Not really. Some of us are starting to get sick of all this snow. OK, most of us are getting sick of all this snow.
There are some good points about it. First, snow cover is good for the water table. Usually the snow melts slow enough to filter into the ground. It seems that most years the summer is dry, last summer being quite an exception, so starting the year with a full tank is good. Snowmobilers and skiers should be in their glory. With this much snow cover, I like to drive around country roads looking at the lay of the land and looking for deer, turkeys and whatever tracks I can find. If you drive along the ridges and mountains, you can really see the contours of the mountainsides. Perhaps you can spot a flat or hollow that you didn't know was there. I once found a nice deer hunting spot that way.
With the snow as deep as it is now, it is often hard to see exactly what kind of animal made the track. I once knew a guy who found a strange set of parallel tracks in the snow. He followed them for some distance and was nearly run over by a train. I think some new glasses and hearing aids would help the poor guy.
One afternoon last week I took a little drive around and had a flock of turkeys walk across the road in front of me. They headed down into a little spring creek bottom that had some bare grass along the stream banks. The stream was only 20 yards from the road and the turkeys were not afraid of the vehicle. They pecked away at the greenery along the banks, unconcerned they were being watched. I thought they had all crossed the road, but after a minute or two, two more flew right over my truck to join the flock. I looked back across to the other side and four more were waiting to join the flock so I moved on so they could walk instead of fly. They looked to be in fine shape and as long as we don't get a hard crust, they should be OK. One thing I noticed was that in addition to pecking at the bits of green along the stream, they were also pecking buds off the brush.
The deer are still staying mostly out of sight. There are lots of tracks in some fields, especially in picked corn fields. I did spot one deer hiding on the side of a wooded ridge. The dark spot looked out of place, but the binoculars revealed a nice doe standing very still. Eventually she moved along, nibbling on the brush. I'm sure there were more deer there, but it was very thick cover and I couldn't see them.
Every year I swear I am going to try to find some shed antlers, but I never seem to get it done. When this snow cover melts, it should be a good time to look for them. The time when antlers are shed varies widely. I have heard of deer still having their antlers in March and April, while others are dropped months before. Veteran shed hunters say that right after a rain in March and April is a good time to look. I hope to find one particular set of sheds. They would look good right next to the big buck I am going to tag next year.
n Ken Maurer, Herndon, is a licensed fishing guide and a regular contributor to the Outdoors section. E-mail comments to kenrose@tds.net.
