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Mrs. and myself enjoy trail cameras, almost a fetish with us, some we check weekly, some monthly, and two, because of the remoteness of their location, twice, once in the spring after we can access that land, the other in the fall before freeze up.
Moose, bear, bobcat, wolves, fox, coyotes, pine martens, fisher, mink, porcupines, owls, the entire boreal fauna sometimes on these.
The ones we check most often are quite close to our home. One in particular spies a feeder that regularly attracts blue jays, deer, red squirrels, the occasional crow and nightly flying squirrels, as we only put whole corn in, these would be our regulars.
Seven years ago on a monthly camera, only in February and into early March, always around two in the morning, an elderly women started showing up, hiking past our rather deep in the woods cabin. No head lamp, same stocking cap, no staff, no backpack of any kind. Most unusual, in that the only trail to that small hunting cabin is from our home, made by a four-wheeler and machete over the years.
She was never on that trail either, always from the north, headed south, just skirting the shack, nightly, randomly. That we found quite odd, and, if there was an elderly woman hiking around at night, you’d think one would have seen her strolling the township road, or in some way, noticing her, we had no idea who she was or where she lived, or what she was doing. By luck or whatever, the mailman was delivering one mild February morning four years prior. I said any chance, you recognize this lady. He looked at the first photo, he says, oh, sure, that’s Sue. I said, Sue who, he says she lives two miles south of you, off the dead end, with her son Greg, you fish with him from time to time. Finally.
I drove to his house and showed him some photos. He called for his mother, who then explained she hiked the woods in the spring, on nicer nights, calling for saw-whet owls. She even taught me the call, which I now use in the woods, but more often, from my deck.
- The Trout Whisperer
