October 7 - Greetings faithful readers of the Kenoza Lake news. Winter has now officially begun, and the days are already getting longer. Before too long, we will see signs of spring. But before the magic of spring begins, we will be dealing with cold, ice and snow. I see that the ice is beginning to form on White Lake, Sullivan County’s deepest lake.

Soon the ice fishing folks will be out on the ice. My husband Ray says that it seems more people like to ice fish than regular fish. Families love to ice fish because it is a bit like camping, you can have a little campfire, cook, etc. etc. Fun. I note that the Canada Geese have all left now for warmer weather.

Some former residents of Kenoza Lake recently passed away. Mary Hill and James Wood. Our sympathy to the families of both former Kenoza Lake residents. In addition, our sympathy to the Graham family with the recent passing of Jim Graham and to Missy Slater with the passing of her father Ward Blade.

In case you aren’t aware of this, the first part of Whitetail deer season ended on Tuesday, December 20th. (It began on October 1st.) The deer have a few days off now to enjoy Christmas before one more hunting event, the new Holiday hunt which runs from December 26th to January 1st. Last year, after a lot of nonsense, back and forth about local determination, the NYS DEC Commissioner, Basil Seggos ignored the local determination (whereby the Sullivan County Legislators opted out of the Holiday Hunt for 2021) and allowed the first Holiday Hunt.

By adding in the Holiday Hunt will bring the total number of hunting days to 88 days. (Back in 1982, the deer season in Sullivan County was 66 days long. A 33% increase.) I am AGAINST the Holiday Hunt. Why you say? Some bucks will have shed their antlers, so some bucks will be shot. Most does will be bred by then, so a doe and fawn will be shot.

This is going to be a rough winter for the deer. The deer are already desperately looking for food to eat, as we have had frozen snow on the ground for almost two weeks now. Folks are out hiking in the woods too.

In my humble opinion, the DEC has really messed the end of the hunting season by introducing the Holiday Hunt, local determination, no local determination, DEC determination. Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill earlier this week that would have allowed local determination on the Holiday Hunt.  Suffice it to say, that the deer will at least get to celebrate Christmas and then, will be hunted again, one last time.  What is the rationale for the Holiday Hunt? Last year, the NYS DEC Commissioner Basis Seggos said the following:

“As part of our ongoing efforts to capitalize on the growing interest in hunting, we’re excited to announce that beginning this December (2021), the Holiday Deer Hunt will provide new opportunities for New Yorkers and visiting hunters to venture afield during a time when families and friends are gathered together for the holidays and students are home on school break,” said Commissioner Seggos. “The extended season is also a great time for younger hunters to go afield with experienced mentors and nurture their knowledge and skills as responsible members of the hunting community.”

So, with that rationale, why not allow hunting the weekend of Martin Luther King weekend? Hey DEC, why not Presidents’ Day weekend? Hey DEC, let’s have hunting at Easter time!  What’s the difference between that and having hunting between Christmas and New Years Day? Food for thought.

It seems to me, that year by year, we lose track of the original reason for the celebration of Christmas, namely, the birth of Jesus. It is getting rarer and rarer for people to say Merry Christmas. Last night I watched the Ukraine President Zelensky’s speech to joint session of Congress.  Notwithstanding President Zelensky’s proposed banning of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, I took note how many times he mentioned Christmas.

If you are looking to capture the real meaning of Christmas, may I invite you to the Kenoza Lake United Methodist Church’s Christmas Eve service? It starts at 7:00 pm.  Open to all. It will touch your soul.

For me, the Christmas Eve Candlelight service, as well as the end of Charlie Brown’s Christmas show really capture the real meaning of Christmas for me.  In case you forget, at the end of Charlie Brown’s Christmas show, Charlie Brown asks Linus what the real meaning of Christmas is.  Linus tells Charlie Brown that he Linus, will tell him what the real meaning of Christmas is.  And then Linus reads the below, from the King James version of the Bible, Luke 2. The Christmas Story:

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

May I wish you all, a very Merry and Joyous Christmas. I hope that you get to capture and experience the wonder of Christmas. Joyeux Noel.

Merry Christmas, happy Hannukah and happy Kwanzaa.