12/26/08 A QUICK WALK TO THE PICKUP

Friday, 9:00 AM. Wind SSW, calm. The sky is overcast and the barometer predicts snow, of which a couple of inches fell again last night.
We went to a little dinner party at Dot and Grandon Harris’ last night, eight of us “holiday orphans” without family nearby. We had a delightful time, and a lot of stories were told. I found out that the two ferry tracks are indeed so the ice will move from side to side, also on good authority that they will stop running after the weekend.
Heard from Dan Nourse, whose family has managed the area’s largest sugar bush for generations, that he had an encounter with a wolverine, a very nasty large predator in the weasel family. It has black-brown fur with lighter colorations somewhat like a skunk, which it smells like as well. It is one of the rarest mammals in North America. I have heard that years back, in the U.P., when a wolverine appeared in an area the kids were kept home from school until it was dispatched or driven out. Dan said one followed him recently, snarling, to his pickup, which he was glad to reach and jump into. They can take down a deer, and even a large bear will stay out of their way. Such an encounter is one of those “glad it happened, don’t need to do it again,” kind of experiences.