A Common Man's View of the U.S. Debt...

I don't usually post political opinions on here unless they are directly related to wildlife or habitat, and even then rarely... But what is now going on in Washington is decades overdue and still going nowhere. The House passed a bill last week that would satisfy the criteria required to put the U.S. debt on a track to responsibility when it passed the Cut, Cap, and Balance bill. Harry Reid promptly tabled the bill w/o a vote when it got to the Senate...

Then he proclaims that the Republicans in Congress need to compromise, and that his bill is the only compromise in play?? How is that a compromise when it hasn't even come to a vote in the Senate? And who is he to claim no compromise when he tabled, w/o so much as a vote, the only effectively viable bill to, so far, address the problem?? But that's the way our government works... or doesn't work?? 

Give us a break! So many people in Washington don't think the American people know what's best for our country. Or even that we are paying attention... Well, we are paying attention, and we don't like what's been going on for a long time now.

When we, as individuals, run up too much debt, we have to make sacrifices to pay it off. But our government just keeps borrowing and wasting and taxing and spending until now the U.S. is $14.5 T in debt... And they want to borrow more to pay what is outstanding, and tell us that they will cut spending by more than they will borrow?? But they don't tell us that the cuts are merely cuts in expected increases in spending... and not really cuts in existing spending at all... The only compromising here is OF the American people.

I am reminded of the following true story:

"The Sierra Club and the U. S. Forest Service were presenting an alternative to the Wyoming ranchers for controlling the coyote population. It seems that after years of the ranchers using the tried and true method of shooting or trapping the predators, the Sierra Club had a "more humane" solution to this issue. What they were proposing was for the animals to be captured alive. The males would then be castrated and let loose again. This was ACTUALLY proposed by the Sierra Club and by the U. S. Forest Service.

All of the ranchers thought about this amazing idea for a couple of minutes.

Finally an old fellow wearing a big cowboy hat in the back of the conference room stood up, tipped his hat back and said, 'Son, I don't think you understand our problem here. These coyotes ain't f_____' our sheep; they're eatin' 'em!'

The meeting never really got back to order."

Well, I doubt Congress ever gets back to order either, at least anytime soon. But one thing for sure, the sheep in this story are the American people... and the coyotes are the bureaucrats. The government? Why it's the Forest Service and the Sierra Club, don't you know... 

Natural Nitrogen Fixation...

If you would note the piece that I posted here last August entitled, " How large the habitat project?", you might recall that the 3-acre parcel is behind my house and a continuing project of mine. Last year I had merely disked the ground to regenerate the natural seedbank and wound up w/ a field full of native grasses and clovers which greatly enhanced the bird population around my house.

Most people are aware that clovers are a legume and most varieties will fixate nitrogen naturally in the soil, improving the fertility. Clovers are a predominantly cool season grass that thrive through the winter and lie dormant in the hot summer. This year, as hot and dry as it's been, I'm not sure dormant is the word... maybe dead is a better one. Point is, clovers not only provide excellent wildlife benefits, but enrich the soil as well.

Another beneficial native legume that also provides food and cover for wildlife is Partridge Pea.

http://www.easywildflowers.com/quality/chamae6.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamaecrista_fasciculata

Since I was gone for 3 months last fall, my field of native grasses and forbs got a little overgrown and shaded out my clover through the winter. By the time I got home and got it mowed, the thatch was so thick that it just covered everything. I tried disking it again, but it was still too thick and simply clogged up the disk w/ thatch. Consequently, I burned it off last March and cut it up again w/ the disk, leaving me w/ a plowed field ready to grow something.

I considered planting anything from sweet corn to a quail mix. But realizing that we were in a La Nina weather pattern this year and likely to be dry, I decided to let the natural seedbank germinate again to see what I got this year. It's a good thing I did because this has been a miserable summer w/ extended triple digit days and very little rain.

When the natural seedbank began to grow, I found that I had a field full of Partridge Pea mixed w/ other native grasses and forbs. Realizing that the Partridge Pea would serve as a natural fertilizer for my field as well as food and cover for the birds that I already had here, I decided to just let it grow. And realizing that this was going to be a stressful summer for the local wildlife as well, it was an easy decision to make.

The neighbors are all wearing me out on their back porches about my weed patch, but the birds have found it a bonanza for seeds and insects in a tough year to make a living. But wildlife is my neighbor too, and it outnumbers the porch watchers...

There still haven't been any visits from deer or turkey here that I've noticed, but the squirrels and raccoons and coyotes are frequent visitors, along w/ a few hawks and owls. And still no quail... but I keep hoping. Too much fescue around me still, I think...

The field has pretty much dried up w/ all the heat and lack of rain to date, so I figure I'll mow it as soon as I get a day that isn't in triple digits...  Man, it's been HOT this year!!  Then later in the fall, providing we get some rain to soften the blackland and shrink the cracks in the soil, I may reseed the field in clover to start the process again. But, at least, I know that what I've done (or not done) has improved the fertility of my soil w/o the high cost of chemical fertilizer.

Who says," You can't sneak up on a turkey?"

After finishing a job near Wichita,KS, last month, I decided to try my luck for a Rio on some KS public land. I had been seeing turkeys strutting almost every day while I was in KS, so my fever was plenty high. Working out of state had cut my turkey hunting at home this year down to one unsuccessful close encounter, so I was vulnerable to any excuse that might come to mind.

The extended stay hotel where I was staying was across the freeway from the local KS Parks and Wildlife office, and there were turkeys all around us every morning. I had to go over there and search out all the information I could find, don't you know...

It didn't hurt that I was paid up for a full month at the hotel and the job was ending a week earlier. I mean, no sense to waste that extra week when it was already paid up! And the license and tag was only $72.50 and $32.50 respectively (about a tank of gas for my PU). How many excuses did a guy need?

How about a public property w/ good turkey habitat and population close enough to make it all feasible? I found many opportunities where I could turkey hunt on public land near Wichita, so now I just had to pick one... and the right one... It shouldn't be too hard, right?

Utilizing my laptop and Google Earth I was able to view each possible choice via aerial photos and narrow down my choices to a few promising locations. I had pretty much narrowed my choices down to a couple before talking to a local biologist and finally settling on the Byron Walker Wildlife Area about an hour west of my hotel.

I had some paperwork to complete on Monday morning, but afterward I took a trip out to the 4600+ acre property for a quick initial scouting mission. It turned out to be a terrific day, even if the wind was blowing too hard (something the locals say is a function of all the blowhards in TX and all the suckers in NE). Wind in KS is just another condition that must be tolerated... kinda like in TX, don't you know...

Initially, I stopped by the headquarters to introduce myself and gather some more information about the property. The manager was very friendly and helpful in providing me w/ any information that I requested. He was proud of his place, and well he should be... It was a beautiful example of what habitat management can do for wildlife in an area. Outside of a few wheat fields, I didn't see anything but native vegetation. But there was plenty of that to go around. Proof positive that expensive food plots are not necessary to have quality habitat for wildlife. Food plots can help, but native vegetation is quite adequate when managed properly.

I pretty much spent 4 hours that day driving the roads and glassing the countryside. After studying the aerial photos I had a feel for the lay of the land, but the scouting was just the next step in the process. Later that evening, I would again study the aerial photos on my computer, further enhancing my knowledge of the lay of the land. It's amazing how you can enhance your perspective w/ aerial photos.

I spotted a hen in the road not long after leaving the headquarters. A little further down the road that morning I saw what I thought was a gobbler in the edge of one of the wheat fields, but I couldn't be sure even w/ binoculars. Those were the only two birds that I saw that day, but I saw enough to prompt me to buy my license that afternoon upon returning to Wichita.

KS has a law, as most states do, that you can't hunt on the day that you buy your license. That is to prevent people from shooting something before they go and buy a tag for it. Those kinds of people hunt for all the wrong reasons... It's the journey in life that's important, not the destination. I have some trophies on my wall, but nothing in the record books. However, my largest achievement has been that they have all come legally from public lands and waters w/o the benefit of a guide.

The next morning I was at the property an hour before daylight. I wanted to listen to the Byron Walker wake up...

I had realized on the way that I had forgotten my mouth yelpers in the refrigerator in my hotel room. Not a good way to start the day...

I still didn't know for sure where I wanted to hunt, but I was leaning toward the area where I had seen, what I thought, was a gobbler the day before. But, had I heard gobbling on the roost before daylight, I would have been inclined to head in that direction. As it happened, I didn't hear a single gobble before daylight, so I started out near where the gobbler had been the day before.

As the day began to break, the wind began to rise. I flushed a pair of quail as I eased around trying to hear anything that might give me a clue which way to go. Daylight was grey and cloudy, but the sun was still low yet.

Whoa! What was that? A gobble off to my SW? Maybe, but I couldn't be sure in the wind. There it was again. Yep! He was over there! But hard to say how far... He gobbled maybe 4 times and shut up! That was it!

I was on the east side of what the manager called the T-draw when I heard that gobble, and I was hunting where I had never been before. So, to stay as hidden as possible, I used the edge of the timber to make my way in the direction of those gobbles, which appeared to be coming from the west side of the T-draw and to my SW.

As I slipped along the edge of the timber trying to find a way through the thickets, I heard some very faint tree yelps coming from up ahead. But again the wind made it hard to tell how far up ahead, plus I'm sure that I don't hear as good as I did anymore, don't you know...

Suddenly, two hens flushed from a huge cottonwood tree as I stepped from a plum thicket, still on the east side of the T-draw because it was too thick to find a way through to the west side. (Most of the area is pretty open, but where there are thickets... there are thickets... ) The two hens flew off toward where the gobbler had been. It was just now 6:30.

I found a way through where a game trail made it's way across the draw. It wasn't very far before it opened up again, but it was very thick in the bottom of the draw.

I eased up to the fence on the west side and crossed it. There was a small cottonwood and cedar draw w/ a pasture to the SW that looked promising, so I headed in that direction.

It had been some time since I had heard the gobbles, and I had little hope of finding that bird. But the hens had flown that way too, so I might as well ease over there and try calling a little. Up to now I hadn't even made a call except w/ my locater calls. I wanted things to settle down after flushing those two hens off the roost. No sense in educating them anymore...

As I eased up the small draw, I found a small pond near a 6-8 acre wheat field that was somewhat shielded from me by plum thickets and cedar trees. I decided to put my decoys up on a little knoll out in the pasture and set up behind a cottonwood log to do some calling. As I crawled out toward the little knoll to place my decoys, something dark caught my eye in the middle of the wheat field about 150 yds. to my right.

Whoa! Turkey! Get back behind that plum thicket! There was a gobbler in full strut in the middle of that wheat field... And he hadn't seen me yet! Whew!

I eased back to the edge w/ my binoculars and, sure enough, there he was in full fan. And there were some hens w/ him too. One, two, three, FOUR of them! Fat chance he would leave them and come to me unless the hens did first. Well, I had to try...

That plum thicket provided me w/ some cover so I could get my decoys set up and start calling the turkeys. The thicket was on my side of the fence that surrounded the wheat field where the gobbler was strutting. I moved closer to the thicket and set up to start calling. I positioned myself where I could see the turkeys as they meandered around in the wheat field, occasionally showing themselves on each side of the plum thicket.

The gobbler seemed like he was herding the hens as they meandered around pecking the ground. He would move back and forth around them strutting his fan off. What a show!

I pulled out my box call and my slate and began calling softly at first w/ some soft mating yelps, and purrs and clucks. The wind was still blowing, but not as badly as before, and the sun was breaking through the clouds at times.

Each time I would call, the gobbler would drop his fan and raise his head, but he would not answer me. The hens would look too, so I know they knew I was there. But they wouldn't come... or answer me.

So I picked up the box call and let her rip w/ 4-5 sharp mating yelps to see if that would get a better response. Same reaction... so I did it again. This time the hens started slowly easing away toward the other side of the field... so I shut up. I never made another call that day.

I swear, that gobbler pranced around those hens and herded them back to the middle of that field. My shutting up must've convinced those hens that those other hens weren't a threat anymore, because they settled down and went back to feeding and the gobbler kept prancing around them, back and forth.

So there I sat somewhere between 100-150 yds of this gobbler and four hens that wouldn't make a sound or come to my call. I could wait for them to leave him and try to call him to me after he was alone, which might take a long time...  if it happened at all. Or I could try and put a sneak on them?

Several years ago out in west Texas I had slipped up on a hard gobbling Rio strutting in a stiff wind, but he would gobble everytime I called to him and there was plenty of cover to hide behind as I moved up. And even then he had gotten away from me... because I missed him... But I did get a shot off.

That was before my Uncle Wink died, and he had remarked that he didn't think he could remember anyone who had ever sneaked up on a turkey before. Not saying it couldn't be done, but it was a rare thing to be successful at it.

But if I boogered them they would just run off. And if I waited, they would probably take all day, and walk away anyway. So I had to try...

The plum thicket still provided cover to the fence, but that was still 75 yds. from the birds. To the right of the plum thicket, the cottonwood draw provided a funnel below the turkey's line of sight that would allow me to sneak up to the right of a cedar tree on the edge of the draw and just a few feet from the fence. If I could get to that tree w/o being seen, I might have a chance.

But I would still be at maximum range for my BPS w/ Federal Mag Shok #4's at best. I don't pay extra for the heavy shot, so I still don't like taking a shot over 40-45 yds. My gun will pattern 8-12 shot in a turkey target kill zone at 45 yds, but that's under ideal conditions.

So here we go! I half-crawl, half-walk slowly up this cottowood draw till I get to that cedar tree, but it's still too far. But they haven't seen me yet either. So now I get belly low and crawl up to the fence leaving only blue stem grass and barbed wire in front of me, and that cedar tree behind me. Very carefully, I sit up next to the fence and move my gun into position.  The gobbler is still too far by maybe 10 yds, but I still haven't been seen. Nothing short of a miracle, but the wind was blowing the grass and the trees back and forth, and my camo was good.

So there I sit w/ my gun sticking between the strands of barbed wire waiting for this bird to prance around into effective range so I can take a shot. Hoping that I'm not seen and that I don't get a cramp, I wait for him to get into range.

Finally, after strutting back and forth keeping his girls herded into the middle of this field, he prances over to my side and gets into what I believe is effective range. And, finally, these four hens separate enough that I have a clear shot at him. But he's still all puffed up w/ his head pulled down on his chest, and I don't have any mouth yelper to make him stretch his neck out for a clean head shot. But he does present me w/ a profile of his head and waddles, and he does break his strut for just an instant... just long enough for me to take a fine bead and touch it off.

Boom! He flew forward about 10 feet and piled up in a heap. Turns out the shot was closer to 45 yds, but a clean kill. He had only a 9 inch beard, but 1 inch spurs... a 3 y.o. bird, and I put a sneak on him! Not bad for a fat old man of 63... if I do say so myself... Here's hoping people will excuse me, LOL.

The Trip Home...

Late last fall after finishing the job in Oregon, I was able to get some excellent pictures illustrating numerous edges in nature on my way home to Texas. I had to head south to Riverside, CA, to drop off some things that we had used in Oregon. Then, I headed east across AZ and NM, stopping overnight at my cousin's house in Tuscon.

As I made my way across NM, I decided to take a slightly different path than usual, traveling up over the continental divide at Cloudcroft, NM, and then along US 82 into Texas. I had never been that way before from Alamogordo to Hobbs, but I'm so glad I chose that way.

The pictures here will document a lot of my trip as I traveled home. I have been trying to figure out a way to tell the story and tie it in to Edge Habitat, but I guess the best way is by showing the pictures.

As I prepared to leave Oregon the week after Thanksgiving, snow threatened to close I-5 at Siskiyou pass. But it was open when I got to Ashland, so I was able to get over and out of Oregon w/o traveling the coast highway, as I had feared.

As it turns out, the post holiday traffic on I-5 was a much larger obstacle than any snowstorm could have been. Wow! What an idiotic mess! If there was ever an example of "territorial imperative," that was it!

When I got just south of Yreka, CA, I was able to get these shots of Mt. Shasta as the clouds would open up just enough to show me the mountain. If you've never witnessed Mt. Shasta before, it is truly another of nature's majestic mega-edges. Stratovolcanoes have an aura anyway, but Mt. Shasta is at the top of the class, IMO. One day it will blow again, like St. Helen did, and it will show it's power to all the world. But many of us can feel that awesome power every time we get near it.

Further north in Oregon lies Mt. Jefferson, and further south and east is Mt. Lassen. But nether command the aura of Mt. Shasta, at least to me anyway.

Mt. Jefferson

Mt. Lassen

After stopping in Riverside, CA, I continued across to my cousin's house just north of Tuscon and west of the Catalina Mts. The pictures below are from her back yard just before dawn.

Looking SE



More southerly

  As I traveled across southern AZ and NM later that day, I decided to get off the freeway at Truth or Consequences and head over to Alamogordo and then top out over US 82 at Cloudcroft. As the following pictures will illustrate, it was a great idea to see some country and critters that I'd not seen before.


Climbing up toward Cloudcroft and looking back toward Alamogordo



Mule deer just over the top on the east side (The tint is due to my not having time to open my PU window.)



Elk cows and beef cows... a little further down the hill...

Altogether, it was a great trip home and a great 3 months spent out west. And, hopefully, a graphic illustration of how edge effects and edge habitat exist everywhere we look... if we look closely enough.

Point is, we need to preserve and develop such edge, as best we can, to improve our environment for wildlife AND human life. Awareness of the need is what Edge Habitat is trying to improve... along w/ whatever we can do to physically nurture the habitat along the way...
 

Bighorns in the Columbia Basin...

Back in September, just after Labor Day, I was traveling to the Portland, Oregon area to work for the next three months at my day job in order to pay some bills. I had lived in the Pacific Northwest for 15 years as a younger man, and my boss had asked me to run a couple of crews for him on a new contract. I was coming from Texas, and I had spent the last night in a motel in Pendleton.

Arising early, I had left Pendleton before daylight. Traveling west on I-84 I had dropped down into the basin making my way toward Portland. It was a cloudy day mixed with rain... nothing unusual for this area.

As I was driving along something happened to catch my eye across the freeway and about 200 yds up the hillside to the south. Son-of-a-gun! It was a full curl bighorn sheep just standing there looking out at the river below. A real grizzled looking old gray bearded rascal with massive bosses... What a surprise!

As I said before, I used to live in the Pacific Northwest and part of that time I worked for the Washington Game Department in Spokane. I was unaware that bighorn sheep were now inhabiting the bluffs above the Columbia River. I surmised that they had been planted in recent years by the Oregon Game Department, but later I found out that they had migrated on their own from the John Day Canyon to the south and west. They had, indeed, been planted in the John Day Canyon, but these had moved into this area on their own. What a success story!

The bighorns are usually seen between Phillipi Canyon and the mouth of the John Day River

As I continued, trying to digest what I had just witnessed, I spotted a group of ewes and younger rams side-hilling westward parallel to the freeway and about 400 yds up the bluff. This was probably 2-3 miles further than the old solitary ram that I had first seen.

That was it! I had to call Doc, a hunting buddy of mine, and tell him what I had just seen... sort of a "share the moment" reaction. I had seen bighorns near the road or crossing the road before in Colorado and Montana, but I never dreamed of seeing such a sight in the Columbia River Basin.


Columbia River  from up on the bench where the bighorns live

On a later trip to visit my uncle in Spokane, I stopped along the way and climbed up on the bench above the river to see what I could find. I had spoken on the telephone with an Oregon wildlife biologist about what I had seen, and he had given me additional information about the sheep and how they happened to be there. The land here is Corps of Engineers land, and I was not trespassing. But up and over the top of the bluff is private land.

As my luck would have it, the sheep were nowhere to be found on this day, at least from my observations. (They were probably watching me struggle to climb up to the bench all the time.) But I did find a well used game trail and some fresh sheep tracks to validate my claims.



Blunt toed sheep tracks look more like a hog's track than a deer's.

Skeptics will, no doubt, say those tracks could just as easily be deer tracks, but deer tracks have a more sharply pointed toe than sheep tracks. Bighorn tracks will more resemble a hog's track, than a deer's track.

So if,by chance, any of you are ever traveling I-84 between Biggs Junction and Arlington, Oregon, be alert along the south bluff between John Day Canyon and Phillipi Canyon for a possible sighting of bighorn sheep. They are thriving along the edge of the river in another classic edge habitat that has not been artificially restored, but simply allowed to develop unmolested. How awesome that we have a window into such an environment while traveling along between our own destinations...

Living on the Edge... a day at the beach...

I awoke for no good reason at 4:30 AM. Don't ask me why, except I think God had something to show me that day. In retrospect, I can't even tell you what day of the week it was or what day of the month it was. I remember it was in early October. But I was wide awake and could not go back to sleep. So I decided to go to the beach.

I was working a job in Oregon, and I was staying at an extended stay hotel in Salem... so it wasn't far to the beach. I think it took me about an hour to get down to Lincoln City, where I stopped for breakfast hoping that the heavy fog would lift while I was eating. It didn't...

Daylight was trying to break through as I left the restaurant and started south down the coast highway toward Depoe Bay, and then Newport. I had no idea where I was going or what I would find, but I had my antiquated 35mm SLR, and I was going to get some pictures of one of the most awesome edge habitats in the world, the Pacific coastline. Funny how edges draw people to them... and animals...

Later that afternoon at Depoe Bay

  When I got to Depoe Bay, daybreak was trying to cut through the fog. But it wasn't having much luck. I stopped on the seawall in downtown to watch the surf pounding the rocks below the road. I could see only about a hundred yards, but you could tell the sea was angry.

I parked beside a car with a lady sitting in the passenger seat with her window rolled down. As I got out of my PU, I said something to the effect that the sea was really kickin' butt this mornin'.

She got out and stepped up to the rail beside me with no concern at all about me being a stranger and it being the crack of daylight. She was in awe of this raging sea, same as me, and we stood there talking about it and why we were both there at the same time.

Maybe 45 minutes later, her son awoke from the backseat and stepped out to join us. Turns out they had been traveling north up the coast highway when the fog got so bad that they pulled over here and waited till morning for the fog to lift.

Our chance meeting and conversation became, what felt like, a friendly connection between strangers. We didn't exchange names, but I could tell that she had enjoyed the connection too. And when she left we shook hands and said as much... I knew it was going to be a good day...

A window to the surf between Depoe Bay and Newport

As I traveled further south down the coast toward Newport, the fog began to fade in and out allowing some views to open up ever so slightly. It would tease me just enough to get me excited about what was unfolding around me. Man, what a day this was going to be...

When I got into Newport, I stopped and asked where I could park near the beach to get some pictures of the surf when the fog lifted. They pointed me in the direction of a county park just a few blocks off the main drag, and off I went.

The park was a small parking lot with a public bathroom and a circular pavilion overlooking a bluff over the mouth of the bay... but the fog had it socked in... However, the surf was definitely audible below, probably 200 yards away. It was a surreal experience, to say the least, but it was just getting started.

There was a crew of roofers putting a new roof on the pavilion in the fog that morning which interrupted the scene regularly. But they simply added to the background noise, which was muffled constantly by the sound of the surf.

Sitting on a bench at the head of the sandy trail down to the beach was a clean shaven middle aged man wearing jeans, a hooded camo jacket, and a baseball cap. Beside him sat a neatly packed large backpack, the kind that might be used if going camping in the mountains.

I asked him, if he minded, if I sat on the bench beside him with my camera to watch and wait for the fog to lift and expose the surf below. And thus began 4+ hours of conversation between this guy (turns out a homeless man) and me.              


The two pictures above were taken from the bench where we sat.


The conversation started out slow with mostly small talk, but soon progressed into another friendly connection between two complete strangers. The guy's name was Bartley (the only Bartley that I've ever met in 63 years), and you would never guess that he was a homeless man even though he carried a pack. He was too clean and neat...

I thought, at first, he was simply trekking the beach with his backpack for the experience. Only after he found out where I was from and found out that I knew where he was raised (Soper,OK) did the conversation evolve into a more personal one about his past and his current situation. It was truly a fascinating morning...

  Bartley was a welder, by trade, and a good one too, according to him. But he had climbed into a bottle several years back following his son's suicide after returning from Iraq.

Subsequently, he had determined that he really did want to live and that the bottle was surely killing him. So he quit! And he was doing his best to pull himself up by his boot straps and become a contributing citizen again.

 And he shared his perspective of his situation with me that morning in a way that changed my whole idea of how homeless people cope. But what impressed me the most about Bartley was his apparent integrity. And the fact that he had any...

Becoming a good welder again isn't always easy when there's a huge hiatus in your resume where you've been living among the Redwoods for 5 years+. And the unemployment office only wants to re-train you... or at least that's the best plan they can devise for you.

 We talked, as I said before, for 4+ hours while waiting for the fog to lift. Bartley filled me in on many things about the area as the fog lifted that day. Some of which I will share here before I'm done.

But the main thing that I learned from Bartley that day was that homeless people are people, just like the rest of us, that find themselves in a life predicament that has them boxed in... not trapped, but boxed in... And some of them, like Bartley, will find their way out of it.

I have no doubt that Bartley will be fine. He told me as much... after he declined my offer of a ride somewhere. We shook hands when I left, and I wished him luck. After all, this stranger had just shared a lot of his life with me... along with some of his vacuum sealed smoked salmon from his pack...

The Yaquina Lighthouse was one of the places that Bartley recommended that I see while I was there. As you can see the fog was rolling back in when I was there. The lighthouse is just out of Newport on the way back north on the coast highway.




Right up to the Edge... looking down from the lighthouse area...

 

As the fog lifted, the breakers were pounding the rocks out in front of the lighthouse. This is the northern point of the bay, and it catches the full fury of the Pacific. I will hope to return someday when the view is not obscured by the fog, but this day was still a powerful experience. The Pacific never ceases to amaze me...

As I traveled back north toward Lincoln City and eventually Salem, I stopped again somewhere near Otter Rock, south of Depoe Bay. I believe it was Otter Crest, but it might have been the Devil's Punchbowl. I can't remember... I've slept since then, don't you know...

But I remember a large parking lot and a rocky point that jutted out to where these breakers were putting on their show. This was mid afternoon and the fog was all gone, but the power in the breakers was still there.

These pictures were all taken with a 22 year old Minolta SLR with a telephoto lense. Not bad for a fat old man who can barely afford to pay for the development anymore of 35 mm film... IF I can find someone who still develops it. Talk about feeling antiquated...

Finally, I made one more stop in Depoe Bay where daybreak had found me talking to that nice lady and her son. The very first picture in this post is from that spot and so is the next one to follow here. You can see the same rock outcrop in the top of the picture below that was in the first shot at the top of the post.

No doubt, some of you may wonder what all this has to do with Edge Habitat. Edge in nature refers to the edges of ecosystems. The Pacific Ocean/ Continental Shelf is a mega-edge where two powerful ecosystems collide, each composed of smaller edges and ecosystems within them. Bartley was a guy living on the edge in more ways than one. I have no direct evidence to prove it, but I believe from the conversation with the nice woman at daybreak that she and her son were on an edge of sorts.

Point is, people are drawn to edges of all kinds in life... So are animals... And so are plants... Edges are powerful phenomenons in nature... These pictures are proof of some of the most powerful examples that I can provide. Be aware of the things around you. They are all tied together to make this world where we live.

This country is on the edge right now as well. And we as Americans, not Republicans or Democrats or whatever, need to realize that everything we do creates an edge that becomes a part of the whole of things.

Albert Rasch Chronicles Interview...

Some of you may have already seen this interview posted a couple of weeks ago on the Albert Rasch Chronicles. However, I thought it might give those who haven't seen it some insight into what Edge Habitat is all about and what we are trying to accomplish. Maybe there's a little chest thumping involved too, LOL, but I'm sure you will understand...

The pictures and graphics did not copy and paste, but the interview came through just fine. The pictures were taken from this blog anyway. I guess I'm just not computer literate enough to show the complete work that Albert did, but you can link to his blog spot and see the original piece if you like...

A Chronicles' Interview with Bo Parham and Edge Habitat

Folks, once again a great hello and good hunting to you! Today we are adding to our splendid interview series “The Outfitters Chronicles.” Though Bo and Edge Habitat aren't in the outfitting business, habitat management is an integral part of game management, and it is only fitting that we interview them as only the Chronicles can.
Our interview today is with Bo Parham of Edge Habitat. Bo and I worked on this over a series of e-mails. I had bumped into Bo's blog some time ago, and like many things, it kind of went on the back burner. Through a series of "Blog Hops," I bumped back into Bo's blog, and started our correspondence again. I've always been interested in reclaiming damaged environments, and wildlife conservation management is right up my alley.

EH: Albert, first, let me say thank you for taking a special interest in what I'm trying to do.

TROC: Bo, it's my pleasure to sit down and talk to you about habitat restoration and design. After twenty years of construction and related activities, I am super pleased to finally meet someone with the knowledge and ability to either design new wild spaces, or restore damaged ones! But before we go into that, please introduce yourself to our readers.

EH: My name is Jerry Boswell Parham. My Mother and the cops call me Jerry, but most everybody nowadays calls me Bo, a nickname my Dad gave me.

TROC: Then Bo it is! I started right off with how pleased I am to discuss habitat improvement and restoration with you. As a student of biology, it's exciting to know that with a little bit of knowledge and some hard work, you can actually reclaim damaged environments, or improve marginal ones.

EH: That's absolutely correct, Albert. And even in incremental steps, you can make a difference in the quality of the habitat around you. So much emphasis today is placed on feeders and food plots for wildlife, and those concepts certainly have their place. But improving habitat is much more than feeding the animals. And it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg for hi-protein feed sprayed from automatic feeders or high priced food plot seeds planted in a man-made clearing in the middle of the woods. It can be done by simply utilizing the existing natural seedbank and the existing edges on the landscape. And it doesn't have to necessarily look unsightly to be effective.
As I see it, the closely manicured landscapes that we see today have eliminated far too much habitat that could be utilized much more appropriately. Man and wildlife can co-exist, but man can't keep destroying the habitat without destroying the wildlife. This sort of thing has become a passion with me. It's more than just being in tune with nature or having a place to hunt. It's not taking from the environment or taking it for granted, and it's giving something back.

TROC: I think that a lot of folks would like to do something, but have absolutely no idea of where to start. How did you "educate" yourself in Wildlife Conservation Contracting?

EH: I studied biology in college, but where I could afford to go had no formal wildlife biology training. It was more of a pre-med curriculum, but I managed to work in my own independent studies, when I could. I almost got a 2nd major in geology, and I studied agriculture independently. So, officially, I'm not a wildlife biologist, but it's where my heart lies.
Quite frankly, I am a synthesizer of other peoples research at this point, but I aspire to help improve or restore habitat in any way I can, whether by writing about it, or offering advice or personal labors. I didn't start Edge Habitat to make money, but to spread the word and to improve wildlife habitat. That is why I welcome any feedback from people who know more than I do.

TROC: Tell me Bo, where are you currently located?

EH: I live in Clarksville, Texas, Red River county, between Texarkana and Paris. It's right on the edge of the blackland prairie and the piney woods. North of the Red River lies the Kiamichi Mountains and the Ouachita National Forest in Oklahoma. To the west of Paris lies the Caddo National Grasslands. It's a diverse environment, filled with excellent habitat in many places and opportunities to improve habitat in many others, not unlike other places I'm sure.

TROC: I'm certain that you've quite a bit of outdoor experience too. How did your outdoorsmanship get its start?

EH: Hunting and fishing have been ingrained in me since childhood when I could walk out my back door and go hunting, all day... Or fish in the neighbor's stock ponds or the creek a couple of miles away. Unfortunately, those times are long gone, and so is that environment in far too many places. Some of the lucky ones can still enjoy that type of experience, but they are few. It is from those roots that my love of nature and the outdoors has grown.

TROC: I've gotten a little hunting in over the years, no where near enough as far as I am concerned. My problem is mostly that of access. I've seen areas that were once readily accessible and well stocked with game, both large and small, become subdivisions almost over night. I see you've done quite a bit of hunting. What are some of your successes?

EH: As for my hunting and fishing successes, they have been adequate. Besides the 140-class WT pictured on the blog, I have a 6X7 bull elk (unscored), a 160-class mule deer, a half a slam so far in turkeys (best being a 23 lb. 11-in. w/ 1.25 spurs)and 3 double digit largemouth bass (best being 10.96) as my personal best trophies. But Albert, as you well know, every encounter in the outdoors, no matter what, makes you live longer...

TROC: You mentioned that you worked in the medical field for quite some time, how did you get from scrubs to overalls?

EH: I did spend the majority of my life in health care, both as a pharmaceutical representative and a radiology technologist. However, in '08 I was injured moving a patient in the hospital. I lived in Spokane, Washington as a young man, and I worked as a packer and a cook for an outfit in the middle fork of the Salmon River country in ID. Then I went to work as a Hunter Safety Coordinator for the Washington Department of Game in Spokane. There I was able to assist habitat specialists and others in their work. I developed a working knowledge of the subject, along with a sincere love and respect for that type of work.
When I became injured and forced into semi-retirement, I sat down and asked myself, "What assets do I have that I can use to make my way and be of service?" and "What would I be most happy doing with the rest of my life?" From that, Edge Habitat was hatched. So, honestly, Edge Habitat is a fledgling enterprise created to try and be of service to both the landowners and the wildlife. It doesn't hurt that it might help an old outdoorsman survive as well!

TROC: What sort of projects have you been involved with?

EH: There have been a few small projects, but nothing special to recall... yet!. Most have been erosion control or bank stabilization projects. I have been trying to get the mayor of our city to hire me to manage the grounds at the local city lake for wildlife; but, there again, there is no money in the coffers. This would be an excellent project, since it's just across the main highway to the east of me; and it's in dire need of some help.
The largest thing that I've done is to advise a friend about how to maintain habitat and prevent erosion post logging on some inherited property of hers. But that was pro bono, and I was happy to do it. It allowed me to put into practice some of the ideas I had been developing, and observe the results over time. Local TX P&W biologists have called me a couple of times about their projects, but nothing has yet to come of that either.
That's why when you emailed me about this I was pretty discouraged. But that doesn't mean that I don't still think it's a good idea that needs to be pushed. It's a tough sell, especially in this economy, but I haven't given up on being able to get something going.

TROC: Bo, I am always curious, tell me, how did you get started blogging?

EH: The blog idea was a suggestion of my sister to help with cheap advertising. But it soon became a way to express /vent some things and gather information too. Frankly, Albert, the blog, as minuscule as it is, is more successful than the business at this point. People will talk to you about your ideas about the land, but they can't spend the money to do anything in this economy. If they do, they do it themselves; and utilize your ideas or what NRCS or TX P&W has suggested to them.
As for suggested projects that people can do on their own, the Edge Habitat blog has got numerous posts to that effect in the archives. Edge feathering, strip disking, regenerating the seedbank, comes to mind. All of these can be done with minimal expense and mostly just some work. I am always open to anyone who might have a question to be discussed; but, mostly, I find I'm talking to myself...

TROC: You know Bo, I used to feel that way also when I first started blogging. But with time, you develop a network of readers and followers. Before long you will be the subject matter expert that folks come to for advise on reclaiming land for wildlife! Now, what would be a dream project for you?

EH: The ideal situation for me would be to land a job with an absentee landowner who has deep pockets and several hundred / thousand acres to manage for wildlife. And I would thoroughly enjoy an opportunity to write about wildlife, habitat, and the outdoors. I think that would be both pleasurable and desirable at my age! But then, there are plenty of younger people out there with more specific degrees in wildlife / habitat / ranch / forestry management to fill such jobs, don't you know. But maybe, just maybe, I can do something by synthesizing information and spreading the word to interested people that will help me find a way. And, like the song says, "Get by with a little help from my friends."

TROC: Bo, I wish you all the best in your endeavours. We need more people in the field that can help us maximize the available habitat, restore damaged habitat, or create habitat out of areas that have been destroyed or altered. We will continue to keep in touch and it is my hope that we can feature some of your writing right here on The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles!

EH: Albert, Thank you!

Once again I would like to thank Bo Parham of Edge Habitat for taking the time to interview and introduce Edge Habitat to us.

If you would like to know more about habitat reclamation and habitat restoration. please see Bo's blog, Edge Habitat.

You can also reach Edge Habitat at:

edgehabitat@windstream.net


Best Regards,

Albert A Rasch