I Don’t Need To!  #28

Peter Davies had it all, a great family, a good practice that he had built from time, and he was well known in the community. He volunteered to help with community events, owned and piloted his own boat and cruised up and down the coast on weekends with his wife. He enjoyed fishing while on the boat, pulling in prize fish that so often the sea would offer him. Yes, Peter had it all. But Peter also had another side that few people knew of or concerned themselves with. Peter thought that he knew it all. He didn’t need any help from others, because when push came to shove, he had gotten out of messes on his own all his life.

So, when his friend Joe told him that he was going to take a hunters safety course, just as a refresher, and asked if Peter would like to tag along, Peter remarked, why do I need that? I know all about the woods and gun safety. I have never been lost and I have never injured anyone with a gun. Joe told him that he was taking it to refresh his skills and to get more familiar with the compass and the map. But, Peter continued to resist and in the end told Joe that he knew all of that stuff and had no use for the course or the waste of time in attending.

Fall came, and Peter was invited to join some of his friends for a couple of days of bird hunting. He was excited and gathered all of his gear including his in preparation for his trip to the woods. The day came when Peter loaded the car and took off to meet the gang. He arrived at the camp late in the day tired from the trip north. He spent the afternoon and evening socializing with the guys and had far more to drink than he should have. That evening, he found his way to his bed in the camp and passed out quickly. In the morning, the guys woke Peter up and told him to get ready as they were heading out to hunt. Peter, still feeling the effects from the night before, got his gear together and loaded it in the truck of the guy he was riding with that day named Bill. As they cruised the dirt roads, Peter had a shell in his hand and the gun by his side ready to jump out when a bird showed up. Shortly into the ride, both he and Bill spotted a bird on the side of the road. Peter loaded his gun and then jumped out of the truck. He started to walk toward the bird so as to close the gap between the two of them. Bill walked alongside him with his gun loaded. Just as they got to within shooting range, the bird took flight. Peter wielded around with gun raised and the muzzle of the gun passed right in front of Bill’s head. Peter continued to swing the gun by Bills head and pulled the trigger, but missed the bird. Bill immediately let Peter know that he had just pointed a loaded gun at him and not only that, but the gun was loaded in a truck which was against the law. Peter replied that he had total control of the gun at all times and would never have placed Bill in any danger. Bill told him to be more careful and not to load his gun while in Bills truck again.

When Bill and Peter got back to the camp, Bill told everyone about his day and what had happened with Peter. Everyone remarked that they were concerned about it, but Peter was such a nice guy that they hated to make an issue of it.

The next day, Peter and Bill once again paired up and struck out to find birds. About half way through the day, they ran into a flock of six birds standing on the road. Both Bill and Peter jumped out of the truck, loaded their guns and began firing at the birds. They both got one, and the others flew into the woods. Bill walked down the road to pick up his bird and all of a sudden, he heard a shot and it felt like a noise went right by his head. Bill swung around to find that Peter had seen a bird in the grass right next to Bill and had fired. As he began to say something to Peter, he noticed that Peter was reloading his gun and was running into the woods yelling, I just saw another one. Bill stayed calm and watched as Peter went out of sight. Minutes went by and Bill heard nothing. Bill yelled to Peter to see if he saw anything, but got no answer. Bill wanted to go into the woods, but was afraid of being in the same area as Peter, so he waited as more time passed. Finally after fifteen minutes passed and he had no contact with Peter, Bill decided to go see if he was ok. Bill pulled out his GPS and marked a waypoint where his truck was. He put his compass around his neck and started into the woods calling for Peter, but got no answer. Bill noticed that as he got off the road, the woods thickened and were very dark and grown in from the softwood trees. For twenty minutes, Bill went deeper and deeper into the woods yelling for Peter. Finally, Peter answered him and said, I am not sure how to get out, can you please come help me. Bill plotted a course to Peter using his voice and told Peter to stay where he was and not move. Eventually Bill got to where Peter was all huddled up. He noticed that Peter was soaked from sweat. He then took his GPS and plotted a course back to his truck with Peter alongside him. Once in the truck, Peter told Bill that he had seen a bird by the road and followed it into the woods. He kept seeing it and kept going deeper and deeper into the woods until he realized that he did not know where he was nor did he know how to get out. He wandered around trying to find his way out, but nothing reminded him of the path he took when he came in.

Once back at the camp, Peter walked over to Bill and thanked him for all he had done for him. He told Bill that he really thought he knew it all, but the few days he had spent with him reminded him of the lack of knowledge and skill he had. He told Bill that as soon as there was a hunter’s safety course available, he was going to sign up, and he was going to find some reading material to help him understand not only compass and GPS reading, but what you do if you are lost in the woods. Peter pledged to be a different hunter if they invited him back next year.

Do you know the moral of this tale? Can you pick out the things that Peter did wrong? What would you do differently if you were Peter? What would you do if you were Bill?

Cast and Blast, Anyone?  #27

As much as I enjoy the summer, and all the possibilities it has to offer us, I must admit that I am more partial to the fall. Now, that does require that I put my fly rod up and take out the guns, and that can be a bit traumatic for me.  However, there is a small, brief, window of time known to us die hards as “Cast & Blast” day.  Translated, that means that you fish just before the day the fishing season ends and then hunt the first day of the new season. And that, my friends is exactly what I did this year. Now, it is a wonderful thing when your wife says to you, I think you need to take a day off so we can go into the woods and fish one last time.  And so, TC and I set out last Friday for the North Maine Woods and one of our favorite ponds. Among other things, we packed the Coleman stove, some pots and our food; because it is always better this time of year to have a hot meal for lunch.  We spent the day on the pond and had some very good luck as the trout were willing to cooperate. Once we arrived at the pond, we found that we were not the only people to have the same idea. There were three men coming off the pond who had been there since early morning, and there were three people just preparing to shove off. While we were getting our equipment ready, we got a chance to talk with the folks coming off the pond. They were from the Bangor area and were staying at the Island Pond campsite. They had the same idea as we did and were doing a little fishing and then on Monday were going to do some bird hunting.  The group just going on the pond was from the Freeport, Durham area and was staying at Bradford Camps.  TC and I had a great day and brought home two trout. The woods were just beginning to show some great colors as the leaves were changing, and I knew that in a couple of days, they would be at peak color and there is no better site than that.

Now, the second part of the Cast & Blast began on Sunday when I headed up to Chandler Lake Camps to meet a group of 12 that was coming in to do some bird hunting.  All summer long, I had seen a lot of partridge and was really excited to start the new season. During the two days that we as a group hunted, we were not disappointed. The number of birds that we saw was unbelievable. After Tuesday, it was apparent that they were showing up in cycles.  You would see them early in the morning and then it would stop until late afternoon when they would come out again. We all had a great time and I even got to see a bear on the road during my travels. That coupled with a few moose, a couple of them very big, help complete a couple of wonderful days.

You know, our hunting group was comprised of folks from all over.  We had people from southern Maine, Vermont, Ohio and even one who now calls Texas home. I know I heard the same comment several times which I always keep in mind as I live and play here, and that comment was “ I can’t believe what you folks have here in Northern Maine, it is very special.”  They of course were referring to the North Maine Woods. Every time I heard that comment, I thought that I considered myself very lucky, indeed. And as Aroostook County is referred to as the Crown of Maine, I guess we could call the North Maine Woods the “Jewel of Northern Maine.”

And as I was driving out of the Jewel on Wednesday morning, looking at the woods and the brilliant colors that the trees were now sporting, I considered myself lucky and honored to be able to be just one of the many that pass through its gates and take part in what it has to offer. I will never lose sight of that fact.

Updates:

One of my readers sent my blog address to his Navy Seal friend and told him to read the blog about the Navy Seal and his dog.  Through that reader, I got an email back from the Seal who wrote the following:

Regarding your friend's post, give him a hooya from me. As you're an honorary part of the brotherhood, you understand how difficult a time that was for us. Nice to know that the spirit of the Team runs far and wide, even as far as northern Maine! I've always said that we'd all be much better off if we could emulate the selfless dedication of a dog to his master. Thanks again for sharing; it'll travel.

On another note, we traveled miles and miles in the woods this weekend in search of partridge that were not showing up well at all. When I came to work this morning, there was a spot on the window of one of our managers where something had hit it from outside. When I looked to the ground, there laid a partridge who must have died from the impact. Go figure.

Now, to Little Kearston and an update. I have been following her mother’s Facebook page and it appears that although Kearston is going through a lot right now, she is doing ok. We are keeping her in our prayers.