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Post by musher on Jan 9, 2017 6:32:57 GMT -6
I recently spent a couple of days in the city. It was quite cold with a good wind. LOTS of fur being worn but it is mostly hats, hood trim and mitts. And the wearers are of all age groups. It made me optimistic.
A fur coat lasts for years. These feather coats don't. So people will be buying a new one soon enough - complete with fur trim.
One of my daughters and my wife wanted fur trim on their feather coats (Yes, I know it is down but it is fun to tease.) so I had a wold tanned. It was an ugly wolf but I thought that enough fur would be there for trim.
The tanner messed it up. It looks like something washed, shrunk, dried, and matted. It isn't fit as a door mat. The tanner says he does not understand what happened. It was a first time job for me with a new, young tanner.I dare say that he doesn't have the touch.
The end result is that I contacted our furrier (who has made us coats, hats, mitts, fur bands ...) and he showed my wife a silver ranch fox as well as a Norwegian one. The girls wanted LONG GREY fur. So ranched silver fox it will be.
The pelts were the size of coyotes. The fur was impressive. The Norwegian fox was not long haired. It was exceedingly dense. I could not get my fingers through it. It reminded me of a sheep pelt. That is our competition.
Fur boy said that they make lots of infinity scarves and purses, also.
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Post by musher on Jan 8, 2017 5:56:57 GMT -6
If she has an old well, a little dog, and buys a lot of lotion further investigation might be required.
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Post by musher on Jan 1, 2017 6:15:04 GMT -6
Thanks! Same to you and yours.
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Post by musher on Dec 13, 2016 5:33:08 GMT -6
Maybe not! The box is just over a little rise.
Actually the box is now in the box pile. There was no point in leaving it there to get damaged or ripped off.
The loggers are taking white and yellow birch in one section. They will be taking the soft woods in other sections. They cut, pile and haul full length. The trucks are not much fun to meet on a narrow road and a non-logger isn't exactly wanted in the neighbourhood.
Rumour has it that they will be done by the end of January. Those machines can destroy a forest in a hurry.
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Post by musher on Dec 11, 2016 8:54:45 GMT -6
Thanks. That would be a real pile of dead stuff.
How big a farm do you have to have to get 50 dead cows? A 100 cow farm in Quebec is not unusual. But they are all alive!
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Post by musher on Dec 11, 2016 8:52:22 GMT -6
Musher, Are you near st zenon? No.
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Post by musher on Dec 10, 2016 14:28:12 GMT -6
Lots of stuff is now picked up. The loggers are in full swing. At one box they flagged the tree and trap. That means they won't cut it down (nails in the tree) but it also means that the box will be all alone in a clear cut. That box has produced a marten or fisher or both every year for the past 25/27 years I have been setting it. Kind of peeves me off to see the location scrapped. It has also produced several bears.
Some cottagers are wigging out because they now have a road going through their bush. Those roads suit me as they will give access to new locations that were available only on foot. It remains to be seen if any suitable habitat will remain. It should be good for fox in a few years.
The furthest lines are under 12/15 inches of snow and the branches are bent over again. South of me there is about the same snow. However, at my home there is only a couple of inches of snow. Not enough to hook up the dogs. I could still canoe the river in front of my house.
My firewood cutting, however, is way ahead of schedule! Most of it consists of trees bent over from the earlier snowfalls. There won't be much splitting involved.
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Post by musher on Dec 10, 2016 14:17:53 GMT -6
What is a true 50 cow location?
People that are always trying to improve things can be a real pain. It's really tough to touch any waterway here or even get too close to it. But they somehow always try to.
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Post by musher on Dec 1, 2016 13:33:34 GMT -6
The teacher is in front of the class and she's asks her students, "Does anyone have an example of irony they can share with the class?"
Emily raises her hand and is called upon. "My brother is as fat as a pig."
"No, Emily." said the teacher. "That is a simile."
Bruno raises his hand and is called upon and says, "The wind smells of apple blossoms."
The teacher shakes her head and says, "Sorry, Bruno, but that is not irony. It is a metaphor."
Tom raises his hand and says, "The horse ran faster than a space ship can fly."
Again the teacher shook her head and said, "Tom that is not ironic. It is an exaggeration."
Finally the teacher has no choice but to call on L'il Johnny who has been waving his hand furiously since she initially asked her question.
"Yes, John." said the teacher.
"My sister is pregnant!" said L'il Johnny.
"Well." said the teacher. "That might be good or bad news. Given your family history it might even be a tragedy for the unborn child. However, it is not irony.'
"That's weird," said L'il Johnny. "Cuz my Dad it was ironic because she got laid on a pull out couch."
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Post by musher on Nov 29, 2016 14:03:21 GMT -6
Same old, same old on the line. Did have something happen that does not occur every year. I got a double in one trap. Not the species I wanted, though! Ever since I've started putting boxes with the opening downwards, incidental catches of squirrels and birds has dropped remarkably. They feed through the wire on the top. This saves a lot of time resetting traps with non-target catches. I only have one bird this year and it was caught by a wing. I believe that it landed on the trap spring and the trap fell thereby catching the bird. Even then it was unlucky because, often enough, a caught marten doesn't even make the trap fall. Stuff happens. The 41 box section of line is picked up. We were able to get through without the chainsaw ,for once, but it wasn't going to happen again. Many trees are bent over roof high and the snow/freezing rain/rain that they are announcing is going to seal things up. Not a place where someone who hates the sound of branches rubbing on their truck should go. It was time to pick up as the last run was 3 marten. The cream is gone. It did down me out because there was more fresh wolf sign. They did not return where my sets were but they did pop up in a different spot. One wolf made scent posts and scratched up on the road in front of a half dozen marten boxes. It did not go within 50 feet of them but it knew the boxes were there. Thanks for looking.
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Post by musher on Nov 25, 2016 18:04:29 GMT -6
THis is an odd tear with the prices and conditions. IT feels weird to be picking up when I was just setting. THere are a few wolf sets that I did not want to pick up this morning. BUt the trail is closed. A wolf will not use it because it is blocked. I had to get under the brush to get my stuff.
I will do what I always do Once there is enough snow. I will dog sled and keep a small fun line open. It might be a challenge because logging has started where I usually do this. For sure my departure area will not be the same.
i will also cut wood. For sure I will cut trail! There is no getting around that. The wet snow messed everything up but right now there might only be 3 inches of the stuff. It is the bent over trees that are the problem. Very odd, indeed.
sorry for the typos. i hate ipads but the computer is acting up.
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Post by musher on Nov 25, 2016 13:55:34 GMT -6
do you change to a another line with snare, etc? or when you pull the boxes you are done? done. the money is in marten. you do not catch enough of the other stuff to make ends meet without the marten. had to turn around 15 k in today. the roads are too closed and the mrning had been spent getting to traps on another road. lots of picking up. with more snow on the way everything will just close up moe. will have to go back with a bike, which might might nit bust through, or hope that the cottagers call up machinery.
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Post by musher on Nov 24, 2016 15:00:00 GMT -6
Spot the trail. One of the few nice sections. It didn't move a muscle. Pretty nice belly and colour.
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Post by musher on Nov 24, 2016 14:26:07 GMT -6
Long day on the line. The 31 box line, which was now a 50 box line only coughed up one marten and the first lynx of the year. It is now back down to about 40 boxes.
The problem was the snow laden branches. There isn't much snow but the trees took a beating with the October snowfall. We cut like heck to set. The last little snow bent more. We had 6 km. of alders and birch to bust through and cut in one section. Caught ZIP until the last box. It was a weasel! Had a laugh over that. That is twice the saws and shears come out for that section. It's going to close up again with the next snow (tomorrow or Saturday) so those traps are now back home.
Picking up time is started. Goals are almost reached and the catch is dropping dramatically and the weather/rees are not helping.
Pics to follow.
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Post by musher on Nov 24, 2016 14:18:34 GMT -6
We had a neighbor that was from Ontario and a guide and he married one of his clients that he guided and then moved to WI. He passed away from cancer about 4 years ago. He ran a registered trap line while he lived in Canada. Musher can you explain to me a few of the basics of trapping, managing and operating a registered line if you have the time and willingness. 1. Size or are they very variable, 2 Species limits or quotas if applicable 3. Road responsibilities who does that? 4 Improvements such as line shacks or cabins etc. 5. Can you cut firewood in the line area or does that need to come from other areas 6. Waiting lists if any? Passing on the line etc. You can add any and all other pertinent thoughts you may wish Bryce Lines vary greatly. Some are 20 sq. km. and others are over 100 sq. km. The ones I work are between 60 and 90. The closer you are to "town" the smaller the line. You are allowed to have a cabin but the rules are strict with regards to size. We just got authorization to have an indoor toilet this year! The are really trapline camps and not cottages. You must also be aware that you are leasing the land from the government. They can yank it anytime. Roads and trails are not the responsibility of the gov't. The short of it is that you aren't going to get one unless you are a citizen of that province. HOWEVER, a non-resident can trap on an outfitters exclusive territory. It would cost you but you could have a nice, exclusive line with a cozy camp. But you aren't going to make a nickel. Outfitters want to make money.
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Post by musher on Nov 23, 2016 14:59:38 GMT -6
nice run musher ,a lot of fisher and marten in quebec this year,,, Merci, Seb! A few scenery shots for you. It snowed again. On this line it's just a dusting. Very pretty and no problem to work in. On another line it is a wet snow and everything is bent over. chainsaw time again. Caught this female cross fox. Unlucky fox as I was picking up my footholds in that section. Thanks for looking.
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Post by musher on Nov 21, 2016 18:48:31 GMT -6
Musher your best guess what do those marten bring? Tough question in this market. I don't have a clue. I am expecting them to sell - so that is the good news. If I don't get at least 30 bucks average, in my pocket, I'm going to be disappointed. Not so long ago, a 30 dollar average would have been a disaster.
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Post by musher on Nov 21, 2016 18:30:34 GMT -6
The confers come after the birch and popple.But that is only if nature is left alone. A lot of replanting takes place. Balsam fir and black spruce would be he next thing to grow. We have no oak and black ash is found only where it is very wet.We do have red maple.
The grouse are found in the mixed stuff. Habitat, such as in the photos, isn't the best. The road photo is a jack pine area. It is replanted stuff. Not a heck of a lot of fur there.
The bears eat moose calves, popple leaves and berries. They start with moose calves and poplar leaves and end up on berries. We have lots of choke cherries and blue berries.
I'm stressing the moose calves because every moose hunter thinks that bears just slay the calves. I don't really have a clue if that is true or not. I think that moose hunters kill way more calves than bears do.
I have seen deer there but it isn't a deer area. winter and wolves make it tough. Just to give you an idea: on average 60 moose are killed in that area each fall. There is no deer season. The further south my lines are the more deer I see. The most deer I see are around the house. 15 years ago seeing a deer was an unusual thing. I see them weekly now. But there is no hunting season. We have some huge racked deer around.
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Post by musher on Nov 21, 2016 13:53:12 GMT -6
Is that birch and aspen sprinkled in among the evergreens up the hill further as well? Bryce Yep. But we call it birch and poplar. The bush on this section of that line is quite different from the other lines. The furbearers also tend to be bigger. It is higher up and slightly further north so that might be the reason.
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Post by musher on Nov 20, 2016 17:37:38 GMT -6
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