I hate getting on a soapbox, but something just smacked me in the head this morning while I was downloading the hunting forcast for our website, http://www.spoiledmule.com/.

Every year the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife makes it a little more expensive to hunt, takes away some hunting opportunities and increases the burden on the hunter to document, report and prove their hunting results. All that might not even be so bad, but now they won't even let me keep my trophies - at least not intact. They want the teeth from some trophies, the wings and tails from grouse, the head from pine marten and bobcat, and even sex organs and guts from some big game. Now we have to bring them our cougar with the sex organs so they can "register" the trophy. Does anyone else find that a bit invasive and kinda disgusting?

Okay, I get the whole argument that there are a lot of hunters out there and the state wants to keep track so they don't dessimate the native animal populations. Fine. Make everyone turn in their tag filled out with the results of their hunt. Why does the state need to know what days you went hunting, what methods you used and where you were? All they need to know is where the animal was when you harvested it, the general age of the animal and that you had the license and tag to legally harvest it. In my opinion, it is the responsibility of the fish and wildlife biologists to go out in the woods and take a census on the animal populations - not the hunters. We are now paying a greater percentage of the cost to support ODFW and doing more of their work. I've been told by law enforcement folks that ODFW has a better DNA testing facility for animals in this state than there is for testing human DNA for the state police. What the heck is that all about?

Let's face it - people who break the game laws are not going to report themselves just because they have to turn in the teeth from their deer. People who illegally harvest animals probably won't bother buying a tag, and will do their best to stay under the ODFW radar. Is there really some person at the ODFW that thinks they will finally stop poachers by forcing this "big brother" stuff on the honest hunters? You don't stop criminals by making honest citizens register their guns, and you won't catch people who violate the game laws by making us report our every move when we hunt.

Here is my point - bureaucrats will always try to pass rules that make their jobs easier and support their belief system. The forest service does their best to justify keeping us out of the woods - even though we pay the same taxes they do and have just as much right to use the public lands as any employee of the state or federal government. In the same vein, ODFW doesn't have any right to stop us from hunting, but they can make it increasingly more expensive, more difficult to deal with the rules and less appealing by snatching our trophies. They do it a little at a time to make it relatively painless so you don't even know you have lost something until you wake up one morning with a headless bobcat and a toothless deer and wonder whatever happened to the joy and annonymity of being in the woods.

Hunters of Oregon, don't sit at home waiting for the next shoe to drop. Talk to your legislators! Get some grassroots movements together before the state makes hunting so regulated and expensive that only the wealthy (and those hunting show guys) can afford to hunt.

What I've been doing all summer!

I've been working on the Union Harvest festival for the last three years (this is our fourth year!) For the first 2 years I organized the festival and made sure the parade, the pumpkin chunkin and all the other events happened as planned and it was a lot of fun. I watched the premier event of the Halloween season - the Night-Fright Haunted House - from the sidelines.

(Dracula in the wax museum exhibit)

Then, last year I decided I just had to be in the haunt! Now, I'm one of those chickens who hates being scared and I wouldn't go through a haunted house on a bet prior to my conversion to the dark side. However, Scary Jeri put me in a Victorian dress, grey wig, custom fit vampire teeth and some very creepy makeup and I was totally lost to the haunted house craft! I loved it! There is nothing like watching a grown man fall on his backside at the sight of you rising from a chair! The creepy music, the screams of laughter and terror are somehow cathartic after a day of work.

The Last-Chance Saloon

THIS year I just had to help with the building of the haunt to feed my addiction and make this last longer. It's an amazing experience. It's like a sauna up on the third floor to the old Union Hotel, but it hasn't been as difficult as one might think. Jeri is amazing! She has the gift to turn an empty third floor into an amazing haunted house. She stays awake at night figuring out how to make a monster out of stuff you would never think of using to build a monster. She lays out the haunt and writes the background story. It's always a work in progress as she finds the things she needs to put together scares that fit the theme and the haunt. My proudest moment was when she told me that I was beginning to think like a real haunter.

Jeri's haunts are based on a background story. This year, it's all about a mad scientist who took over a small town museum to do his dark experiments on re-animation of the dead. It was the golden age of America - the 1950's. Our little town was booming with 2 lumber mills and a flour mill. People were making good money and living the American dream. In the background there was talk about Dr. Stein - the museum curator- and his wierd experiments, but it was a time when people didn't lock their doors and didn't believe that anything bad could happen. That is, until that night when two high school sweethearts disappeared after a trip to the museum. The police closed the place down for weeks and searched it from top to bottom - but couldn't find the young couple. Oddly, they never found Dr. Stein either..... Sad and discouraged, the town left the museum shut down until 2009. But, the kids don't stay away. They are fascinated by the possibility that there is something dark and unexplained lurking in the decaying walls of the museum and they dare each other to go in there.

Your haunted experience starts with a teenager who has been stranded in the museum overnight on a dare. From there, you move from room to room and from one exhibit to the next -looking for the secret of the museum. We've been setting up rooms and building the route you will take through the haunt. I wanted to share some pictures to give you a preview of what is in store for those who will enjoy the haunt from the other side.

Do mules hate raccoons?

Winter is finally starting to loosen its icy grip on us here in the mountains. We have switched from sub-freezing nights to torrential rains and -for today anyway-warm and sunny. If you can believe the computer, though, it's supposed to start raining again on Tuesday.

There is so much standing water on the ground that our poor mules and horses were up to their knees in mud. Our mare, Miss Kelly, looked like a pickup that had been out 4-wheeling in a bog. We decided it was time to put them out in the pastures, even if the ground was still spongy. We put the grown-ups out on the 7 acres and brought Princess Tiger Lilly (our 2-year old mule) and Gunner (a pretty yearling paint) to the field by our house.

Now, everyone knows that mules don't like dogs, so a side benefit of having Princess around is that the neighbor dogs that are let loose by their irresponsible owners to roam the neighborhood are giving our place a wide berth - Yay! no more dog poop to deal with.

I was surprised, however, the other morning. I saw what I thought was a cat coming across the neighbors field -hard to tell exactly what it was when people let their grass get over a foot tall. As soon as it crossed over into our field, though, Princess exploded. She raced across the field and tried to stomp it into the ground. The two of them zigged and zagged across the grass until the smaller animal finally had the presence of mind to throw itself through the far neighbor's split rail fence. It circled back around and finally came back toward the house, being careful to stay on the neighbor's side of the fence. I then realized it was a raccoon! He was out in full daylight at nine o'clock in the morning - highly unusual for a night-dweller. I finally figured out that our mule had kept him at bay the night before so he couldn't get to the leftover catfood on our deck - a nightly ritual on his part that will wake you from a dead sleep with the racket he makes. He was making another desperate attempt to get supper so he could bed down for the day, but Princess wasn't going to let it happen.

I guess the moral of the story is that having a mule will help you keep the dogs, the cougars and now the raccoons out off the property they patrol. Another reason to honor the under-appreciated mule.

Union County Oregon Hunting Report:

TURKEY season is open. Opening day reports suggest that many hens are being seen by hunters indicating little nesting activity and toms that are less receptive to calls. Early season hunters will increase their chances of success by staying out in the field all day. Walking into hunting areas that are not reachable by vehicles can produce enjoyable, uninterrupted hunts. Snow may limit access in the early part of the season.

SPRING BEAR hunting season is open. Look for bears on open South slopes. Hunters should watch bears carefully before taking a shot, to be sure that a sow with cubs is not taken. Cubs are quite small in the early spring and may be hard to see. Early scouting should include checking access to hunting areas that may be snowed in. Many forest roads will be soft with early snow melt, take care not to cause unnecessary ruts. Remember the new rule this year: successful bear hunters checking-in must present an unfrozen skull; otherwise tooth collection and measurement is difficult. Biologists recommend propping the bear’s mouth open with a stick after harvest; it makes for easier tooth collection and measuring.
COUGAR hunting is open. Warmer weather and a rise in snow levels will make tracking more challenging. Hunters should focus there efforts near deer and elk winter range. Setting up about 150 yards downwind of a deer/elk kill site during the twilight hours can be productive. Cougars are attracted to turkey calls; however turkey loads are not legal for harvesting cougars. A shot size of #1 buck or larger or slugs are required for the legal take of cougars with a shotgun. Hunters with cougar tags are advised to carry slugs or buckshot while turkey hunting. Always prop the mouth wide open on harvested cougars and bears, this saves time when biologists pull a tooth. Hunters bringing in frozen heads with the jaw shut will be asked to return at a later date with the jaw open.
COYOTE numbers are strong throughout the county. Using predator calls as a lure and moving call sights after 20 minutes is an effective method for harvesting coyotes.

Remember a lot of land in Union County is owned or used by farmers and ranchers. You need permission to hunt and should always be careful not to damage fencing or leave gates open!

Attention Fishermen: The ice is melted off Wallowa lake, the creeks and rivers are full and fast and it's time to start thinking about trout.

GRANDE RONDE, WALLOWA, IMNAHA RIVERS AND TRIBUTARIES: steelhead, trout
Steelhead angling in the Grande Ronde, Wallowa, Imnaha, Umatilla and Walla Walla rivers is closed as of April 15. These streams will open for trout angling on May 23.

This is truly an amazing wildlife area that few people know about yet. Every time I drive by this wonderful reserve I see new and beautiful birds. For my first post, I wanted to make sure that everyone interested in Eastern Oregon was made aware of this event next week.

The fourth annual Ladd Marsh Birdathon will take place May 8 – 10 at Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area located 6 miles south of La Grande, Oregon.
Commemorating International Migratory Bird Day, the event is scheduled at the height of spring migration and nesting in the Grande Ronde Valley. Few, if any, places in Union County have a more diverse bird population than at Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area. Over 200 species of birds either visit or live permanently at Ladd Marsh.
ONLY ON THIS WEEKEND will birders have the opportunity to explore areas of the wildlife area generally closed to the public, providing increased opportunities to see an abundance of ducks, geese, swans, raptors, shore birds, and passerines.

Here is the Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife link for the event: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/viewing/events/index.asp