February started out where January left off warm and wet. We had another rainstorm yesterday that washed away all of the snow again. There is yet another rainstorm today. This has been one of those warm winters that never really seems to get started. We have had very little real cold weather in stark contrast to the below zero weather that we had last year. Winter sure is bleak without a blanket of snow. Not to mention how much I miss getting out on cross country skis. It is not over yet but the days are already noticeably longer and the sun has gotten some real strength.
I saw a large flock of Cedar Waxwings at the end of the road yesterday morning. They were all fluffed up and looked much bigger than I know they are. We don't normally see them in big bunches until spring is nearly here. I just got my spinning reels back from being repaired, the boat is set to go for annual maintenance in the next month or so, can spring be far off?
For those of you in the mid Atlantic region I will be speaking next month (March 6 &7) in the Philadelphia area. At a regular meeting of theDelaware Valley Women's Fly Fishing Association on Monday and the Philadelphia Anglers on Tuesday at noon. As it works out I will need to be back home on Wednesday to take my refresher first aid and CPR class. So it will not be a leisurely trip. If you belong to a group that has speakers at their meetings I would be delighted to come and talk about my corner of the world. Even if you are far away there is a chance that I might already be headed in you direction and could simply add you to my schedule.
I have been asked to submit a proposal to the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies for Coordination of the "North American Conservation Education Strategy". It has been a lot of desk work to get all 15 pages written but I am very close to being finished and might even have a chance of winning the contract.
I will be sending out a printed newsletter to our current customers sometime in the next month or so. Look for it in your mailbox. I heard from many folks last summer that an electronic newsletter did not take the place of the printed one that I had sent in the past so I'll send one out just for fun.
I am also working with our web contractor to add the ability to download files from the online store. At first I intend to offer a transcript of the Guides Business Seminar available for download. But that is only the beginning there are a number of excellent possibilities including Video podcasts. There are some fun possibilities to consider.
I hope that you have been enjoying the winter so far and are already planning to get back into the Maine Outdoors. Call or e-mail if you know when you will be in the area and let's arrange a time together.
Best regards,
Don Kleiner
Master Maine Guide
