Tomb of the Unknowns

Like many other Americans I took advantage of the long weekend to get away but hopefully like me many took the time to really reflect on what Memorial Day is all about. No matter your political leanings or party affiliation on this day we are all Americans. Over the years many have stood up to defend our way of life and our freedoms we enjoy as Americans and as individuals and as a country we owe them and their families a debt we can never repay. Freedom has and always will need to be defended and will cost some their lives.

As a small boy I recall watching the parade and then going to the cemetery where the veterans were honored and remembered. Speeches given, prayers said, taps played and it seemed like the whole town turned out. Once all that was done my parents would take us to the different family plots and we would clean the headstone, plant some new flowers, and hear stories of those who laid there that we may have never met. All important lessons in connecting with our past and remembering those who went before us.
Sadly I’m not sure that happens much any more families are so spread out that visiting a loved one’s grave may not be possible. I listened to the moving speech President Obama gave today at the Vietnam Memorial and his part about the younger generations connecting with a war that was over long before they were born. The High School football player’s tribute he left at the wall and the President read was moving and gives me hope that some of our young people do get it.

50 year anniversary of the Vietnam War in some ways it seems hard to believe. Growing up in that time I recall many of the dark images of those days and even as a young boy I saw how split our country was back then. I hope and pray we never see a time like that again our returning fighters need to be given a hero’s welcome even if we disagree with the politics of the day. I remember veterans coming into my school to speak but I don’t recall any from Vietnam War…. They might have been some but I honestly don’t recall it at this time.
I don’t have any children but I hope those who do are teaching them about our heroes and why Memorial Day is important. Take them to Arlington National Cemetery it will move you at least it does me whenever I walk the halo grounds. If that is too far or not possible I’m sure there is a Veteran’s Cemetery near your house or better yet take them out to help welcome home some of our returning troops. Memorial Day is an important day in the life of our nation and it is important that our young people know it more than just a weekend to start the summer vacations.

As a young boy many of my heroes wore a white hat or wore a cape today I realize our heroes all wear dog tags. Thank You all who Served and to those who had a loved one that made the ultimate sacrifice I say Thank You and you are in my thoughts and prayers often.
God Bless America

“The effort has been to slow the spread of this bat-killing fungus. It’s very serious,” Forest Service spokesman Stevin Westcott said. “One bat can eat several thousand mosquitoes in one night, so there’s a lot of concern of a massive die-off.”

Forest Service wildlife biologist Sheryl Bryan said there are at least nine mines and 12 caves in the Pisgah and Nantahala forests known to be popular with forest visitors, but there are “hundreds of small unnamed caves and crevices around. Keys for bats are temperature and humidity as opposed to size.”

White-nose syndrome has been confirmed in both forests, which together cover more than 1 million acres and draw more than 5 million visitors a year. Anyone violating the closure order faces a fine up to $5,000, Westcott said. Organizations found entering closed mines or caves can face fines up to $10,000.

Citizens Time

White-Nose Syndrome continues on a track that could completely eliminate bats if a cure is not discovered. Reports that mortality rates in bat caves is 90 to 100%. Many of us don’t realize how important bats are especially for insect control. Hopefully people working on this issue can find a cure but until then please stay out of the caves and mines to slow the spread.
Additional Info on White Nose Syndrome

USF&Ws

NCWRS

NC Has a small but growing elk herd

A bull and a cow were both found dead outside the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Haywood County killed by birdshot. Speculation on investigating officers from the NCWRC is that someone may have been trying to scare these elk off their property and shot them with a shotgun with birdshot. It could have taken some time for these animals to die from their injuries so it is not clear at this point where the shooting may have actually taken place.
Elk in North Carolina were reintroduced into the Great Smoky National Park a number of years ago the small herd continues to grow and is estimated to be about 150 to 200 animals clearly not enough to allow a hunting season.
We’ll continue to follow this story and if anyone has information about this poaching case please contact NCWRC.

NCWRC
REPORT WILDLIFE VIOLATIONS – 1-800-662-7137 (Raleigh Area 919-707-0040)

Green Energy is good but at what price? Will killing up to 20 Bald Eagles a year and countless other birds be a deal breaker? US Fish & Wildlife believe that up to 20 Bald Eagles could be killed annually if the wind farm next door to Pocosin National Wildlife Refuge gets built. To give you an idea of that type of impact 20 Eagles a year would be 5 x the current annual kill nationwide!!!!

The estimate is based on just five months of bird counts in Beaufort County and could prove abnormally high, regulators say. Bald eagles are active in the largely agricultural area in Beaufort County where the wind farm would be built, drawn to the presence of fish breeding ponds, hog carcass disposals and other readily available food sources.

Still, eagle fatalities present an unforeseen challenge for Invenergy, the Chicago-based developer proposing the 49-turbine Pantego Wind Energy Facility. The project has already aroused public concern because of its potential risk to thousands of migratory snowbirds that visit the state every year.

The preliminary numbers on bald eagle kills are astronomical by almost any measure, bird advocates say. Based on recorded bald eagle sightings in the area, the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that the Pantego project would account for 3.4 to 20.7 eagle “takes” annually.

“That’s a shocking number,” said Kelly Fuller, wind campaign coordinator at the American Bird Conservancy in Washington. “Even if we look at the low number, killing four bald eagles a year would be killing more than the current acknowledged eagle deaths of all U.S. wind farms combined for the whole history of the U.S. wind industry.”

Kansas City .com
I’m pretty skeptical about this project from the get go and the impact on a number of birds not just eagles. This is an important wintering ground for large flocks of migratory birds as well as a heavy agricultural area that tends to draw in birds. The same reasons that the land was unsuitable for the OLF are the same reasons we shouldn’t put in a wind farm in there. Will continue to follow this story as it develops.

The California Senate yesterday passed a bill to outlaw the use of hounds for hunting bears and bobcats in the state. A bill pushed by the extreme animal rights wacko’s; PETA, HSUS, and others.

California Senate Bill 1221, a bill that will ban the use of hounds to hunt black bears and bobcats, passed the state’s Senate today. The passage of SB 1221 by the senate casts a dark cloud over the future of all hunting and wildlife management in California. Senate Bill 1221 passed with a vote of 22 to 15 in favor.

The bill, which is sponsored by the radical animal rights group Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), triggered a strong outpouring of opposition from California sportsmen and women, plus sportsmen’s organizations, in the state and nationwide. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) denounced this retaliatory wildlife management bill that was created when HSUS could not have a state game commissioner removed for his legal mountain lion hunt. As the bill moved forward from introduction and through the hearing process, hundreds of opponents wearing orange “NO on SB 1221” buttons also packed the corridors of the capital to let their Senators know they opposed this anti-hunting bill.

“The California Senate today chose retribution and revenge over sound science-based wildlife management,” explained Evan Heusinkveld, USSA’s director of state services. “Despite having a Fish and Game Commission explicitly designed to handle these questions free from the politics of the statehouse, the California Senate voted in favor of a hunting ban.”

SB 1221 will now move to the state Assembly for further hearings. USSA has been working with the Masters of Foxhounds Association, California Houndsmen for Conservation and the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance to defeat SB 1221.

US Sportsmen’s Alliance

Don’t think this is just a west coast issue cause it will be on our doorstep at some point and North Carolina is vulnerable to splitting hunters over the issue of hounds. While hunters seem to be more divided on the deer hound issue look for these groups to capitalize on that and work to end all use of hounds in this state. We need to find a way to end the disagreements around hounds and find a way to compromise. There has to be some give and take on both sides of the issue cause we need to stand together against these wacko nuts. You can also try to help our California brothers by throwing some change towards US Sportsmen to help them get the word out and lobby the lawmakers.

The wild ponies at Chincoteague NWR

Developing a top ten list of the best Wildlife Refuges is certainly thought provoking but I would also suggest highly subjective and impossible to carry out. We have many wonderful Wildlife Refuges across the country and while I’ve been to many I can’t say I’d feel comfortable narrowing them down to ten. The fact that none from North Carolina made the list is a classic example of how flawed this is even though I’m sure it was done with the best of intentions. While I’ve been to a number on the list the beauty and wonder of Pea Island with the wintering migratory birds is a spectacular place.

I've spent a number of hours in the photo blind @ Pea Island...and I hope to spend many more

Pea Island is a special place and draws in visitors from around the world. In my view it should be in the top 10 and if it it was me compiling the list it would be.

Snow's coming into feed at Pea Island

Well check out their list and see what you would add from your travels and enjoy the beautiful photos from each of the places they came up with. I’d be curious to hear any of my readers favorite NWR so post a comment.

While cute and fuzzy now this guy will grow up to be an adult bear. Not a Pet but a wild animal Keep em Wild

Lots of wildlife is having their young right now so be on the look out for them and be careful not to disturb them. Often Momma will hide them and go off to feed or to hunt food you may think the baby is abandoned but it is not. I was talking with someone the other day that had been tempted to pick up a baby coon to raise it as a pet but didn’t. These are wild animals and we should truly want to keep them wild so just leave them be. NCWRC is trying to get this message out….

Pups, cubs, chicks, kits and other young wildlife are an important —and welcome — harbinger of spring in North Carolina. But the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding people that feeding them can hurt the wildlife and jeopardize the health of humans. It also can harm the ecosystem.

“Wild animals are not pets, and they are not meant to be raised and fed by humans,” said David Cobb, chief of the Commission’s Division of Wildlife Management. “Wild animals never totally lose their wild instincts, even if the animal seems tame. Those instincts can show up anytime and the results can be harmful to people and the animal.”

Capturing and handling a young animal can stress it, sometimes fatally. In addition, young animals that look abandoned often are not. Many species do not stay with their young constantly and only return to feed them. The parent may return and become aggressive in an attempt to defend its young. And, as a young animal grows, it, too, can become aggressive.

Feeding animals may seem harmless or even helpful. However, it causes the animal to lose its natural fear of humans and seek more human food. An animal may become aggressive or cause property damage in its search for more human food.

Wildlife can transmit diseases, including rabies and roundworm, to humans. Also, it is illegal to keep wildlife in North Carolina without a permit. Violators are subject to fines and the animals are typically euthanized.

Some great advice and for more information be sure to visit the NCWRC website.

I’ve included in this story a photo I took last year when I encountered this cub. I can assure you there was no thought on my part to attempt to take this little guy for a pet momma was in the brush making sure I knew she was there. I quickly snapped a few photos and moved on while the sow popped her teeth at me.

Lets just keep all these critters wild so we can see and enjoy them.

I’m not going to ramble on but just let some of the photos I took today speak for themselves. If you have the opportunity you should check out our state zoo it’s pretty cool

Nothing like a big toothy grin....cheeessseee

If you live in the area and have an interest in photography come to Bass Lake Park on the 2nd Tuesday of the month and the photo club meets from 7 to 9 pm.

This is worth every Penny I Spent on it..... about 3000

With turkey season over it was time to go take down the various blinds we had put up on the fields around the club. All the rain we have had and the warm weather have the vegetation at the club growing strong. I was bent over yanking out a tent stake for one of the blinds when I realized I was reaching down through a beautiful crop of poison Ivy. That’s when I looked around and noticed the blind and everything around it was in this crop of poison ivy and I had unwittingly walked out right into the middle of it.
Flashback to my childhood when I could roll in the stuff and it wouldn’t bother me so I was often the one that retrieved the ball over the left field fence at school because the stuff grew thick in the woods just beyond the fence.

I would discover latter that would change when as an adult I got poison ivy bad and waited a few days to do something because I knew for sure I wasn’t allergic to it….WRONG. I’ve had a few boughts with it over the last few years and on occasion needing to seek medical health to get something to help me get over it.

Well here I am with Rick and we are in the middle of it. I’d hunted out of this particular blind a few weeks ago and hadn’t noticed and poison ivy so this certainly took me by surprise. I could kick myself for not being more careful cause I know how bad this can be for me. After we get the blind I fish a bottle of water out of my truck and flush my arms and hands hoping it will be enough. Within about 20 minutes I know it’s not as my arms are getting itchy and I see a rash starting to form.

I’m headed home but I know that my shower is a good 1 ½ hours away and by then I’ll be in trouble. I pull into Walgreens and look to see if I can find some relief. I saw the Brand name wash and the Walgreens Poison Ivy Wash and the price…… $30 for a little tube and something I wasn’t sure would work. I knew if I didn’t do anything I was going to be suffering for the next week or so and in that hindsight it be a small price to pay. So I bought it and a gallon of water and stood in the parking lot and followed the instructions and applied the Poison Ivy Wash.
It was amazing almost instantly I had relief and though it might not be of been needed I did a second treatment before I took off for home. By the time I got home I was having zero issues with itching, most of the redness / rash was completely gone and there was no bumps whatsoever.

I’m writing this almost 12 hours after this happened and I have no sign of being exposed to poison ivy. I give the Walgreens Poison Ivy Wash 2 thumbs up the stuff works great. I wasn’t asked to review this, I purchased it myself and am not a paid spokesperson for Walgreens. Not to say if someone wanted to keep me in supply with the Wash that I’d turn them down. It is great stuff and worked just like it said it would for me. I suspect the brand name stuff would work just as well so if you encounter poison ivy on a regular basis you might want to pick you up a tube.

A National Park Maintenance worker was killed in a mowing accident on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina earlier this week. Dana Bruce was working at the Haw Creek Overlook near Asheville NC when the mower he was driving slipped and fell off the overlook. Park officials estimate the near vertical drop at that location is about 300 feet.

The accident happened about 8:30 a.m. A rear tire on Bruce’s mower rolled into a slight depression in the ground near the edge of the near-vertical drop-off, parkway chief ranger Steve Stinnett said.

The shift in the mower’s weight was just enough to send it sliding over the edge, he said. Bruce was close to the edge because he was steering around a trash bin.

Parkway law enforcement was investigating, but Stinnett said he doubts the facts surrounding how the accident happened would change much. Another maintenance worker saw what happened.

“It looks like a tragic accident,” Stinnett said. “We have a small crew, and Dana has been part of that for three years. He was such a fine man.”

Citizen Time

According to the AP the National Parks has suspended all lawn cutting at parks across the country as they review what happened.

Mowing at all national parks has been suspended indefinitely because of safety concerns after a maintenance worker cutting grass along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina fell to his death.

The National Park Service sent an order to its regional offices Friday to halt mowing at its 397 parks that are spread across every state except Delaware.

This seems to be a bit of an over reaction giving that the terrain challenges on the Blue Ridge Parkway may not be similar in many of the other parks. One would think a common sense approach to looking at the parks and avoiding any cutting along sharp drop offs would be sufficient. If they suspected it was an equipment issue they would just park the particular equipment.

Never the less we don’t want to see anyone else get injured or die while cutting grass in one of the National Parks.

Our thoughts and prayers are certainly with Mr. Bruce’s family,friends, and co workers as they grieve and try to come to grips with such a tragic accident.