picture. Ironically, a few hours before leaving for Maryland, I ran into a friend who works for the North Carolina Museum of Natural History.  We were discussing the extension of alligators into the extreme Northeast corner of NC and Southeast VA around the Dismal Swamp/Back Bay area (Alligators in Virginia...) and I asked him if he’d ever seen anoles this far up.  He said no, but they were probably there.  He was right. 

I hoped to see a turtle and I got my wish, a box turtle in the far corner of the yard beneath a Magnolia.  Unfortunately, as you can see he was either dead or well on his way.  The flies were doing their part.

Oh well, Next time I’ll keep the camera on me!  While the anole was a find, Michael Angelo is impressive!  About the garage........

I am a turkey-addict!

I am DJ…… and I am a turkey-addict!

Never thought I would make that admission.  This blog was not intended to be so hunting heavy.  In fact, for balance, I will force myself to discuss my garden in the next post.  But for now………… this has become an obsession, not just for me but my boys as well. 

Fishing is my passion.  Bow hunting was to be a 'little something else' to get outdoors.  Something I always wanted to pursue during the winter and/or pre-spawn spring before the bass get off the beds.  Turkey hunting is not passive. It involves calling, moving, chasing and watching……… the call and response.  The anticipation of a response to every call, searching out every rustle and crackle, the flutter in your chest when that bird comes up from behind.   These birds are brilliant or at least smarter than me!  Via my inaugural blog, I introduced you to the Screamer. Saturday, we went back after him: same place, time, and conditions.  Figuring he might be “educated” I brought two different calls with different pitches AND a decoy.  Late again, we arrived in the Screamer’s realm just after 11AM and called for two hours.  Nothing.  So we packed up and headed out.  Instead of calling it a hunt, we searched out a new spot about 2 miles away and found a long ridge overlooking a nice run of bottom-land hardwoods a small stream and a farm. 

We set up the decoy about 20 yards out, from the blind, in a cut line.  Twenty yards was a distance at which I was VERY comfortable, but far enough away for the bird not to be distracted by the blind.  It was perfect, becuase if I were 10 yards off in either direction I would still feel comfortable with the shot.  Our blind was off in the cover of a stand of trees, fallen branches and shadows.  The mix really made the camo pattern blend in.  We called and called and heard a couple of responses but they seemed far off.  We heard what we thought might have been faint clucking, but no visual confirmation and so we joked that we were being circled and observed.  About two and a half hours in (following conventional wisdom) we packed it up and called it a hunt assuming the gobblers were done for the day.  As we left, we found tracks and as we put two and two together………… we came to the realization that we were being circled and that wily old bird probably got behind our blind and we scared him off?!?!?!  Proof?  See below:

Yes, it is a picture of turkey prints, but if you look closely, you’ll see it is superimposed OVER my six years old’s foot print.  That bird not only circled us but had the audacity to walk in our footsteps along the ridge and up to our set up. Seriously, the evidence really suggests we left a few moments too early and probably scared him off as we emerged from our blind……… 

I am DJ, I am a Turkey-addict.

Best wishes and hopes for those suffering and lost in North Carolina and Virginia

Our obsession with an extremely loud and aggressive wild turkey we named the screamer almost got us in a serious bind Saturday afternoon.   Friday night, we prepped to get back out and chase that wily old bird at sunrise.  I reviewed the weather forecast before going to bed and apparently we were due some fast moving, but severe storms late.  However, there was only a 30% or less chance of rain before noon.

 I awakened to some serious wind about 4:45 am and went back to bed.   Later, 9:00 am, the wind was still too strong for an accurate bow shot so we ran a few errands and planned to get back out later in the afternoon.  About 2:00 pm, the skies were grey, wind manageable and we figured the forecasts were 'off' as the storms never materialized.  We loaded up the truck and were about to head out when I heard something about a “tornado watch” covering central North Carolina. 

Something told me to hold tight.

Over the next 2 hours, I watched in disbelief as forecasters tracked a large (soon to be F3) tornado through the counties of Lee, Wake, Franklin, Vance, and Granville and on to Bertie before settling into Virginia.  The cities of Sanford, Raleigh, and surrounding areas were at the mercy of a very serious tornado.  At one point, there were 8 different twisters traveling through central North Carolina towards Virginia.  Fortunately for us the largest funnel passed about 5 or so miles to the east.  The storm was the worst I’d seen in years!  Golf ball sized hail, blinding rain, wind gusts strong enough to give mature pines all they could handle.  I could only imagine being caught in that out in the field or woods had I not stopped. 

Sunday afternoon was a perfect day to clean up the lawn, light the grill and set the garden.  As I cut the lawn, I found reminders of the suffering others in the area were enduring.  Spread about the lawn I found various bits of debris:  wood, siding, insulation even parts of roof shingles.  These bits of debris were a part of someone’s home miles away.  I could not help but wonder: Were they safe?  Do they have shelter?  Did they survive?  Last count, 23 lost their lives in North Carolina, over 50 across Georgia the Carolinas and Virginia.  It was sobering to watch the news.  Suddenly my silly pursuit seemed just that. 

I pray the best for all those missing, injured and lost Saturday in central North Carolina and Virginia.