I was recently discussing the many wild animals I see while traversing around the state of New Hampshire. The gentleman I was speaking with has a background routed in nature and we found common ground with my decades as a scout.
He said the regrowth of the forest over the past decades has contributed a great deal to the population of wildlife here in New Hampshire. I was aware of the fact we now have more forests in New Hampshire than we did just over a century ago. The timber barons once decimated our old growth forests, clear cutting trees and rendering the landscape very poorly. With the loss of the forest, we saw a continual decline in wildlife populations. With the creation of timber management, national forest, state forest and conservation land the forest has once again returned to New Hampshire to a very good degree.
When I was a child growing up in New Hampshire, I would hike most days to Rattlesnake Hill in Concord and enjoy swimming in the long-abandoned granite quarries. I would see the occasional deer or groundhog, but the encounters were few and far between. Today I walk the same area not far from my home and witness with fascination a bountiful array of wildlife, not just deer but bears too. Even the population of smaller animals has seemed to increase with squirrels groundhogs, beavers and skunks to name a few. With a healthy respect for our wildlife, I always maintain my space and do not disturb the many animals encountered along the way.
As I have grown older I have somewhat adopted wildlife that lives near my home. I am aware that you should not feed wildlife for a multitude of reasons, but I confess I am guilty of this sin. It started a number of years ago as I sat in my kitchen sipping a delicious hot coffee. It was a particularly cold winter day. In my peripheral vision I caught sight of a squirrel looking in my back door. A solitary squirrel that inspired me more than I initially realized it would. I tossed a cup of shelled peanuts to my little visitor. He enjoyed them immensely and then we parted company. The next morning, he visited once again and brought a few of his friends along, my exercise with the shelled peanuts continued again and again. I now feed about ten regular squirrel customers each and every morning.
I have found myself recently gazing toward the forested yard after sunset. I now have deer, rabbits, racoons and skunks salvaging the peanuts the daytime squirrel visitors might have missed. As winter will soon approach, I contemplate the animals that will be visiting my yard for dinner.
As my “feeding the animals” routine has continued I have even spotted a bear or two this past summer, fortunately only on my security camera. But my thoughts have wandered at times as I seek the solace of elusive slumber. If I enjoy feeding the wildlife, I would think other people did the same thing right here in Concord a century ago. I conducted a little light research and was quickly introduced to an old land surveyor that lived in East Concord.
His name was Jonathan Eastman and he lived here over a century ago. As I read about Eastman, I realized that we are somewhat alike for we both held a love of wildlife. I limit my encounters but Jonathan Eastman was a bit more daring. You see, he actually had a pet skunk.
Mr. Eastman stated that he would walk his pet skunk much like a person would walk their pet dog. Along he walked and his little skunk followed behind, content to be in the company of Eastman. Many times, he would be seen walking along the road in East Concord at his advanced age over 90 years old. His skunk often cradled in his arms as he traversed the old East Concord neighborhood visiting with curious children desiring to pet his pet skunk. When Eastman encountered a young orphaned skunk in the forest he would reach down and pick it up by the tail, much like you might retrieve a possum. Eastman said he learned his way with skunks from his days in the forest surveying land. Hunters that he encountered to the north in Pigwocket County shared their secrets for safely befriending skunks.
I certainly appreciate and enjoy my encounters with nature. I am now seeing animals that were once on the brink of extinction due to the devastation in the forests prior to protected acts. Wild turkeys are now plentiful, and I will quell your concerns by stating the once numerous rattlesnake population on Rattlesnake Hill is no longer numerous. I have never encountered a venomous snake on Rattlesnake Hill, but there was a time so very long ago.