Camp Chores and Wildlife Tours

We spent the weekend at our Vermont camp. We had to refinish the deck.

On Friday night there was a touch of rain and then a rainbow.


On Saturday we took the dogs for a walk.



We acid washed, scrubbed and power rinsed on Saturday.
Sunday we applied the stain. I thought this would go quickly with the sprayer but we had to hand brush the vertical railing bits. It took 8 hours.



It was 90 F so ML took measures to stay out of the sun.


On Saturday we went out on the water 3 times in the canoe.
The pair of loons have nested. The state put out markers to keep people away.


The loon on the eggs. Taken with a telephoto lens so we were far from the nest.


This is a pair of immature crested commorants. They are an aquatic bird but lack an oil gland. Loons and ducks preen in order to spread the oil over each feather to keep themselves waterproof.Commorants need to air dry themselves.


Painted turtles sunning themselves.


ML went out at 6 AM in the canoe and saw this deer. We don't see many deer in northern VT. I think the harsh winters keep the herd size down.


Lastly is a duck lifting off from the front yard. I really like this picture.


We had a great week end though today finds us both sore from re-doing the deck.

Phil

Just beautiful, Phil.

Nice Phil, nice pictures and a tough staining job!

I'm down the road in Woodstock. We had a couple of bears in the backyard...even here in the Village. Boy were they hungry.

Lovely photos, Phil and you and your wife are very fortunate to be in such a wonderful location.

Nice stuff Phil! I love seeing (and hearing)  loons. They're very much a part of rural northern New England.

I just pressure wash my deck. Much easier and faster but one needs to adjust oneself to the look. Not everyone likes it and I can understand that.

vtmax, we* were hungry the other night so I cooked up some bear burgers (and moose burgers and moose steaks). The meat was given to me after the last (2016) season by a neighbor and I just got to cooking it. Tastes like very mild beef. It was extremely lean. I prefer the moose since it has more flavor. Yet another part of northern New England.

*see what I did there?

I like Woodstock VT (and Woodstock, NH as well).
Our first trip there was 18 years ago. Doing the tourist thing. Visiting the shops. Stopped in the hardware store. They sold every thing. Right next to hardware and fasteners was wine for sale. $100 bottles of wine even!! That to me is Vermont.

Nice stuff Phil! I love seeing (and hearing)  loons. They're very much a part of rural northern New England.

I just pressure wash my deck. Much easier and faster but one needs to adjust oneself to the look. Not everyone likes it and I can understand that.

vtmax, we* were hungry the other night so I cooked up some bear burgers (and moose burgers and moose steaks). The meat was given to me after the last (2016) season by a neighbor and I just got to cooking it. Tastes like very mild beef. It was extremely lean. I prefer the moose since it has more flavor. Yet another part of northern New England.

*see what I did there?

Brian,
My daughters ex was a hunter. In his lifetime he bagged two moose. When he was 15 he was the second on his father's permit and snagged a moose. When he was with my daughter he won the permit lottery a second time and again bagged a moose. We got most of that meat. His mother just used it for stews. I treated it like beef and tried it in chili, as roasts, in fajitas, as burgers, etc. So he kept bringing it over for me to cook.

I did have to bard the roasts with bacon as it is so lean. But it tasted wonderful. I really like moose. Never had bear though I want to try it.  A camp neighbor gave us bear meat. But his camp had no electricity and I didn't trust his storage habits. so we threw away the bear.

Phil

FH Gillingham & Sons

I'm in there at least once a day!

FH Gillingham & Sons

I'm in there at least once a day!

Yep. That's the place though I didn't remember the name. Did a quick tour of their website just now.

We don't go to Woodstock much any more. We liked the Simon Pearce restaurant in Quechee. But haven't been there since Irene wiped it out.

We do stop at the Quechee Gorge tourist trap stores. The giant antique store is always worth a visit. I almost always find good razors there.

Very nice photos Phil!