Berry Foray

After a month's absence, I finally visited the Finger Lake NF again this past weekend. I had located some patches of strawberry plants while turkey hunting in May (locating prime foraging habitat is one of the many benefits of hunting), and fully intended to return to those locations in early summer to collect the fruits. Then I installed two gardens, and life has been nothing but one long lesson in garden tending ever since.

But on Sunday, after hearing I had missed the wild strawberry harvest, I threw down my hoe and picked up my compass for a five hour foray into the forest.

Much to my delight, the strawberries were just starting to ripen and I discovered a new plant--the dewberry!

First Dewberry (Rubus flagellaris) sighting!

Wild Strawberry, with slug in foreground and dewberry in background. Most of the strawberries were still white. Although not as numerous as the dewberries, they pack an amazing punch of flavor for their size that makes them well worth pursuing.

More dewberries. Once I crossed the trail, the strawberries faded and the dewberries became more numerous, mostly in thick 10' x 10' patches (20-30 berries) about 50-70' apart.

From above, the same patch as the previous picture. The berries are barely noticeable while standing. Leaning down and viewing the vegetation from ground level often exposes berries that would go unnoticed from above--a fact that held true for both the strawberries and dewberries.

This is why I love foraging/hunting/hiking in the Finger Lakes NF. You run across these old remnants of past land uses. This must have been either an old foundation for a house or a simple pile of stone that was cleared from the field for agricultural use, suggesting what is now forest was once a (failed) agricultural field or homesite, as is often the case in the Finger Lakes NF. I always get chills up my spine when I come across these sites.

The final haul. About three hours worth of foraging. Note Indian Cucumber in background, which I couldn't resist nibbling on while foraging.

All and all, a good day. There's just something about foraging and being in the woods that gardening can't compete with--especially with hauls like this. I plan to make a jam out of the berries.

Abducted By Salmon

About a week and a half ago, a friend convinced me to go fishing with him on Cayuga Lake. He had heard reports that April was the time to catch salmon, although he had no idea--nor did I--how to go about catching one. So we hit the public fishing piers. And sure enough, they were full of people fishing for salmon. Little by little, as we fished the piers, we chatted up the local fisherman for information. By our third outing we had the proper set-up (a bobber/minnow combo or a simple bucktail jig). On our forth outing my buddy caught his first salmon ever which he followed closely by catching his second salmon ever. We've been addicted--me more than him--ever since.

Salmon is a delicacy I can't afford, and haven't been able to afford for really long time, on my student budget. So what a treat! We've been addicted--me more than him--ever since. Thus far we've caught a total of six salmon. That's good eatin'. Much better than any turkey. So for now its all about the salmon.

Turned Back

Finally headed up to Connecticut Hills--an 11,000 acre wildlife area roughly 15 minutes from my house--yesterday only to find the roads are still snowed over. Only made it in about two hundred yards before having to turn around. I'm guessing it will be another two weeks or so before the roads clear and I can make it in there to do some scouting, which isn't too troubling since I possess some vague familiarity with the area from hunting this past Fall for deer.

As it turns out, on the way back home my girlfriend and I saw a sign for the Arnot Forest, which is owned by Cornell Plantations and managed as a "working forest," meaning in addition to research it is also actively managed for resource production (timber, maple syrup, mycology, etc). It is part of Cornell's Earn-a-Buck program, which apparently has made some unfavorable changes for 2011, and is one of the few, if not the only, Cornell land holdings where hunting for game other than deer is permissible (I think). You must register with Cornell, which I did this past Fall, to hunt the land and all state laws are still applicable. I still need to do some research but if this land is open to turkey hunting I will likely put some effort into learning its ins and outs. If nothing else, I can hit it on my way back from CHills.

Two Month Checklist

As I previously mentioned, turkey season begins in just about two months. For the seasonal turkey hunting veterans, that's plenty of time to prepare, as they likely already know how to call and possess at least some vague knowledge of where to find turkeys. If you're a newbie like myself two months is not a whole lot of time, and fitting all the pieces together (land ownership, scouting, turkey biology, calling tactics, rules and regulations) can be frustrating enough to make anyone swear off hunting for eternity.

So here is my list:

1) Learn how to produce various turkey sounds using a variety of calls.
2) Learn the fundamentals of turkey calling. What is the function of the cluck? Purr? Yelp? Etc? And when should I employ those sounds in the woods.
3) Find an area to hunt. For me, this will involve doing some internet research on local public hunting areas. I'll likely just draw a thirty mile or so radius around my place of residence (Ithaca, NY) to see how many public hunting areas fall within it and adjust it as necessary.
5) Find maps of the areas and try to narrow down where the turkeys might be, which is to say take a big long guess and cross my fingers.
6) Scout the areas that fall within that thirty mile radius. This step can take an infinite amount of time. Often, just finding routes in and out of the woods can take weeks. Finding turkeys at this stage is probably more a matter of luck.
7) More scouting.
8) More scouting.
9) More scouting.
10) Go hunting.
11) Repeat 7-10 in varying orders.