LIFE GOES ON!

Offloading routine of dredge spoils  began shortly before sunup.  On its second
round of the morning, this truck receives a 5-cu.yd. deposit.  

Detroit Harbor, Washington Island -

Winds went down, as did the temperature.   Two ferries loaded at the same time for an 8 a.m. Island departure.  Slightly more traffic was scheduled to leave the island than to come in.  Freight carts and a chock-full mail truck were expected with the incoming traffic.

At the Potato Dock, trucks started hauling early.  Roads were heavily sanded by the Town in most slick stretches.  The dock approaches that softened in the rain and slush, set up nicely at 21 degrees.  The material barge had an ice crust, but the volume of muck, although stiffer this morning, was easily scraped and deposited in truck boxes.  A total of 105 truckloads have been hauled so far, which represents approximately 1110 cu. yds., or about 1/8 of the total required to provide sufficient depth for ferry maneuvering.   Yardage per truck increased slightly this morning with thicker material easier to haul, less prone to slopping over the edges of the truck box.

Wednesday morning, we're anticipating an excavator to be ferried to the island. This machine will reduce the hard spots the crane bucket can't get.

Routines continue

Ferry travel got back on track, too, this morning.  Evidently, Islanders were looking forward to the future, to Christmas, visiting with relatives and so forth, as if they never heard of the Mayan Calendar.  And tomorrow, we expect Green Bay will defeat Tennessee at Lambeau Field, keeping their train on track for the NFL playoffs.

Several readers inquired about the location of the Potato Dock in relation to the ferry dock, and so I added an aerial photo from the Washington Island Canoe & Kayak website, where you'll find many more excellent aerials of the Island shoreline.

Have a great weekend!     -  Dick Purinton

Washington unloaded backlogged traffic,
Saturday, 9:35 a.m. 

Appendage (upper left) is Potato Dock.  The northwest tip of
Detroit Island is in foreground.

CALLING ALL TURKEYS

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

We're in the middle of the spring turkey hunt, and island hunters have been out prior to sunup, sneaking into field and forest before the birds get down from their tree roosts to set up hunting blinds and decoys, and to get themselves situated for approaching birds.

What else might motivate a hunter to load his gear in an open aluminum boat - a long-barreled shotgun, backpack with decoy and turkey calls and a bicycle - and then motor over to Detroit Island before the sun was up, ride his bicycle a mile or so down the rough dirt road, listening for tom turkeys calling as he rode?  

The hunting on Washington Island has been pretty good, or so the reports seem to indicate, but after several unsuccessful outings near home, Hoyt decided to try Detroit Island.

Shortly after bicycling south, to a point approximately 2/3 of the island's length from the boat landing, and having heard several turkeys, he got off his bicycle and successfully called a tom to within shooting range.

Then, with his bird in hand (approximately 25 pounds), shotgun and backpack filled with gear, he pedaled back to the boat landing and motored home.  He was back on Washington Island by 7:30 a.m., where these photos were taken.  

Hoyt pointed out two middle tail feathers that weren't yet fully developed in pattern, and he guessed his bird was perhaps two years old.  The spur length, half an inch at most, seemed to confirm this.  But as for weight, this bird was a handful to lift, and must not have been an easy partner for riding double.

Turkeys are wary, having excellent eye sight and very sharp instincts, and yet it is hard to refer to them as being smart.  A case in point:  several weeks ago I looked out my window to see a tom turkey challenging its image in the chrome fender of my pickup truck.  This activity went on for over an hour, until dark, with occasional pecking at the bumper and the lifting of his beard in what seemed to be an aggressive, self-promoting manner.  During this time, he left a dozen or more deposits, littering the asphalt at the truck's rear bumper.

-  Dick Purinton