For some puppies, wrestling is a favorite game. Dogs can also use wrestling to communicate with each other, as well as to burn off excess energy. Most of the play puppies engage in is a form of practice for adult dog behavior. * * * At Orvis, we believe in the power of nature to … Continue reading “Play-Fighting”
Read Moremoment of chill
Visions of Sugar Plums
The average dog sleeps 12 to 14 hours per day, but older dogs—such as Suki who is 13—often require up to 18 hours. English Setters like Suki are active dogs, and they need a lot of sleep to recharge their batteries. * * * At Orvis, we believe in the power of nature to replenish … Continue reading “Visions of Sugar Plums”
Read MorePlaying in the Yard
Mating pairs of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) spend the winter months living in dens dug into the ground. These dens usually have an oval entrance, which allows quick exit at full speed, and they are usually built within a few hundred yards of water. Kits are usually born in late March or April, and the … Continue reading “Playing in the Yard”
Read MoreClear-Water Beauty
Among the world’s most beautiful freshwater fish, brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) inhabit only the coldest and cleanest water. In fact, the presence of brook trout is an indicator of the health of a watershed—demonstrating that a stream or river ecosystem is in proper balance and that water quality is excellent. Although the brook trout is … Continue reading “Clear-Water Beauty”
Read MoreFirst Snow
Bernese mountain dogs are named for the Swiss canton of Berne, where the breed was first popularized, although the breed has its origins in the Molosser dogs of the Romans. These were large, mastiff-like dogs that drove and guarded the cattle herds of the invading armies. In Switzerland, Bernese mountain dogs served as general farms … Continue reading “First Snow”
Read MoreTrigger Tails
Queen triggerfish (Balistes vetula) may not be as glamorous as the “big three” flats species—bonefish, tarpon, and permit—but they are a challenging, worthy quarry for fly fishers. Triggers often tail like permit and will eat a well-placed bonefish fly. They can be just as picky as other flats game fish, and their hard mouths make … Continue reading “Trigger Tails”
Read MoreSupreme Confidence
Although large brown trout feed mostly on baitfish and insect larvae, they will come to the surface when there is a large insect hatch. You can tell how confident this fish is by the way it stays near the surface, calmly sipping bugs. In a river where eagles or ospreys prey on trout, this fish … Continue reading “Supreme Confidence”
Read MoreWaiting for the Fall
The final stage of a mayfly’s life cycle is called an “imago” or “spinner,” and clouds of these mating insects are often visible dancing in the air above a river. Spinners are usually easy to identify by their transparent wings, extra-long tails, and large eyes. The aquatic insects are born in the streambed and live … Continue reading “Waiting for the Fall”
Read MoreWhite Night Salmon
Much of Russia’s Kola Peninsula—one of the world’s last great Atlantic salmon fishing regions—sits above the Arctic Circle, so the weeks around the summer solstice provide almost 24 hours of daylight. This means that anglers can cast Spey rods for salmon around the clock. The salmon spend most of their lives in the Barents Sea … Continue reading “White Night Salmon”
Read MoreAutumn in the Grouse Woods
In the Northeast, ruffed grouse often live on overgrown farmland, which offers mixed hardwoods, a thick understory, as well as old apple trees. You often need to invest some boot leather to find the birds, but what sends us to the woods every autumn is less the chance to fill a game bag and more … Continue reading “Autumn in the Grouse Woods”
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