Uncategorized – Page 4 – The Outdoors Guy

February 28, 2018

Maple Syrup time is here!

Image result for maple syrup sugar shack

What a great looking tree…I’d tap that! Heyohh!!

Its almost spring and maple syrup season is here, weather permitting!

I heard from my pal Ian McDonald who was already tapping last weekend in the Almonte area of the Ottawa Valley, and my high school buddy; Scott Lees just started-up his 25-year maple syrup operation in the Lachute, QC area.

My daughter Grace and I do a little tapping also, we produced 1-2 litres of syrup last spring from just a handful of trees. Not a ton for sure, but still fun.

Ahhhh, there is nothing quite like maple syrup production, and I have spent more years than I can recall with my Dad working the sugar bush at the Arundel Natural Science School. Times I will never forget..not easy work, mind you, but extremely rewarding and tasty.

What a blast it was – laying lines, repairing breaks, tapping, watching the evaporator, taking-off the syrup and running the old creaky canner. The entire operation is a blast right down to the moment when that batch of syrup is ready to harvest…man, it tastes awesome when its warm, doesn’t it?

There is a true science involved in any maple syrup operation; from understanding maple sap’s sugar content at various times of the season, knowing the colour, taste and density of different syrup grades, to understanding basic things such as building (and maintaining) the perfect fire to keep your evaporator going strong. Its not as easy as its sounds.

Then there’s moment when the ‘webbing starts’ at precisely 7 degrees above boiling point of water, and your pure maple syrup is ripe for the picking (or pouring I should say)

Old school syrup producers have never used modern gauges and I’m sure never worried about it either. They can read more in the webbing off their ladle than a thousand sophisticated gauges could predict..now that is science in itself.

The final product, well, it is a thing of beauty and there is really nothing in the world that compares to the taste of fresh maple syrup, or taffy on snow. Canada produces over 90% of the WORLD’S supply of maple syrup(majority produced in QC and eastern ON) – a statistic we should be extremely proud of.

Maple syrup production is a big part of our heritage just like hunting, fishing or the fur industry, never forget that.

So, get out there and enjoy some pure Canadian goodness!! The forecast looks good for sap to run over the next few days and lets hope favorable temperatures remain long enough for another great season! (Last spring, from what I heard, was a very good syrup season)

Outdoorsguy

January 9, 2018January 9, 2018

Ottawa Valley deer feeder serves ‘trophy’ guest!

Ottawa valley resident -who I will simply refer to as ‘John’ – has been blessed to have this impressive whitetail buck show-up at his backyard feeder this winter!

This magnificent ‘old timer’ was captured on film by a trail camera located just outside John’s living room (anchored to a birdfeeder) at his home near Clayton.

I would estimate this old boy at minimum 6.5 years old; based on antler configuration: beam length, beam diameter and presence of sticker points.

Though his actual age cannot be determined without analyzing a tooth cross-section in a lab.

All signs point to an older buck and he certainly carries himself like a KING!

John’s impressive visitor has a sidekick with him at times – a yearling buck. Funny how whitetail behaviour changes once the rut is over…

Thanks so much to avid reader; John for sharing these awesome winter whitetail images!! Now if only I could get him to use Bushnell trail cams..hehe

If I were John, I would also be watching for those big antlers to drop…ANY TIME NOW! Around my place, all the big bucks would shed end of January.

Outdoorsguy

September 12, 2017

Hunt camp tradition continues…

First things first – WELCOME BACK EVERYONE!! Hope to see a lot of old familiar names and new ones as well. Surely there are lots more avid hunters and conservationists out there?

Tis that time of year again folks; hunting season and that trip back to the hallowed hunt camp.

Your hunt camp could be a 4-man tent, while for else might use their summer cottage transformed into a makeshift hunt camp as the leaves start to fall.

Others might be members of a private hunt club or an organized lodge, while some might even rent chalets, cabins or quinsy huts. You might convert a fishing or trapping camp into a hunt camp in the fall and really who cares, it doesn’t really matter.

Regardless of what four-walls become your hunt camp, its a time to celebrate the sport we all know and love. Sharing the experience with friends and hunting companions only serves to enrich the experience.

Although it may come off sounding snooty, the hunt camp mentality is something only a true hunter has experienced and will ever really understand. Sorry to all animal rights people, environmentalists and other ‘non-hunters’ out there, you simply cannot comprehend and this post will, therefore, mean absolutely nothing to you.

It is a time of year when, like or not, many other things in our busy lives must take a backseat to this special place. We dream about it at night and long for that glorious day when we first arrive.

After more than 35-years of doing this, the hunt camp experience is still over in the blink of an eye..so enjoy your time this year to the fullest. Soak it in to make the memories last all year. You just never know when it could be your last trip.

I used to ask this question every year but what does hunt camp mean to you? To me it means everything and more.

Outdoorsguy