Our Actions and Reactions - Part VI

By A. Sayward Lamb

One year I was invited to go deer hunting for a week in early November. The destination was Richard Bean’s camp, located at Northwest Cove, across from Seboomook, on Moosehead Lake. In order to reach his camp, we had to cross that arm of the lake by boat. There were six of us in the party. In order to transport all the provisions, I brought my fourteen-foot Lonestar boat and outboard motor. Richard (Dick) Bean had his own boat already at the lake, which he used to transport all us fellows, along with some of our personal items.

We left Seboomook, and it took only a few minutes before we arrived at the dock where Dick’s camp is located. Earlier, we had launched and loaded up my boat with many of the provisions we would need for our week’s stay at his camp.

Harlan Abbott, was the pilot of my boat, and after all the provisions were loaded, there were only a few inches of freeboard left. I quizzed Harlan to find out if he felt safe going across the lake with the boat being so heavily loaded. He assured me that he would go slow and since the lake was very calm, he felt there should be no problems.

Dick’s camp was in a beautiful location, sitting well above the waterline, with a view that extended down the lake for several miles, as far as Mt. Kineo. At that time, the nearest logging road was three miles north of the camp, so this was really a nice quiet spot. About all we heard during the week we were there, were the sounds of Mother Nature, such as the waves smashing upon the rocky shoreline and the wind blowing through the trees – along with the calls of chick-a-dees, crows, or other birds. By nightfall we were all settled in and ready for a good night’s rest before hunting the next day.

We awoke early the next morning and after breakfast headed out to hunt the area behind camp, in search of deer. During the week, we found that deer in that area were scarce and very elusive, but we had other wildlife to entertain us.

It didn’t take long for us to notice that Canada jays were following us as we still-hunted through the woods. Several of us had a small box of raisins that we munched on occasionally. We held some raisins in the palm of our hands when the birds flew down beside us. It only took a short time before the jays became less timid and eventually would take raisins out of the palm of an open hand.

Sometimes when some of us would sit quietly holding our rifles across our lap, a Canada jay would land right on the rifles barrel, apparently looking for more raisins. When they had several raisins in their beak, they would fly off and stash them away in the crotch of a tree for later use. In a few minutes they would return. If we moved to another location the Canada jay would follow us, and sit close by, looking for more handouts of raisins. This didn’t get us any deer but it was a fun and an entertaining way to pass the time.

One afternoon, I was sitting on a stump, resting my legs. Nearby was a large pine tree. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw three pine martins come into view among the lower branches of the tree, about seventy-five feet away. For me, at least, this was a most unusual sight, because I had never seen pine martins up this close - neither had I ever seen more than one at a time.

Those three martins were all about the same size and had a lighter honey-brown coloration than any pine martins I had ever seen before. This made me believe they may have been from the same litter.

Once I discovered where the pine matins were located, I spent several hours on two different days, quietly sitting nearby studying them. They seemed a bit timid and I noticed I had to remain very still. If I moved at all those three beautiful animals went scurrying up the pine tree and out of sight. I was surprised to discover that they seldom came down to the ground. I suppose they felt safer being up off the ground. Anyway, it was an experience that I will never forget.

Even though none of us got a deer, we all agreed, being at that beautiful spot, along with the interesting wildlife, made this trip very eventful and interesting.

Copyright 2006©A. Sayward Lamb
All Right Reserved