PUTZING AROUND OUTDOORS
Putzing with a purpose
Editor’s note: To keep track of what he is doing and where, to see his photos and read some of his other writings, including his book, “Tales of The Peshtigo Putzer,” check out his website: www.jerrykiesowoc.com.
I am guessing that the majority of readers think that the only putzing around outdoors I do is all fun and games. Well ... not always. There are times when I putz with a purpose. Here is a recent example.
Our neighbor up north emailed us, complete with photos, that we had a critter digging under our cottage foundation. Hummm. That did not look good, soooo, on Saturday, April 20, I took a quick trip.
I left about 6:30 in the morning. Three hours later I was there.
There was nothing special along the drive: turkeys, geese and ducks, sandhills, deer. Normal stuff.
Skim ice had formed near home on the ponds - it was 27 degrees that morning. Some real ice was still seen on Green Bay, and from there north, most of the ponds still had ice, but open water was appearing on the edges. You wouldn’t want to walk on it. Old, compacted, snow still lay in the shaded areas.
Up north, High Falls Reservoir had open water at the bridge, where there was current, but the remainder of the lake was still with ice. It looked like it might be gone by opening day - in two weeks. Maybe. Maybe not.
I parked in my neighbor’s drive, and walked to our cottage. Most of the snow was gone, but there was still a pile in front of our driveway where the plows had deposited it all winter.
I looked at the hole - it was big! And it looked very deep. The critter, whatever it was, had moved a lot of sand and dirt.
 |
 |
| I was able to shove my way into the driveway, which was still covered with snow, but not deep enough to worry the four-wheel drive. | |
I opened the garage and got a shovel. Then walked on the snow covered driveway to the entrance, and shoved enough of the pile so I could drive in - which I did. That done, I got a long handled, small, hoe, and, with the shovel, went back to the hole.
I cautiously poked the hoe into the hole. Nothing grabbed it or pulled it out of my hand. Nothing screamed or barked or growled at me, so I filled the hole in, but only enough to cover the opening. If something was still in there, I wanted it to be able to dig itself out. I did not want a dead body decaying in there.
There were three other holes. Two together just below the cottage, and one in another neighbor’s yard just below and west of our big pine. They were all big holes.
My first thought was that a woodchuck had dug them. Now I was not sure. Probably, but they looked a lot like a badger digging I had come across last year. Unfortunately, there were no tracks to help with identification. Of course, the good part of that was that the holes were, probably, not active.
 |
 |
| The hole was big and looked very deep. The critter had moved a lot of sand/dirt. | |
My concern was for the basement. Had it dug into there? It is only a crawlspace with a dirt floor. Now, you should know that to check it out completely, I had to squeeze between a concert wall and the sharp edge of an angled masonry fireplace foundation. I used to slide right through. Not so anymore. I made it in, but almost not out. (Obviously, I did, but it was tight. I mean, really tight.) The basement checked out fine.
Next I checked the pumphouse. It too was good.
Because I had a permit to hunt turkeys, and my main reason for the trip was done, and I had a few hours time, I went hunting. I found the blind I had planned on using knee deep in snow, so shifted to another spot. I called a bit, but never heard or saw anything. I didn’t really expect to, but ... you never know. An hour and a half later, I was driving out of the snow packed driveway heading home.
You may ask, “Why did you only hunt for an hour and a half? You had a permit. You were at your cottage. Why not spend a day or two? I’ll tell you about that next time, and, hopefully, you will learn something - as I did.
Until next then, keep a good thought!
jerry