The Off-season Blues

A pleasant day on the ice beats any day huddlied inside your cabin

For those who don’t partake in  outdoor activities in winter, the short and cold days can cause so-called “cabin fever” where people isolate themselves inside their homes and start feeling depressed about their situation. In my February column for the Alberta Outdoorsmen, I discuss the phenomenon and how it can be combated, at least in part, by getting outside and enjoying some of the simpler winter activities that are not hard to learn.

Specifically, I look at cross-country skiing, tracking and ice fishing. Another activity that helps chase the winter blues is planning for the upcoming warm seasons: figuring out where you want to go and what you want to do next spring, summer and fall. As well, the winter is good time to check out your equipment and make sure it is in good working order. Many repair services appreciate the business, and you have less things to do when the new season begins.

So, what’s wrong with that?

www.donmeredith.ca

Touring the Woods

I’m an avid cross-country skier, and have been for over 40 years, now. Despite all that experience, I’m not all that good at it. I don’t go fast and I don’t rocket down slopes in search of the perfect downhill run. I ski to get into the woods and see what is going on. Often you will find me hunched over a depression in the snow where another beast has crossed my trail.

Look carefully at the delicate pattern left by the primary flight feathers of a large bird lifting off the snow.

A case in point was last Saturday (Boxing Day here in Canada) when I cut some new trails in the woods near our home, largely following many sets of deer and moose tracks. As I followed a favorite lane through spruce woods, I came upon an unusual track left in the snow. It was the wing impressions of a large bird. Now, birds like grouse, blue jays and ravens regularly leave wing impressions on the snow as they land to investigate an object in the snow and then lift off (leaving the tracks) to fly away. But as you can see from the photograph, this print was left by a much larger bird (the dark line next to the track is my ski pole). The only birds of that size that inhabit the woods here in the winter are owls and the occasional late-migrating golden eagle.

Assuming the eagles have long gone, that leaves the owls; and the two species of owls I have seen in these woods are the provincial bird, the great-horned owl and the barred owl that I previously wrote about on this blog. Both are year-round residents and large enough to leave these prints.

What was the bird doing? Most likely hunting. What is not clear in my photograph is the large hole left by the bird’s legs as I assume it was trying to pounce on a mouse or other prey. I saw no evidence of other tracks near these; so, it is possible the owl may have heard a mouse moving under the snow. Owls have excellent hearing that serves them well, especially at night. Their ears are not placed symmetrically on their heads (one is higher on the head than the other), which allows the bird to locate precisely the location of small noises.

That is what I find so fascinating about skiing in the woods: the stories left in the snow by the woods’ residents. Whenever a game trail crosses my ski trail, I will stop to investigate to see what passed and perhaps what it was doing. Such ski tours make my winters that much more interesting.

So, what’s wrong with that?

www.donmeredith.ca

Conserving a Lake

The 50 year-old Wabamun power plant will be decommissioned in March 2010.

In my January Alberta Outdoorsmen column, I discuss the difficulties of managing a lake and its watershed to preserve its biological and recreational value. I live near Wabamun Lake, about an hour’s drive west of Edmonton, Alberta, and serve on the Wabamun Watershed Management Council, as the representative from the Stony Plain Fish and Game Association. The council was formed by Alberta Environment to help sort out what needs to be done to keep Wabamun a healthy lake.

One of the problems with managing a lake in Alberta is the number of jurisdictions involved in its management. No one government has authority over the entire lake. So, it is important to get as many people to the table as possible to discuss issues; and that is what the council is all about.

One of the issues the lake will face in the near future is the decommissioning of the TransAlta power plant near the village of Wabamun. The plant was built in 1956 and used the lake as its cooling pond (back in the days when environmental impacts were not a large concern). As a result, a portion of the lake has remained open (free of ice) during the winter for over 50 years. The problem is that in the winter of 2010-11 will be the first time the lake will be completely ice covered, and less oxygen will be entering the lake as a result. How that will affect the health of the lake, no one knows. However, Wabamun is one of the healthiest lakes in the province, despite the CN train oil spill in 2005; and as long as nutrient loading can be controlled, it could remain that way.

The fisheries are a concern of many, and I explain why the Fish and Wildlife Division has left a “catch-and-release” regulation on the lake.

So, what’s wrong with that?

www.donmeredith.ca

Redpolls–a True Sign of Winter

Redpolls come down from the North to winter in Alberta.

Yesterday (December 21, 2009) was the official start of winter in the northern hemisphere, where the sun is lowest in the sky and the day is the shortest of the year. Here in the Edmonton, Alberta region that means less than eight hours of daylight.

Most people living here would agree that winter really starts when the weather gets cold and the snow comes. This year that happened early in December. But for me, I know winter has arrived when I see my first flocks of Redpolls, the cheeky little finches that fly in from the north (where it breeds in the spring) to spend the winter here. I first saw them on the 20th when they landed in my driveway to pick up the sand grit that falls off our vehicles. Then yesterday, they found the feeders and were successfully competing with the black-capped and boreal chickadees for food (not to mention the red squirrel)..

There are two species of Redpolls that come here, the Common and the Hoary. Most of what we see here are Common Redpolls, although we see an occasional Hoary Redpoll in a flock from time to time. The latter are lighter in color.

Redpolls are only occasional visitors here. The feeders are usually dominated by the year-round residents, such as the black-capped chickadee, and the white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatches. I am always amazed how these tiny little birds survive the extreme temperatures. So, I don’t begrudge the seeds they eagerly consume.

www.donmeredith.ca

The Firearms Mess

 

I didn’t think it would ever happen under a minority Conservative government; but happen it did, at least in part. In my December Alberta Outdoorsmen column, I discuss the passage through second reading of Bill C-391 in the Canadian House of Commons. The private member’s bill would abolish the controversial registration of non-restricted firearms (rifles and shotguns normally used by hunters and sport shooters, etc.). As I have written in various columns since 1998, the odious gun registration was never designed to reduce crime, but was poorly crafted, grossly mismanaged and a colossal waste of tax-payers money (an estimated $2 billion).

Why didn’t I think this bill would pass? Because all the opposition parties were in favor of the registration despite its waste, mismanagement and ineffectiveness. Although the Conservatives promised to abolish the registry, I didn’t think they could do it until they were able to seat a majority government. So, why did a majority (164-137) of Members of Parliament vote in favor of the bill at second reading? Because each MP was allowed to vote freely, not subject to party discipline. Thus, several Liberals and New Democrats voted with the government and the wishes of their constituencies to abolish the registry.

But what caused these MPs not to side with their parties? I think a lot had to do with the actions of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair. Like many urban police agencies, his was having trouble controlling the illegal guns that were being used in crime in his city. Instead of addressing the actual weapons being used (unregistered, restricted or prohibited hand guns illegally smuggled from the States), he decided to go after law abiding gun owners. He raided the homes of some owners whose gun licences had expired and confiscated their firearms. (Many of these owners had not been notified by the registration system that their licences were about to expire, or their renewal paperwork had been lost in the system—a common occurrence.) The police home invasions confirmed the suspicions of many conspiracy theorists among firearms owners, and the resultant outrage generated in print, on blogs and in letter writing campaigns to politicians of all stripes pushed many to reconsider their position on the issue. Thanks Bill Blair for demonstrating what many have been saying for years.

The bill still has a long way to go. It is now before a committee, where amendments can be recommended. It then must pass a third reading before the House, after which it goes to the Senate for its consideration. This will take months, and the government could fall before royal assent, in which case the process would have to start all over again. But a milestone has been reached. For once, a majority of MPs finally understand what firearms owners have been telling them for 14 years—a firearms registration system is a colossal waste of money and effort that should be directed at actually fighting gun crime.

www.donmeredith.ca

Holiday Book Sale

Installing Snow Leopard

Well, I did it. I took the bit in my teeth and installed Apple’s latest version of its operating system, Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6), this last week. I wish to report that I was pleasantly surprised with how well it went. You see, having used Microsoft Windows for nearly 25 years, I knew better than to install a new version of that operation system (OS) on an older machine. If I was buying a new machine, sure, the latest OS was worth it because I would be installing the applications etc. from scratch. However, to install an updated version (major revision) on an older machine on top of already installed applications was just asking for trouble for which new versions of Windows were notorious.

So, it was with some trepidation that I approached installing Snow Leopard on my 1 1/2 year-old iMac. I read all the reviews and understood that Apple was not Microsoft; that because they had better control over their computers, they could better handle an OS upgrade. Thus, with some time available to handle any problems that might pop up, I gritted my teeth and purchased an upgrade copy of Snow Leopard.

The sales guy at the Apple store confirmed the install should be relatively painless but did caution me to backup all my data etc. just in case. After all, stuff does happen, like power failures during the install, and occasionally a bug in a specific configuration does appear. I backed up my data to both my external hard drive and a DVD, and then popped the Snow Leopard DVD into the machine and let Apple take over.

Installing an OS upgrade is not like installing the latest version of a favorite application program. It takes time as configurations must be copied, stored and reestablished, and documents and files swapped back and forth. As long as my computer screen didn’t go blank, blue or otherwise indicate a serious problem, I let it proceed for the 20 or 30 minutes it took to make the change. After the perfunctory reboot, my familiar desktop came back up on the screen with little noticeable change.

The first thing my new system wanted to do was check for updates via the Internet. That revealed the first problem: my system couldn’t find my Telus 3G card which serves as my “high-speed” Internet connection (we don’t have regular high speed here in the country, despite the “Alberta Advantage”). Upon checking my System Preferences, I found I had a new Internet connection using the Telus card through a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN). Once I activated it in Preferences, I found a new icon on the menu bar at the top of my screen. Connecting to the Internet was now just a click away. So off I went to the Apple site to download the latest update for Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6.2). That’s a 500+ Mb download that took the better part of five hours.

Next to check was the connections with my peripherals. My HP photo-quality ink jet printer passed with flying colors. However, my HP laser jet printer did not. Although, the system recognized the printer, the printer would not accept print jobs. What to do?

After double checking all physical and software connections and double checking with the HP web site about a revised print driver (where I was informed it was included with Snow Leopard), I phoned Apple technical support. Now, over the years I’ve also learned not to expect much satisfaction from telephone technical support. Of course, Microsoft was the worst for this because if you had the temerity to obtain your Windows already installed on your PC, Microsoft washed its hands of any support and referred you to the computer manufacturer. In my case, that meant talking to somebody in a heavily accented English who quickly dismissed my problem as a Microsoft one (I so love “Catch-22”).

However with Apple, I found myself talking to someone who actually attempted to understand my problem and seek a solution. She confirmed what actions I had already taken and then stepped me through some others. Unfortunately, she could not figure out why the printer would not print. She then put me on hold while she sought her supervisor. He quickly came on line, apologized for my problem, and reviewed the steps that had already been taken. Soon, he was stepping me into the inner workings of the OS where we deleted some files. I rebooted the machine and voila, my printer worked. Apparently, and old configuration had to be deleted before the system built a new one. Thank you Apple for providing the support I needed. You are an example of what customer service should be about!

Next I tried my Nikon slide and film scanner. No problem, it worked like a charm like it always has. Next, came my HP flatbed photo scanner. Problem! Snow Leopard didn’t know it existed. Before calling Apple again I decided to do some research. Using Google I soon found myself at the Apple and HP support forums where I learned HP had stopped supplying upgraded print drivers for this particular scanner for several years, and Apple confirmed this scanner was not supported. As a result, I joined the throng of dissatisfied HP customers on these forums pledging not to buy another HP scanner.

Fortunately, I still have a Windows laptop (XP) that will drive the scanner. Since I bought my Nikon scanner, I have little use for the flatbed other than photocopying. However, I do need one for other purposes from time to time. So, I will let the laptop fill the gap until I find a suitable replacement.

Thus, if you use a Mac, I recommend upgrading to Snow Leopard. It has a smaller footprint and several other enhancements that improves your experience. However, as with any OS upgrade, be prepared to take some time to fine tune; and don’t fear approaching Apple Support. They will indeed help you!

So, what’s wrong with that?

www.donmeredith.ca

Signed Books for Christmas-Dec. 1

I will be joining over 20 other Alberta book authors and illustrators selling signed books at the Stony Plain Public Library on December 1, 2009 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. in Stony Plain (4613 52 Avenue) just west of Edmonton. Come have a look at all the great books that will be available for sale, and talk with the authors.

I will be selling copies of my two award-winning, young-adult, adventure novels for the low sale price of $10.00 each. If you have a young person (or an adult for that matter) on your gift list who might be interested in outdoor adventure stories, come give my books a look.

The Search for Grizzly One, is about a teenager searching for his lost grandfather in northern Alberta.

“…a cracking good adventure story set in Canada’s North…some of the best writing about northern flying and wilderness life that I have ever encountered” — Merna Summers, Amazon.ca review.

Dog Runner is about a teenager torn between two cultures in northern Alberta. In order to save his dog team, Jim must enter a grueling sled dog race.

“Each of the dogs has a distinct, believable personality, and human and animal interactions ring true to life. Dog Runner is a special book.” — Calgary Herald

So, what’s wrong with that?

www.donmeredith.ca

On Rubs, Scrapes and Footsteps

2009 Hunting Diary—Day 7

There are many reasons I enjoy hunting as much as I do. But perhaps the most important, in terms of being addicted, is the adrenalin rush I receive when my techniques and tactics actually work. Such was the case Monday when I was once again challenged by the conditions I found that early morning.

It was the first day of my November deer hunt that annually occurs not too far from my home. I had tags for both mule deer and white-tails, but with meat already in the freezer I was hunting for a quality buck. So, I was prepared to turn down some younger ones in search of a wall-hanger and genuinely enjoy the hunt in the process. There was very little snow on the ground and what was there was crunchy, as were the fallen leaves that littered the forest floor. So, I was going to make noise, noise that would give me away. As a confirmed still hunter, that is an important concept to get into my head, that is, I would be heard by my quarry. My challenge was ensuring that the noise I made did not give me away as a hunter.

Like the animals hunted, we still hunters must use all our senses to the best of our abilities. This can be a challenge coming from an urban environment. Fortunately for me, over the years I have been able to quickly shed my urban ways and fall into my still hunting mode within a few minutes of leaving my truck. That is what happened before dawn just at legal shooting time when I entered the woods heading into a southeast breeze. Smell is the number one sense that game uses to detect a predator, so a hunter must ever be aware of the wind and where his scent is going.

I eased my way into the noisy bush taking two steps, pausing, listening and looking; then taking another two steps, pausing, listening and looking, and so on. The hard part of still hunting is the discipline of holding to this strict practice. It is much too easy for our urban minds to tell us to move more quickly that we are not getting to our destination fast enough. The still hunter must ignore these entreaties if he or she is to be consistently successful. In reality, if you are hunting, you are at your destination.

In the rut, buck deer paw the ground and scrape the bark off trees.

As the morning progressed I began seeing buck rubs and scrapes that told me there was at least one active buck in this particular area of the forest. Bucks waiting for the ladies to come into season take out their frustration on the vegetation and ground. They scrape the bark off trees and shrubbery with their antlers and paw the ground with their hooves, leaving large patches of bear ground where leaves used to lie. I was admiring a particularly well rubbed tree when I heard footsteps behind me. That’s when the adrenalin started pouring into my veins. I wasn’t expecting to hear anything from behind as it was both downwind of me and territory I had already passed through. However, there he was slowly moving through the trees, about 30 metres away, crossing my trail and oblivious to it. Like me he was taking two steps at a time, pausing, looking about and taking another two steps, followed by another, etc.

He was a small mule deer buck, with a forked antler. I had the drop on him. Now, if there wasn’t already meat in the freezer, I would have taken him; and indeed I raised my rifle and put the cross-hairs on him just for drill. But I did not want this hunt to end so soon. So I let the adrenalin rush subside as I waited for him to either see me or catch my scent. He did neither. For some reason the morning breeze must have carried my scent on high above the buck because he never spooked nor snorted.

The fresh mark where a buck rubbed the bark off an alder.

Once he passed out of sight, I continued on my way confident my techniques were working well. Over the next few hours I walked up on a couple of does with fawns and a small white-tailed deer buck. Several of these animals did eventually see me or catch my scent and they snorted as they dashed through the trees. The white-tail buck, however, wasn’t exactly sure what I was and circled me trying to get a better look. I confused him with my deer grunt that kept him interested. However, he eventually got my scent and was gone.

So, it was pretty successful day of deer hunting. Although I did not bag an animal, I got close to many and further honed my skills and techniques. And there are more hunting days to come.

So, what’s wrong with that?

www.donmeredith.ca

Holiday Book Sale

It’s the Habitat!

In my November Alberta Outdoorsmen column, I discuss how much energy has been expended on debating the suspension of a very small grizzly bear hunt in Alberta while little public attention has been paid to the real issue: conserving grizzly bear habitat! The recently released information on the grizzly bear population north of highway 16 provides a look at what prime grizzly bear habitat may just be in this province. However, if our resource exploitation continues at the pace it has south of highway 16, human access to prime bear habitat will degrade that habitat and reduce the number of bears. So, whether you are in favor of the grizzly bear hunt or not, if you value the bear as I do, then you must support better habitat protection throughout its range.

So, what’s wrong with that?

www.donmeredith.ca

Holiday Book Sale!

Holiday Book Sale!

Yes, it’s that time of year again, and I’m offering signed copies of my two award-winning young-adult, adventure novels for the low sale price  of $10.00 (Cdn$ or US$) each. If you have a young person (or an adult for that matter) on your gift list who might be interested in outdoor adventure stories, please consider The Search for Grizzly One and Dog Runner.

“The Search for Grizzly One is a cracking good adventure story set in Canada’s North,” wrote Merna Summers on Amazon.ca. “It was originally intended for young readers, but it contains some of the best writing about northern flying and wilderness life that I have ever encountered. This novel, which deals with the search for a downed plane in bush country, has unexpected twists and turns of plot, and also reverently-rendered links with Native spirituality and mysticism. Adults, as well as young people, should find reading it a rich and rewarding experience. Highly recommended.”

With regard to Dog Runner, the Canadian Book Review Annual (1989) stated, “Throughout this well-written adventure story, Native legends are skilfully interwoven, and Jim’s relationship with his dogs is poignantly portrayed.” And the Calgary Herald (1989) wrote, “Each of the dogs has a distinct, believable personality, and human and animal interactions ring true to life. Dog Runner is a special book.”

To buy these books at the sale price, go to the Signed Books page on my web site. Or if you are in the Stony Plain, Alberta area, I will be selling books (along with other Alberta authors) at the Stony Plain Public Library on December 1, 2009, from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

www.donmeredith.ca