Expect the Unexpected

I got up at 6 AM this morning, showered, dressed and ate my breakfast then went to sit in the woods for a couple of hours with my muzzle loader in hopes that a buck deer might wander by. That was not to be, but I did have an unexpected encounter.

Sitting on a rise amongst a stand of mature hemlocks here I could look down upon a clearing where several old logging skidways meet and through which at least one critter trail (aided by our pruning) crosses a small creek, I spied a small black critter come nosing along. It spent a few minutes at the intersection while I groped for my binoculars but just as I put them to my eyes, disappeared. Not to worry, though, it came loping along the trail that leads right to the spot at which I was sitting. Perhaps I should say it “looped” along the trail. It was a fisher and, like the overgrown weasel that they are, it has a peculiar gait. Sort of like a slinky. The rear legs come up to meet the front as the back arches and then its front legs move forward and it stretches out.

It boldly came right up the trail to where I sat, passing a mere three feet from me, paused about five feet away, and then made a left turn and headed off into the woods. I don’t believe it even was aware of my presence as it showed no signs of surprise or panic. Unlike the one pictured at the link above, this fisher was almost totally black save for a small ruff of brown around its neck. It coat was very sleek and healthy looking, too.

With a couple of these roaming around the Bolt Hole, it's little wonder that I've not seen many porcupines about. Now, if they would only do something about the red squirrels....

Oh, and I saw no deer in the four hours I sat.