Taking the ocean for granted

First Encounter Beach, August 2015

   I try not to take things for granted. I try to notice the small stuff, and I admit, I think I do a pretty good job. I'm almost as happy photographing frogs as I seeing a moose. I like sunsets and babbling brooks. My mom died when she was forty four and my "healthiest" millionaire cousin that worked in the development of pharmaceuticals died when he was forty seven. So as I approach forty one and a half years on this planet, you can bet your ass I try to appreciate everything.

No matter how many hundreds of deer I've seen, I never tire of seeing them. I have driven by Canon Cliff in Franconia so many times, I can see the curves in my head, yet I am still amazed. It's not just the big stuff. Having the alarm go off when a little carp in the Blackstone Canal takes your bait gets my heart racing. I still love little wild brookies, small waterfalls, and the song of a
chickadee.

Gooseberry Island, Westport, MA

However, without question the one thing I realized I have gotten to take for granted is the beauty of the ocean. Of course when a storm comes and the waves get kicked up to ten feet, it would be impossible not to be in awe. However, for the simple beauty of the surf line, yup, I admit, I usually don't give it much thought.

Here is how the idea for this post came into my head: I fish in Narragansett and the South Shore of Rhode Island a lot. I live an hour away, so it is not every day. However during the fall, and especially if albies are around, I'm down there a few days a week. During the spring, I fish upper Naragansett Bay, because it is a lot closer of a drive. The bay certainly has some pretty spots. Trust me, you feel like you are at the end of the world when standing a half mile from shore at Conimicut  Point.

Island Rocks at Sachuest

Well, almost every time I go to the ocean, there is an out of state plate in the parking areas. I'm not talking about a Connecticut or New York plate. I mean far off places like Nebraska or Wisconsin. I forget how many people live so far from the ocean that is a novelty to them. It blows me away, how many people travel thousands of miles to go on a vacation to Cape Cod. Go to the top of Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park in Maine, and I can all but guarantee there are as many cars from a thousand miles away as there are with Maine plates. All of these people want to see the beauty of the ocean crashing the cliffs and islands

For as long as I can remember, when I go surf fishing, if I don't catch anything, I consider it a bad day. It doesn't mean  I go home swearing, but if I get skunked two days in a row, I seriously start questioning whether the gas I'm buying is worth it. I don't drive home thinking " at least the scenery is nice" Honestly, I admit, until this fall, that thought never crossed my mind.

Black Point, Narragansett, an hour before I saw the hawk
in the picture below

This August, for the first time, I went on a mini vacation to the Outer Cape. I was blown away by the beauty. The beaches were miles long. The sunset over  First Encounter Beach was phenomenal. The dunes in the Provincelands were as neat as any mountain I have been on. Still I believe, if I lived in that area, I'd probably get so used to the scenery the only thing that would matter would be whether a striper was bending my rod.

This fall, I did really well catching stripers and blues. I caught more albies in one day than  I had ever caught combined. However, this story is about another day. I went to Narragansett one day while there was a big offshore storm. The waves were huge. They were crashing so high up the rocks I stood so far from the water, my cast could barely get past the first wave. I tried four spots and I was the only guy fishing, maybe in the whole town. From the avenues, one can see for at least half mile in each direction. Move to a couple spots and you can get to the shoreline for a distance of almost five miles. The water was turned up and waves were blowing spray twenty feet into the air. Of course, as I stated above, it would be impossible to not be in awe of the power of the ocean.

I decided to give up fishing for a few minutes. I sat down on a favorite rock on Newton Ave. I looked back toward one of the million dollar homes and not ten feet away a hawk was watching me. I got my camera out to get one picture before it flew off. I sat there stunned wondering what the hell a hawk was doing sitting on a rock next to the ocean. I started looking at the shoreline. I knew I wasn't catching any fish. I looked north, then south towards Bass Rock. I realized how lucky I was to sit there. To others, this was "classic New England rocky shore" or "quintessential New England" all I needed were autumn leaves, a white church, and a lobster. To me, it had been a waste of fifteen dollars worth of gas.

Since that day, I have tried to remember that I am lucky to live so close to the Atlantic Ocean. Even on the days the fish aren't biting, I'm reminding myself to look up and notice my surroundings.

 One day this October, I made the long walk one morning from the East Beach parking lot to Quonny Breachway. I got there around 7 am. However it was so foggy, I could only see fifty feet of grey air in front of me. The water was glass calm. I knew withing fifteen minutes, I had little chance of catching anything. There wasn't any bait in the area, that along with the calm conditions made for some bad fishing. Yet, I kept walking and casting. It was so peaceful, the water was barely lapping the shoreline. As one approaches Quonny from that direction, you come by some huge boulders in the water. The looked like sentinels in the fog guarding the shoreline. I have seen photos of Olympic NP and the Oregon coast. With the fog and a little imagination, I could almost place myself there. Of course, as the sun burned off the fog, I could see houses behind me instead of imaginary redwoods. Still, even on my walk back to my car, I enjoyed the view of those boulders, Fresh Pond Rocks and the old men fishing the beach

The boulders by Quonny after the fog burned off

Maybe that hawk a few weeks back passed a little knowledge off onto me. I'd like to think so at least

The Situation at Malheur, Privatizing Federal Lands

This post is political. I have been following the events of the Bundy family and their militia in Harney County, OR. I have to weigh in on this. It may seem that I am taking the side of liberals and big government, but to me I think I am taking the side of common sense.

First off for anyone that doesn't know, I will give a quick recap of the standoff going on at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. This will be extremely basic and if you are interested in what is going on, even if you completely disagree with my stance, by all means do some more research and get more facts than I am giving.

A bunch of ranchers took over a federal Building in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. They are armed militia. They want the wildlife refuge property (owned by the U.S. government) returned to the citizens of Harney County. They say they follow all the laws of their state, but do not recognize the government of the United States. Members of the Bundy family ( the leaders of this rebellion) have been arrested and sent to jail for poaching and arson on public lands. The Bundy family owes over one million dollars in grazing fees for having their cattle feeding on federal land. They refuse to pay these fees.  The main focus right now is the takeover of the visitor center at this refuge. The men are armed. Up to now, they have refused to leave.

That is the quick explanation of what is going on. I have read from Libertarian and Conservative sources, how the government has messed with this family for years. It would not be hard to find if you do a little research online if you are interested.

I still can not sympathize  with these guys. First I want to start with this, some people think the people in this militia are terrorist. I wont go quite that far. Although they have illegally seized a US government building, they have as of yet not hurt anyone and they have not held hostages. That is about the only nice thing I'll say about these people. In my opinion, they are not terrorists, but they certainly are criminals.

They do not want to pay grazing fees for their cattle to feed on public land. Want to know how much it costs a rancher with a proper permit to graze his cattle on public land. $1.69 per month!!!
That's it. Think about that, I raised chickens, and I couldn't feed my six pound chicken for a month on a dollar sixty nine. Do dairy farmers in Wisconsin and Vermont get to graze off federal lands for a dollar sixty nine a cow. No, they have to pay for grain and food. These idiots are complaining that the government shouldn't own the land so they shouldn't have to pay. Please shut up.

Next, lets assume that all federal lands that are not national parks are given to the western states to do what they please. Has anyone thought this through. They want to privatize the west. Okay, hypothetically, all the land at Malhuer is given to Harney County. Do these ranchers think the county is going to let the cows graze there? What if the county decides to sell off chunks to the highest bidder? A 190,00 acre wildlife refuge that every American can use can be sold off to real estate builders, private farms, vacation homes. So instead of every American getting to use this beautiful piece of land, only a few get to live there?

This is what I don't understand about the Bundys thinking. If the government gives the land to the states or the counties, and they can do with it what they please, do they really think that grazing will be allowed? It makes no sense.

I admit, that our federal government has not been the best stewards of the land. They make mistakes in every branch. The EPA, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the BLM certainly have done things that I not only disagree with, but are just plain stupid. That said, I put my faith in our federal government over the state government of western states. If those states had their way, predators would be eliminated. They would slaughter bears, wolves, and coyotes. The rivers would be polluted because, they sure wouldn't have laws against pollution. It is the standards set by the Feds, that keep states inline.

I am outdoorsman. I fish, I hike, go birding, I camp. I love being outdoors. Most of my pursuits are passive. However, the only reason I do not go deer hunting is because I can't justify buying a four hundred dollar shotgun, when I prefer eating steak to venison. Make no mistake, I am not against hunting. If I lived out west, elk hunting would be one of my favorite things to do. To have a set of elk antlers at the gate of your land is a right of passage in the west.

 I do disagree with predator hunting. My reason is actually economical. I think a live wolf or bear is worth more than a dead one. The way I see it, if a wolf (or bear) is killed a couple people benefit. Obviously the hunter, maybe a guide. However, the more bears or wolves that are easy to see, the more tourist will want to go and see them. This helps motels, restaurants and the local economy. Obviously, yes, a hunter will have to pay for lodging etc. But one hunter killing a wolf is far different than one hundred people going to see that live wolf.

I do not understand why the western people want federal lands privatized. I own a house on .3 acres. However, I live three hours away from a 750,000 acre national forest in the White Mountains. I am very grateful for this. I can tell you that westerners love the outdoors. My son and I joked that children born in Wyoming could fly fish and ride a horse right out of the womb. We saw kids that were five years old riding a horse like pros. Same goes for fly fishing kids. Everyone hunts.

So why these people would want the states or local governments to take over HUGE national forests confuses me. There are national forest in Wyoming and Colorado that are two million acres. Imagine having two million acres to hike, trout fish, or elk hunt. It seems like heaven to me. But for some reason locals don't want the feds in their state. Instead, they'd rather take the chance their local governments will do the right thing.

The right thing is different depending on your agenda. Local ranchers would want to buy up the land for a song. Miners, and oil companies would want rights. If they get their way, sure a few people will benefit, and profit but everyone else including hunters and hikers get shut out.

No thanks, I'll take my chances with the feds. That way all of us to be able to use the millions of acres of public lands. So Bundy's, go home and pay your grazing fees.

Napatree Point

Today as I have done the last two Fridays, I went birding. I won't bore you with the details. I did some exploring and hiking today in my quest to find feathered friends. The last place I went was Napatree Point in Westerley, RI

Napatree is a mile and a half sand spit. It is the most southwestern point of Rhode Island. The sand spit sticks right out into the ocean with Connecticut on the other side of the opening. On the inside of this spit a protected harbor is formed called Little Narragansett Bay. The parking and beginning of this beautiful area can be accessed in Watch Hill.

The parking area to get to Napatree  Point is on a street called Fort Road. However, best as I could see, there are no signs for "Fort Road". The parking lot is right before the carousel. There is a side lot that looks like it goes behind apartment buildings about 100 feet before you reach the carousel. The "apartments" are actually cabanas to rent.

I parked my car in one of the non numbered spaces. There is a time limit to park here. I don't remember if it was two or three hours. I suspect that during the summer this lot fills fast. Since the time is limited, I would suggest a walk on the beach as opposed to a day at the beach. After I got out of my car I went up the trail over the top of the sand dune. Although the rise is only about twenty feet, there is a nice birds eye view of Watch Hill, the lighthouse, Napatree, and Little Narragansett Bay.

I decided to walk the ocean side at first, but thought I might see more birds if I cut across one of the side trails to the inside. It doesn't really matter which way you go if your whole goal is to see lands
end. I did see some sanderling and dunlin.

Sanderling

The entire shoreline is a beautiful sandy beach until you get to the point. There large fishy looking boulders protect the fragile shoreline from the sea. I saw some purple sandpipers there. I really enjoyed my short time here. It is a really neat and pretty place.

The Rocky shoreline of lands end

Dunlin. Tough to tell in this picture, but notice the longer
bills than in the sanderling

I am sure during the summer months parking and traffic would be a hassle at Watch Hill. However this place was so nice, I certainly plan on going back during either of the shoulder seasons of spring or fall. I can't think of a nicer place to go for a walk or picnic on a seventy degree day in late April. For anyone that enjoys walking on the beach or likes ocean scenery, I do not think Napatree Point would disappoint.

Across the opening to Little
Narragansett Bay is Connecticut which can
be seen in the background of the photo

Marlboro Fly Fishing Show - My favorite outdoor show

When I write about a winter outdoor show, I realized, I usually write a post the Friday or Saturday that I go. This gives anyone interested little time to go. So I thought I'd send out a post a week in advance of what I believe is the best outdoor show of the winter. The show runs Jan 22-24. As the name suggests, it is all about fly fishing.

The show is set up in two buildings. The main show is in a huge conference/expo building. You can buy fly gear, books, fly tying tackle, waders and a host of other stuff. There is a casting pool where you can try a rod that you may want to buy. There is an authors booth that you can get books signed. There is always a fly tying workshop going on also. Outfitters from across the country have booths as they advertise their lodges and guides.

Almost 100%  of the booths are dedicated to fly fishing. Very little non-fishing crap can be bought. I find myself walking up and down the aisles multiple times Of course when people think of fly fishing, the fish most commonly thought of is trout. It is true a great deal of outfitters and fly gear is dedicated to trout. However, there are lodges from great saltwater destinations specializing in everything from bonefish and tarpon to sailfish.

The main reason I love going to this show are the seminars. Most of  the seminars are in the Royal Plaza Hotel which is just up a hill from the convention center. They are about a five minute walk apart. There is a shuttle that will take you between buildings. Last year it was warm the day I went so I just walked between buildings each time to get some fresh air and wake up a little.

The seminars are top notch. There are two seminar rooms and four rooms called "Destination Theater". They are just seminar rooms, while Destination Theater seminars usually are about some exotic fishing location and the seminar rooms are more of a "how to" learning, the truth is they are interchangeable. Every hour there are as many as six seminars going on at any one time. Almost every seminar I have gone to has been outstanding. Fishing guides explain how to fish their rivers or lakes. The how to seminars are great for learning new techniques. I have enjoyed learning about places like the Salmon River, NY, Delaware River, San Juan in Colorado and many others.

I have only gone to one seminar ever that was a waste of time. It was about fishing for trout in the northeast. I thought for sure I was going to hear about big famous places like the Penobscot or Battenkill. Instead the writer of the book (the book title was the name of the seminar) had a slide presentation with the names of the contributors of his book. That was it. No info about what might even be in the book. The presentation lasted eight minutes. Needless to say, if he does a seminar this year, I will be skipping it.

I have gone to this show for five years or more. I write above the seminar, not to complain but because it was the only one I have ever gone to that was a waste of time. I go online and get a seminar schedule. I write down the ones I want to go to during each hour and then prioritize them. Sometimes, there can be four that I would like to go all at the same time. I try to see if any are going to be done again later in the day. If so, I'll put that one off. If not I go to the one that I haven't been to and/or most want to see.

If you have any interest in visiting any of the famous rivers in Colorado, try to check out either of the two seminars put on by Cameron Cipponeri. I went to his seminars last year. He knows his stuff. He gladly tells you where the public access is to the rivers ( Colorado, San Juan, Animas and others).  He explains the best ways to fish them each season. While walking around last year I saw him at his booth we ended up talking for almost an hour. I fished the Colorado when DJ and I went out west, so I knew a little about the places he fishes.

The cost of the show is fifteen dollars. This will get you in the door. The shuttle back and forth is free. The seminars are free with the price of your admission. The link to the website is
http://flyfishingshow.com/marlborough-ma/  If you enjoy fly fishing or want to go on a fly fishing trip, this show is for you.

DJ with a wild brookie from the headwaters of
the Colorado River in Rocky Mountain
National Park in 2010

Goals for 2016

More moments like this please

Here are some of my goals for 2016. I normally try to have these written out around the first of the year. I couldn't think of many, so I put it off as long as I could. My second number is a list of big daytrips I want to do.

1. I want to do a three day/fifty mile hike in June. Actually it is three different hikes, but they are over 4000 footers and honestly I want to finish them. These hikes are- Owls Head (18 miles), Isolation (14 miles) and a loop over all three Carters, Carter Dome, and Wildcats in one day. The last hike is by far the hardest. It is really three different hikes but since these mountains are so far from home, I want to get them done in one day even if it exhausts me. I choose June because it has the most daylight. Short of doing all three of these mountains in three consecutive days, I still want to wipe these hikes off my list sometime during the summer.

2. There are a few expensive daytrips  and overnights I want to do. Money might be an issue so I might not be able to do all of them. The reason that they are lumped together is, I don't want a few daytrips/overnights to define my year.

                      A. Go on a Pelagic trip out of Chatham. These trips go out to see seabirds. They are scheduled infrequently, so I would need a day off to align with a trip.
     
                      B. Sign up for the Cape Cod Birding Festival Weekend. It takes place in early September. Cost for the weekend would be about $300. Not sure if I would consider it worth it, but I'd learn and see a lot.

                      C. Go up to New Hampshire for another snowshoe hike the week daylight savings time begins again. The only issue is, I have jury duty scheduled that week

                      D. Cuttyhunk Seal Cruise in the Winter

                      E. May overnight in Newburyport. I want to stay up there Wednesday-Friday. I want to do a couple of Audubon walks

                     
3. Spend more nights outdoors. Whether in New Hampshire or Mass, I want to camp more than last year. I'd rather sleep in my tent than my bed

4. This one is strange and doesn't seem outdoorsy, but bear with me- I want to go on more picnics this year than go out to eat at restaurants.  Here is why, I love picnics, I simply want to do them more. Secondly, I don't really love going out to eat. It is more of a something to do thing. However, it is a complete waste of money. There are so many other things I can do with thirty dollars that I consider way more fun than eat. I can do an all day fishing trip or fill my tank for a weekend in New Hampshire for the same money as an hour meal. Much more importantly, I want to go to Key West this November. Any money spent at a restaurant here, is money not spent on fun there.

Rules- food has to be homemade, Subway does not count. Picnics can be eaten anywhere outside, they don't have to be on a blanket or a picnic table. Also eating less than $5 worth of fast food does not count as going out to eat, but I rarely get fast food anyway.

5. I signed up my Rhode Island bird list on ribird.org .I  have absolutely no chance of placing in the top 5. It is not a competition anyway. The list is just an easy way to keep track of your own list. It only counts for bitds seen in RI, which is another reason why I won't place high. I like going birding in too many places in MA too much. Of course there is a little competition in all of us, so if I can, I want to place in the top 10. I saw 144 species of birds last year. My other goal is to see 144 in RI. If I see 144 in RI and place dead last, then it doesn't matter if I place last, because that would be a hell of a

feat for me.

6.  Go to New Hampshire as much as possible.

7.  Write two  fishing articles. I already have one planned. I need another idea. I can get lazy with coming up with ideas. So the plan is to spend some time thinking of something up to pitch to editors.

8. I would like to see a sea turtle of any species

9. This one will take pure luck. I'd like to get a great photo of a bull moose. I have a lot of really good close ups of cow moose, the problem is, female moose are ugly. I want a good picture of an antlered male

An Eagle Show

I got out of work early today. Unfortunately I did not plan ahead so after I got out of work I came home. I ate a sandwich and packed a little clothes. My intentions were to go to a pond in Middletown and do some hiking/birding. I got back on the highway about 2:30. I thought this would give me enough time to get through Providence before the evening traffic. I was wrong. Although I got through the city unscathed, I-195 was at a standstill. I only had about an hour and a half until dark and, I was still almost an hour away from my destination.

So I bypassed the ramp and continued south. I came up with a back up plan. There is a pond in Coventry that sometimes has wintering eagles. So I figured I'd go take a look. I went to a beach (yes Dave, that beach we fish at) and looked in the trees for the white head. Nothing.

To the north I saw some gulls along the main road. I went to go see if any might be unusual. As I drove up, I saw all the gulls flying off along with a few ducks. I thought " Man, just my luck" then I thought, maybe something spooked them so I got out anyway.

Out on the ice was an adult bald eagle. Under it was a female mallard duck. The eagle started ripping feathers out. After a minute, the eagle jumped off the duck and stood eight feet away. To my surprise (and a to my and my horror) the duck was still alive. It couldn't stand up or fly. It just kept quacking. This went on for a solid five minutes. The whole time I was quietly wishing the eagle would finish it off and put it out of its misery. Then the eagle jumped back onto the duck and started eating it alive until it perished.

The eagle ate its full and then flew off toward the beach I was originally at. I wish I didn't have to watch the duck suffer for five minutes. But watching an eagle tear apart its meal and just be such a cool bird was a fun experience. In the end I was glad the highway was clogged.

Jamestown, RI- New Year's Eve

Beautiful winter day at Beavertail

I wrote this on New Year's Eve, but since I thought it would be nice to put pictures of my little buddy Amber online so her friends could see them, I skipped over this post for a couple  days.


I found out late Thursday that I would have New Year's Eve off from work. I did not have a plan. I looked at my list of winter daytrips that I have planned and really couldn't do any of them. For example, I can't do a snowshoe trip at Wachusett Reservoir when there is no snow, or a seal cruise because they only run on Saturdays.

So I quickly decided to take a run to Beavertail. The weather was turning out to be really nice after an overnight rain storm. By 8:30am the sky was bright blue and the air temperature was warming up ( the high temp only got up to about 43 degrees, but in the sun with little wind, it felt much warmer)

The conditions were calm at the state park. The water was almost glass, if you know anything about Beavertail, you know this almost never happens. I did not see a lot of birds. There were a bunch of harlequin ducks in the water, but little else. I saw a surprise catbird but that was about it.

I decided to explore Jamestown a little bit. Although I fish down there and bird often, it is always in the area from Fort Wetherhill to Beavertail.  My first stop was off of Frigate Road. I found a boat ramp for car toppers. I thought it might be a good place to try fluke fishing from the kayak since it is

Newport Bridge from Potters Cove

very close to the Jamestown Bridge.

I then went to the very northern tip of the island and found a public access area called Park Dock. There isn't much parking unless you are a resident, but at this time of year, no one cared that I parked and looked at the water for five minutes. The view looking north into the bay was nice.

I then hugged the eastern shoreline until I got to Potters Cove. I fish this little beach regularly. Obviously, there weren't any stripers today in the middle of winter, but there was a huge tanker offshore in the passage.

One place that I drive by all the time that I never stopped at is the windmill. Today I finally stopped. The windmill was built in 1787. After reading the signs, I learned that it was built to power a grinding mill. The mill ground corn into corn meal. It was used for many years. The windmill is now owned by the Jamestown Historical Society, they keep up the maintenance on it.

I went back to Beavertail. It was still early and I did not want to go home. Secondly, I thought I might see something I missed earlier. As I was about to turn around the light, I saw a guy with a huge camera facing the sky. Almost directly above him only ten feet in the air a red tailed hawk was hovering. It was not moving or flapping its wings. It was staying completely still like it was floating in a picture. It stayed this was for a couple of minutes. The guy just kept snapping away. Finally the big hawk dove into the underbrush. It flew out a few seconds later with a mouse in its talons.

It flew to the top of a nearby phone pole and ate the mouse. After it ate, it flew to the chimney of
Beavertail Light and waited. Again it flew down to hover. This time, only for a minute. Then it repeated its dive into the brush and came out with another mouse. It went back to its telephone pole and ate. It then flew back to the Lighthouse. It sat for about ten minutes before it flew west across the bay.

I only got one good photo of it hovering. The guy that was below it must have gotten fifty award winning shots. Imagine standing under a basketball hoop with your camera pointed at it. Then imagine that hoop as a two foot tall bird with a six foot wingspan looking right at you! That is what that guys camera was focused on!

After the hawk left, I checked out a few more spots, but didn't see much else. No worries though, it was a great day.

Incredible