My little helper

One of my all time favorite quotes is from Aldo Leopold: "There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace." It makes me joyful and Thankful that Warren wants to learn and join in the whole process. Trapping is not just smiley pictures in the field. There is work. There is blood. There is purpose. Giving him any other impression would simply be lying to him. You can be my skinning partner anytime, little man... :)

He did it!!

Well, that student I mentioned in the last post about the crazy fox day - has done it!!  His first fox is now a thing of the past.  I will not write his name here, as he is still one of my students, but may he trap throughout a long and happy life.  :)


We started by heading out to an area where he had some sets and snares out, and the fox sign was plentiful for sure - he was already in the right place.  It didn't take long and I spotted a nice cluster of spruce where we could employ one of my favorite snow sets I created while in Pilot Station - the "step-up Snowhole".  It uses an upslope to the trapper's advantage, just as a step-down-set employed by trappers everywhere, uses a down slope to get canines to commit.  Below is the finished set from a couple different angles, with some explanation:

We used an 'edge' where there was an open corridor of snow that separated a stand of spruce and some head high brush.  The fox were using this corridor as a through-way, the tracks in the snow told us.  :)  We 'roughed it up' (think 'catch circle') and made the set on a bank, using some dead spruce placed in a V as our backing.  These spruce chunks can come in handy, as the branches sticking out at all angles really help keep the canines from coming in the back or from angles you don't want them coming in from.  Just make sure to bust off anything that hinders their approach from the trap side.


Chip in a nice level bed for the trap and bed it solid, center of pan five inches out.  The trick is to place the trap and the shelf it sits on, the right distance from the hole so that the fox cannot investigate from below it (downslope) without committing, and cannot investigate without stepping up onto the pan in order to satisfy his curiosity. 


After just a few words of advice and some quick demos, I turned everything over to my student and he made the set himself.  He did it right, as two days later, he took his first fox out of this set.  :)




Congrats. Man!!! Hope to catch a lot more with you in the future!!!

Four fox in 12 hours...with one trap (and a bullet)...

Mom, and the boys, and baby sister (hanging in the baby carrier inside the coat) with an early morning catch. :)

Little did I know how this one was going to turn out.   So this Fall, and Winter, just as last year, we had been seeing fox around the house, and had been seeing them walk by the school during class, etc...so it didn't strike me as odd.  After heading home one day to lunch and seeing one walk right up to me, I figured it was time.  That same day, Sarah saw one approach the boys where they were playing just beyond the front yard, and she mentioned it was a little weird.  Sounds good to me, I figured.  I had been trying to refrain from catching the ones around the house, but when they act like they aren't wild anymore, well...I didn't need any encouragement anyway, but if they're offering...

I made a set right at dark, last night (the 21rst).  The set, though, was right out in fron tof the house, just across the drive - we're talking like maybe 25-30 feet from the front step.  This morning, on the way to work, as I shut the door, I heard a faint "tink-tink-tink-clink".   Hah!  I thought...Bingo!  Walked over with a headlamp, and, sure enough, the area looked awfully dark (catch circle)..and then the eyes lit up, and I walked to work.  With a smile.  I waited for daylight, which at this time of year, here in Southwest Alaska, is not until about 9:45.  Then I brought it up with the kids in my class, and we quickly decided to go get the fox out of the trap.  We filmed the dispatch, and then I quickly went back to work and got through the rest of the morning classes.



However, when I went home for lunch, I spotted a fox going around the back of the teacher housing, and making his way over to our house.  I ran behind building s when I could, dodging his sight until I was back at my front door, where I grabbed the .22 Mag and some bullets.  However - I grabbed some .22 LR rounds.  I did this knowingly, because the rifle uses shorts, longs, and Magnums.  However, I did not know what was about to happen.   went back out the front door, thinking the fox would head for the catch circle - which he probably could smell for a long ways.  Sure enough, he did.  I saw him break for it behind some spruce and use d my chance to get in position, pushing the safety and waiting for him to stop when he got to the set, which I was covering with my front bead.  He stopped, and I squeezed.  'Click!'.  Nothing.  I couldn't believe it.  I shucked that shell, dug another one out of my pocket, and put it in the chamber.  Pulled up, with him looking at me this time, about 20 feet away.  'Click!'...WHAT!?!!....Racked the bolt, catching the shell, and put it BACK IN, and squeezed. 'Click!'  My heart about stopped at that one.  That was enough for the fox, and he bolted out of sight off into the trees.  I was bummed beyond belief.  However, I wasn;t so bummed I couldn't skip lunch, and instead put in a remake with the tra from the morning.  I had a feeling the fox would be back, and quickly.  I even brought the shells, with their firing pin marks, back to class with me to share the tale, and 'warned' the class that we may catch another.

It wasn't long, and I got a text from Sarah...she said that there were not one, but TWO fox out by the sandbox in our backyard, milling around. Apparently the boys saw them during lunch. Excitedly, I asked her not to go outside or let the boys out..if only they would go around to the front we'd have a second one. :) Sure enough, about 2 minutes later, she texted again. We had one. Hah!! I rounded up one of my students, and we headed for the house.  However, upon getting to the front yard..we noticed a fox streaking across the back yard, once again by the sandbox.  We quickly went inside, and I grabbed the .22 Magnum again.  Not liking the angles on him from the back porch (remember, we were in the teacher housing area, with other houses nearby) and hoping this time the gun would go off, we made our way out the front door - past the other fox snarling and jumping in the trap - which my student thought was simply spectacular - and the following ensued (Click link to view in Dropbox):

View clip on DropBox HERE

So, with that fox from the backyard down (rifle worked as usual, in case you didn't watch the vid at the link), we were now in possession of two, and had a third in the trap out front.  We walked over to the catch circle with the just-shot-fox in hand (which was a HUGE male, beautifully colored by the way - pics coming when he is processed.  I took a few pics, and we dispatched the third, and placed him in the freezer.  This was turning out to be a great day.  The catch circle was SMOKIN' HOT!!!!


It was that knowledge that made it just impossible for me to not remake the set again.  I HAD to do it.  So after school, I remade the set before dinner.  All the while it had been snowing off and on, but the set was down to the bare ground and leaves from all the..um..activity...



We enjoyed dinner and were getting the boys ready for bed when our neighbor knocked on the door and said he heard a snarling coming from the area of the set.  (It was already dark).  I went out, and together he and I dispatched the fourth fox of the day.  Three in the same trap in 12 hours is now my personal record.  At least one of them was caught only a little over an hour after I set it.  Wowza.  No pics of this last one actually came out, as it was too dark.

 Now I am left to wonder if I could have done it in less time if only this all didn't go down on a work day.  :P  :)   I'll give it a break for a bit now - but only for a bit - and then I'm gonna remake that sucker again...we might not be done yet with the "front yard set"...Next up, though, is to help one of my students catch their first fox...

One in a million?... :)

Well...the chicken raider is dead.  Here in bush Alaska, you often get the chance to see wildlife in your 'backyard', that much is certain.  Sometimes, however, the wildlife you do see is not the kind you'd like to.  Case in point:  some neighbors (well, maybe 200+ yards away neighbors) mentioned that they were having some trouble with foxes and weasels harassing their chickens.  I was very happy to say that my boys and I would be glad to rectify that problem, and so we set out to do it...

Upon arriving and talking with the neighbors about the situation, we learned that this would be a pretty favorable setup.  The chicken coop bordered the brush and tundra at the edge of their yard, and the offending weasel had been seen pacing around and around the coop looking for entry on multiple occasions.  Just what we like to hear. :)  Warren, Abram, and I found a great, level spot to place the box, and I set the trap and allowed them to place it in the front of the box.  We added the bait - raw chicken of course (giblets) - to the back of the box and secured the lid.  We chose not to use any lure in this case because I felt that the use of any type of long distance call I might normally use (Lenon's weasel lure, or, say, some gusto) could potentially call in more predators than were already causing problems.  That, and we already had (or the chickens had) a captive audience.  I figured, let the chickens stay under the radar for as long as is possible, if you ask me.  The neghbors also thought this was a good approach, as they had already shot one fox and mentioned possibly taking care of some others, though it seemed they didn't want to if it wasn't necessary.

At any rate, me and the boys left the trap there, and we went back to check the next day, only to find nothing.  They were a little bummed, but of course I had the chance to once again explain why this is trapping, not catching, and that if there was some fur in the trap every time we went to check it, things just wouldn't be the same.  The next check, however, was a different story.  After finally getting the boys' attention away from the chickens, they came over to the box, and opened it - and the celebration began...and while they were jumping and hollering it occurred to me - this weasel looked 'different'.  Quite different.  My first reaction, caught in the video we took, was to say He's....like....BLUE!.."  And so he was...


I've never seen anything like him. My first thought was that he was coated in something. But what is laying around a house or garage or whatever, and is that color?...Also, how did he do such an even job of "coating" himself, if in fact that was the case?...
The tale remains to be told, as when we take him out of the freezer to skin him I plan to wash a bit of him in dishsoap and get the skinny for sure. At any rate, though, the boys were CRAZED, as usual, and it was better to just enjoy the moment than wonder why. :)

The Weasel Project Marches On!!!!!....

The lessons, experiences, and qualities that trapping can teach us all come out every time someone leaves their house with some steel to set.  That is perhaps most evident when you apply it in the classroom (and then, of course, outside the classroom, to speak literally...).  I am convinced that getting kids out trapping not only teaches them to appreciate the ecological soundness of this activity, but also is a fun way to engage them in learning responsibility, ethics, respect, patience, integrity, humility, and thankfulness..and that's just getting started.  All this, despite the nonsense the naysayers like to toss around...

This conviction is borne out yet again in the Port Alsworth Weasel Trapping Project, carried on in all of my math and science classrooms this year.  The torch that Sarah and I started in Pilot Station is still being carried, and trapping as an educational and life tool is still succeeding.  No teaching endeavor brings me greater joy than these types of projects.  Academic success - yep.  Achievement in life - got it.  Strength of Character - Check!  The philosophy of Tanalian School is enabled through the weasel project!  Teachable moments abound, and the rewards are many!  Have a peek.... :)

First, a shot of my bulletin board in the classroom... (The 'bear-rugged' vole and shrew pelts are there because those two specimens are the leaders in their species category).. The quote says it all, uttered by one of my students early in the year.  Indeed....


Now, as for the details...   So, we started off the weasel project this year, as always, with a research project:



... to learn the physiological, ecological, and life history aspects of the mustelid family, most specifically the short-tailed weasel, (mustela erminea), also known as 'ermine' or 'stoat', depending where you are from.  Though we didn't expect to catch another specific species of weasel during the project, the least weasel, (mustela nivalis) we did! - second from left in the above pic. As we will be trapping all the way to March, there's still a lot of time to catch more, too!

But, after all the students demonstrated their learning about the weasels we would be targeting, and how they - and the species they are connected to - fit into the environment ecologically, it was time to bring the project into math class...

We held a contest to see who could come up with the best design for a weasel box, as everyone now had some helpful knowledge of the weasel, their dimensions, abilities, and their habits.



Once the designs were explained, debated, and approved, we went ahead with construction. (Bring on the 'industrial arts' :) ) Materials were scrounged up from all corners of town, and the graciousness of the donors was acknowledged. ..And the first applications of the students getting to use manners and gratitude make their appearance.





Once the boxes were ready, we learned how to set the traps we would be using, and all that was left then was to wait for the season opener. We spent this time examining tracks, and piecing together what the students had learned about ermine with what the animals were showing us.



Finally, November 11th came around, and off we went...





It didn't take long, and catches started trickling in...






They can't just catch 'em...they have to skin and stretch them, too...


He looks angry!... :)  After all, there is only ONE BEST WAY to learn anatomy...medical schools everywhere can't be wrong...






When catches are made, we take weight and length measurements, examine the weasels for parasites, physical condition, and freeze the skinned carcasses...and later on, as we get to the appropriate Units, we will be dissecting them, examining stomach contents, etc.  There is pretty much no realm of life science or physical science that this project does NOT cover...



And then there is the exercise that we all get, tromping around in the great outside...




Weasel furs do some awesome stuff when you shine a blacklight on them...notice the legs, edges, tails do not show purple... (I know, a lousy pic, but it has to be dark... ) :)  It is thought (speaking of some of the scientific community) that this light-reflective property may be useful to the ermine in escaping predators hunting them at night.  Perhaps something to do with the mechanics of the eyes of birds of prey, etc., that enables them to see at night, I presume.


Least weasel adult (That's Da 'yittle one) next to a short-tailed weasel(the large one).


Prime winter ermine fur, baby!!!!!


The wall of fame, so far....  LOTS of trapping season yet to come...

The Mink Whisperer

So...finally getting that last post up about the fox catch reminded me, as I sifted through my 'iphoto' library, that I have been stockpiling stuff for a while now, and haven't been doing much writing.  So here's the first of events I've left out from the last month or so...

On a preseason (trapping season) scouting trip, on which we hoped to secure some bait, I headed up a dry creek - hah!, that's actually the name by the way - and while we were walking up, pushing for grouse and rabbits, we came across a mink.  One of the students wanted to shoot, and the rest of us begged him to wait - after all, we could trap it later and actually be able to salvage the fur.  Thankfully, he held back - and as it turned out we were all glad he did.  The mink came out of his rootwad hiding place, where he had been presumably chasing mice - and entered the creek channel.  I declared, "He's going to come right at me, take a picture!"...  And he then proceeded to make his way about 12 feet STRAIGHT TO ME before jumping onto my boot and checking me out.  He must not have liked the smell of me, cause after a moments or two he hightailed it out of there - but now I carry the name "The Mink Whisperer"...  here's a photo sequence of the whole circus.  Surely a first for me, and probably the last as well.

He's in there..brown furry lump in the cluster of spruce at center...



body and tail visible here...barely below and right of the puddle...


head and body


Here he comes...he HAD to see me...just didn't care...








Was waiting for him to smell something he didn't like and take a bite out of my leg... :)

"Caught on Camera" video link...

So, Though the week was a mite crazy, I finally got the "full-length" video posted to the youtube channel.  Here be the link to the full size version on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBTe2LMNeSE

And here is the smaller, embedded version, just click to watch.

Hopefully, this is the first of many more to come this season.  Right now, the camera is in a weasel box, and that is another story for later...we'll see how it unfolds...

Caught...on Camera...

So, ...I never have been able to get a catch (fox, that is) caught on camera, as long as I've been trapping.  This weekend I finally did just that.  And now I want to do it again...and again, and again...

So, though I am still processing the video, which consists of three nights' worth of footage, I pasted together a short version to get it on here...the longer version will be posted to youtube as soon as I can.  At any rte, here is a short glimpse, starting with the clip of the moment of truth.  There are also some sequences of the aftermath...including some wild pulling, (of course) and what I can only describe as... fox yoga?!?!!.... see for yourself...

Click the thumbnail below - it will play much larger. And I repeat...The longer version will be coming soon... :)

And so the line goes...

Been a while since updating, so figured it was time to catch up.  Classes have begun again and so time is shorter than it was earlier in the Christmas break.  Checks have been regular, usually on a two day run.  Sending my machine for a swim delayed things a mite on one gap in there, but as the pics of the day showed a bit ago, she is purring once more.  Here's some of the recent fun.  Some are repeats from recent pics of the day, but I'm sure that not everyone is checking all of those out...

The scene, when there is basically no snow on the tundra:

Got so warm (40-ish) for a spell that the beavers were coming out from under the ice to forage...they better get back in before that hole freezes...the following cold front moved in quick...

The mule...

Traps won't fire when they're frozen...damn rain, followed by frigid below-zero temps...

Sun hits ice, melting water vaporizes in the -15 temps, then freezes, and voila.  Game of jacks, anyone?

One toe is all you need...gotta love a snappy little # 1...

Oops..this was as she was being drug out...

This is what it looks like when a fox gets into one of your marten tip-up sets!!...

Porky-pine slayer!

Frosty Red.  A great way to be greeted on ANY morning...

 Marten tip-up set before:

Marten tip-up set after:

He's a beaut!!

Uppa's first fox = happy trapper!!  Good thing he got it, too...I got skunked that day..again!!

More pics to come.  Due to trapcheckers (other than us that is) we pulled most of the southern line and will be shifting north.  Posts to follow...