Category Archives: Wildlife

Biomass

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Jerry Johnson

The number astounded me. “Ninety-six percent of the world’s mammals, by weight, are now humans and their livestock; just four percent are wild.” (From the book The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells, citing the statistic from “The Biomass Distribution on … Continue reading →

Posted in Wildlife, Wildlife Habitat | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Strange birds

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Jerry Johnson

         

Posted in Wildlife, Winter Wildlife | Tagged | 1 Comment

Mole misery

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Jerry Johnson

Pitching forward and falling prostrate while carrying two full buckets of water to the dogs’ kennel runs is a miserable way to start a snowy day. Even before the soaking nosedive I was in a grumpy mood, brought on by … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation, Moles, Wildlife, Wildlife Habitat | Tagged | 4 Comments

The whirr of homeward bound wings

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Jerry Johnson

Bobwhite quail are the most obliging of training birds… after being set free and scattered across the hayfield, they call one another back to the cage in the evening, climb in, settle for the night, and are ready to go … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird Dogs, Bird hunting, Dog Training, Hunting, Shooting Sports, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Second gear

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Jerry Johnson

Second gear There are worse things than mowing in second gear. Our North Country farm incudes about four acres of yard (I won’t call it lawn because it’s closer to cow pasture than greensward) that has to be mowed each … Continue reading →

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The nursery is off limits

Posted on May 24, 2017 by Jerry Johnson

…this wonderful encounter with a small miracle, this tiny fawn in the hayfield, lifted my spirits and gave me renewed hope that a mad, mad world may yet come to its senses and brighter days are ahead. The nursery is … Continue reading →

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A report from the Wapsi

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Jerry Johnson

Ten years ago, when a hundred thousand acres of North Country farmland was enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, who could have guessed that we would ever again drive more than five or ten miles to go bird hunting? These … Continue reading →

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Killing dragons

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Jerry Johnson

…after the recoil, all I could see past the muzzle was a perfect halo of feathers… Ratnose says there is beauty in killing, and of course he’s right.    – from the novel Blood Sport – A Journey up the … Continue reading →

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It’s a drag

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Jerry Johnson

After an hour’s labor and a gallon of sweat, I had reached a profound and intimate understanding of the roots and derivation of that oft-used phrase, “My butt is dragging.” It’s a drag Standing silhouetted on the edge of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hunting, Wildlife | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The situation in Pierre

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Jerry Johnson

“The prairie skies can always make you see more than what you believe.”              ― from the novel The Past Never Ends by Jackson Burnett The situation in Pierre Fort Pierre National Grassland, dead smack … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird Dogs, Bird hunting, Hunting, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments