Thoughts and wishes for the holiday season

Remember the real meaning and spirit of the holiday.

Christmas Wishes: Merry Christmas to all of our readers. Over the years, I have learned that many people in addition to sportsmen read this column. Many enjoy the outdoor themes, others are interested in the issues, and many enjoy finding out about people they know making the news. Thanks to all of you who have given information, advice, or encouragement this year and in the past.

My wife Carol and I would like to extend our heartfelt wishes that everyone has a great holiday season spent with friends and family. We hope that the peace and joy extend not only through this season but throughout the coming year. Merry Christmas!

As I have mentioned previously in this column, remember the real meaning and spirit of the holiday we celebrate this week. It is always good but especially at this time of year to remember the less fortunate in our community. Help spread the true meaning of the holiday by helping others who are needy to have a Merry Christmas.

At any time of year, but especially now with the end of hunting season and the onset of the holiday season it is appropriate to remember the landowners who let you use their property with some gift. Some small gift will show your appreciation for them letting you hunt or fish on their property. It also helps mark you as a considerate and responsible sportsman and may go a long way towards getting permission to hunt or fish there again next year.

If you are still looking for a last-minute gift, consider giving the gift of yourself. Plan on taking some individual or family on an outdoor outing such as fishing, hunting, hiking, paddling. Introduce them to outdoor photography, camping or some other sport that may become a lasting pastime.

Make up a “gift certificate” for a complete outing and list a date or time period. It may work out that you have to change the date, but this way is more likely that you will actually do it. Organize the outing and include necessary gear, lunch, and even transportation.

In past years I have often tweaked or rattled our adversaries by saying “peace on earth” does not apply to them because they were not “men of good will.” This year I will refrain from that since there is already too much polarization, rancor, or even hate in the world, especially our country. We will still disagree or oppose each other

on issues but in the spirit of the holidays we will wish them a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. After all, even Ebeneezer Scrooge and the Grinch had a change of heart!

I frequently had a column on Santa’s list of Naughty and Nice. This year I will not because the list of naughty persons would take up three columns! However, Santa will be sending an entire load of coal to fill many stockings around Washington, DC.

However, Santa’s list of good people will include the many hunter safety instructors, those who organized fishing clinics, mentors, and people who organized youth hunting days. It also notes the people who worked to maintain sportsmen’s clubs and sporting or conservation organizations such as Conservation Council, Trout Unlimited, Ruffed Grouse Society, Fish Creek Atlantic Salmon Club, Izaak Walton League, and many similar organizations. Of course mentors or people who take children fishing or other outdoor experiences have a special note on Santa’s “nice list.”

Hopefully, everyone is done with their shopping or other preparations and can relax and enjoy the holidays. Sit back and think about the important things in your life and the real meaning of the holiday. Enjoy the fun and spend time with friends and family. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.

SHORT CASTS

A Somber Warning: The big game season has ended and any state reports, including hunter safety or accidents are a long ways in the future. However one local incident is cause for concern and gives us grave warning of what can happen.

A horse in the Vernon area was shot during the big game season. This was not the case of some imbecile mistaking a horse for a deer. Rather, it is apparently the case of someone being very careless with a rifle. The horse was a white horse and was in the middle of an open field when hit with a bullet in the leg. It is still questionable whether the horse will survive.

All indications and investigation point to the likelihood of someone firing the rifle, probably at a deer, and the poor horse was in the line of fire in the distance. Obviously the person who fired the shot was irresponsible and did not know or care what was beyond his target, yet within range of the rifle.

It is the responsibility of every hunter to identify their target, what is beyond the target, and potentially in the range of a bullet which can carry a long distance. It was in this same general area a few years ago where a bullet entered a house, narrowly missing a person. We would like to think most hunters are safe and responsible. But that is not good enough; we need everyone to be careful and follow the rules before they pull the trigger.

Seneca White Deer Tours Ending: In what many see as a blow to tourism and a disappointment for many conservationists and military history buffs, the Seneca White Deer.org voted to end the Depot tours as of December 29, 2019. Faced with the fact that tour revenue and supporter donations were unable to meet expenses of the program, the Board of Directors voted to end the tours.

The Seneca White Deer was an organization founded by Dennis Money and five other dedicated conservationists in 1998 to preserve the unique herd of white deer within the Seneca Army Depot. Although their efforts to gain a portion of the Depot fell short, they offered tours when the Seneca Industrial Agency first acquired the Depot. When the land was sold in 2015 to a private developer they got a portion set aside as a preserve that they rented from the owner.

For two years they hosted tours and fascinated 15,000 visitors with the variety of wildlife and the history of the military development there. Local residents, tourists, photographers, conservationists, and others all enjoyed the experience. But it was not enough.

Sunday, December 29 will be the last day of the tours with tours scheduled for 10 a.m., 12 noon, and 2 p.m. You can make reservations at senecawhitedeer.org or by calling 315759-8220 from Wednesday through Sunday.

Dennis Money said earlier this week that there are no immediate plans and no idea what the future will bring. For now, he urged those that have not experienced the Depot and the rare Seneca White Deer to take the tour on closing day. Adirondack Railroad Hearing: Tonight is the final hearing by the DEC for comments on the future of the Adirondack railroad. As reported earlier, the DEC plans to tear up the tracks from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid and replace with a multi-use hiking trail. The hearing and comments will be held at the State Office Building on Genesee St. in Utica beginning at 6 p.m.

Missing Any Lights? Recently I was out in my back yard filling the bird feeders in the middle of the afternoon. I heard a noise and looked around as three deer emerged around the corner of the house and stood looking at me. This is not uncommon as several deer have become accustomed to me and regularly visit my yard to snack on spillage from the feeders. Then two more bounded into the yard and joined them. Something did not look right and then I realized that one of the large does had a long string of Christmas lights dangling off both sides of her head! Evidently they had been eating someone’s shrubs when something spooked them and in pulling her head out, she caught the string of lights around her ears. Someone walking a dog came up the street and the deer all spooked and went bounding off. So if anyone is missing a white string of Christmas lights, the last I saw of them they were heading west along Hamilton Ave.