As I already stated in the Welcome post, we visited the Bellamy River Wildlife Management area today. Our visit almost ended before it started. Soon after starting out on the trail, we heard gunshots. Yes, gunshots! I'll pause here to explain that this wildlife area (all 400 acres of it) is managed by Fish and Game, which means that hunters, hikers, dog-walkers, and all other folks are supposed to harmoniously enjoy the land. So, after hearing four or five gunshots I told Brady that it was time to go back to the car. We got in the car and I noticed a woman and her dog headed towards the parking area. I ended up asking her if she comes here often and what to do about the hunters. She said that they were just shooting clay pigeons and that they put their guns down when she and her dog approached. We talked for a few minutes and afterwards I felt inspired to give it another go.
This time we strayed to the right, away from the hunters and their gunshots. Well, we had gone about 100 yards when we came face to face with another hunter (all decked out in
camo with a gun and bag containing either what he shot or plastic decoys- I tried not to look). We chatted briefly about B-Bear. The hunter had raised a few black labs and thought Brady was pretty mellow for his age (this blog is also going to document how many people think Brady is a pure yellow lab- this guy did). Brady, though, was not quite sure about the Hunter. His hackles were up, but his tail was wagging and he was doing a dance of I-so-want-to-jump-up-and-say-hello-but-your-strange-attire-freaks-me-out-so-I-don't-know-what-to-do (B. loves people but he's never seen someone dressed in
camo with gun in hand).
Anyhow, this meeting was fortuitous because I learned some helpful things about his particular piece of land. First, it was a dairy farm for many years until the barn roof collapsed one winter, killing the cows. The farm never recovered from this. Second, it was slated to become a development until several organizations/agencies (incl. Fish and Game and the Audubon Society) joined forces to preserve it. The most important information I learned from this conversation was related to hunting. Did you know that people hunt crows? Did you know that it's crow hunting season? Is this for crowd control? Their caws can be kind of annoying ... I can't imagine anyone sitting down for a tasty crow dinner. Anyhow, hunting crows. That's what this man was doing. He reassured me that since Brady and I were not black flying objects in the sky, we would not get shot during crow hunting season. Phew! He also informed me that turkey hunting season starts in May. And apparently, those guys hide behind trees and go all out with turkey decoys and whistles that make turkey sounds. And, like the crow hunters, they only shoot turkeys. I had a good experience with this hunter, but I'm not so sure I trust hunters especially when they're aiming at something walking on the ground.
My observations about this land after today: lots of open field space (good for tennis ball throwing) and lots of unpredictable wet spots at the moment. The big question is: will we go back? I think so .... Brady enjoyed running around and sniffing the scents. We might wait until turkey hunting season ends. As we were leaving I saw a man coming from a different section of the field with his dog. His dog had what sounded like a cowbell around his collar. Maybe that's what Brady needs for our next trip .... more cowbell.
Or, rather, some cowbell to start.
Due to my comprehensive examination through UNH, I haven't been updating this blog. We have had a few adventures in the past few weeks though. We've been back to the Wildlife Management Area (WMA) a few times. The first time we were passing a house right before the driveway to the WMA when I saw a small child run and hide behind a bush. I prepared to roll down my window and use my best teacher voice if he tried to hurl anything at the car. When I passed him, I got a close-up of his gleeful face .... and his plastic water gun. I think he missed.
