The Marten curse is GONE!!!!

Ha Ha! Today was an 'ice breaking' day for Sarah and I out on the line. We started with checking the only marten set we had out on this side of the river, as the travel across the Yukon was suspended after our deluge of rain last week. "Always a pain to walk to this set through the brush and snow", is what I was thinking as I approached it. But, I broke into the clearing and looked...."Yep", there's the flagging..."And holy cow there's a marten hanging!" I whooped and hollered for Sarah who was behind me in the thicket and she ran up, where we both proceeded to dance a little jig there in the snow. Yesss!!!!!!! It took me a while this year, but man did it feel good to get that first one down. Now we just have to get across the river and check the others we have out, along with stringing another 20 or so sets out. Hopefully tomorrow. Anyway, here's the pics:

Before:


And, happily After: Look at that Poofy tail!!! Primed up fur, Baby! Gotta love it!!!






Frozen stiff, Ha Ha!


We ended up putting out six sets. Three for marten, including the remake, because we had to take him home to thaw before removal from the trap. Two for mink/ermine, and then together we made our first lynx cubby!








It is set at the top of a creek bank (the creek is behind me in the pics, just out of sight). On the creek ice is evidence that the lynx are using it as a travel corridor. On both sides of the creek are thick willows and alder, good travel spots for lynx also, I am told. We hung the wing attractor high enough so it can be seen from on top of the bank on either side, and of course from up or down the frozen stream. A whole spruce hen is the bait, with lynx lure and then flagging as additional visual attractor. Covered the trap partially with wax paper and snow, then placed steppping sticks sround it and fenced in the cubby entrance/trap area with vertical sticks. I hope and pray we get an after picture from this one, baby!

We're going to try to get out and check across the river, which is now safe for travel again, and hopefully get some more sets out as well. We'll see what happens.