I received a phone call a while back from a person who was upset that her neighbor left his dog outside in the wintry weather. Especially the weather of a week ago.
I talked to the owner of the dog and found out that the dog had a lightbulb in his doghouse, a mat on the floor and a covering on his door. With his fur to keep him warm, he probably was warmer than most houses during the cold spell. When I got back to her she was relieved to know the dog was comfortable and not in any danger.
This issue got the Grumpy Group into a heated discussion at the local coffee shop. How in the world could our forefathers have survived the cold, ice and snow of those old-time winters?
Dressed in animal skins and furs to ward off the elements, it could not have been a happy time.
Wandering around in a country covered with winter snow had to be scary at the very least. Heck, many of us today would get lost in the woods during a beautiful fall day in full sunshine while holding a GPS (global positioning system).
While using the stars as their guide, these hardy pioneers mapped out a route from coast to coast.
If any of you have tried to walk through the winter woods and continually break through the crusty snow, then you know how tiring it becomes after only a few hundred yards. Snowshoes are not always the answer. They help, but the chilly air and wet snow takes its toll on you.
Therefore, you can see how difficult it must have been to cross this country. Now, add to the fact that they had horses, wagons and cattle with them as they tried to find the promised land and you can see that they had to take shelter wherever they could find it. Then they must have stayed put until the winter weather turned to warmer spring days.
No wonder their life expectancy was so short.
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The Great Bay Chapter of Trout Unlimited will hold its first meeting of the year on Monday at 6 p.m. at the Roundabout Diner Function Room at the Portsmouth Traffic Circle. There will be a guest lecturer and raffles.
Tom Harrison and his brother, Dan have been full-time fishing guides since 2003. They have guided in West Glacier, Montana, on the Flathead River branches and ran three- to five-day wilderness trips in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. They have also guided in Chile’s Patagonian rivers. Tom Harrison has guided in Western Massachusetts since 2007.
Tom will be talking about targeting big, wild brown trout on the rivers in Western Mass. He will discuss timing, tactics, patterns and our approach to putting these fish in the net.
He has also been targeting pike on the fly the last few seasons, and will discuss the fishery and our observations about getting these big predators to eat and hook up on fly tackle.
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GBTU also welcomes its new chapter president, John Silverio, who was elected at the November meeting
John took the helm from outgoing acting president Wendy Nixon, at the December chapter meeting. John is a longtime Trout Unlimited member and has been active in the “Salmon -- now Trout -- in the Classroom” programs for many years as a Strafford County teacher.
He takes on this responsibility with an already busy full-time work schedule and afterschool responsibilities, but with an energetic slate of officers and board of directors behind him to lend a hand, we think he will more than rise to the office.
John joins GBTU vice president Dave Fritz, treasurer Chris Rieder and secretary Paul Spendley in providing strong and insightful leadership for the chapter. The outgoing president and secretary, Nixon and Mitch Kalter, will remain on the board of directors with Mark Seymour and John McKernan, and continue to be active with the chapter.
We sincerely hope that all GBTU members will not only attend meetings but give generously of their time to help with events and projects, and continue to support them in their efforts to move the chapter forward.
Wayne Hooper is a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association and a lifelong Seacoast resident. He can be reached at sports@seacoastonline.com.