Monday, January 29, 2007

Back to the desert again......

Well we went out to the desert again... My brother Bern, Tom and my self... another beautiful day.. no clouds or rain like they predicted at home. The temps were a lot warmer as in above freezing and no wind. One picture is a scenery shot of the open desert with the mountains we hunt around the birds were so thick that we shot them right up to the truck. Notice i did not say bagged the birds. I sure shot at a few and missed a lot. Which is good because it was the end of the season and these birds will be there next year and their offspring. Tom is holding a few he bagged from one walk and Bern is just taking a break from all the shooting he did. as for me i got a few and one little bunny.. After last week where Cody bagged 2 jack rabbits i thought i should get at least one for this weeks dinner.. Only a cotton tail is a whole lot smaller than i though and probably will be the last one i shoot, just not a whole lot to them.. not for the work.. Well like i said this was the end of the season for quail and this also marked 30 years of me quail hunting out there..i have seen a lot of changes some good some bad. weather patterns really play a big part in how many animals multiply and survive the year. Human intervention really has not played a major part in it all.. Our government senators who want to make an eternal icon to them selves have " preserved the area" its still the same only creating a personal play ground for those who have access to closed roads which by the way is not us.. i would love to take some pictures of the Indian petroglyphs but to hike that far with a camera instead of water, i think not. Until then they shall remain in my mind.. that's all till next weekends adventure......


Friday, January 26, 2007

Back to the Desert



Well i forgot the camera again.. but lucky for me my brother did not.. it was cold out there in the morning.. it was 29 deg. for the low and by noon it was up to 70... The quail were thick and my shooting was not on target. I started out very good and finished with a whimper.. I knew it was time to quit when i shot at bird going away, nailed it, it dropped, we all saw it laying on the sand only to see it jump up and take off running. It was running so fast that you could see dust being kicked up behind it... I was gone.. I am sure the coyotes ate well that night. Cody wanted to bring his 17 cal. riffle that he won last summer to shoot jack rabbits.. I told him that we do not just shoot things to kill them. We eat what shoot. well late morning he spied a rabbit and shot it... number 1... he carried it back and we cleaned it and put it on ice... about an hour later i told him he could take one more.. so he did.. again another cleaning and on ice... the jack rabbits are very good sized here.. Well it had been a very long time since i had rabbit so i soaked in a brine overnite then marinade the next nite and a slow cook on the BBQ the next. WOW it was fantastic.. Cody likes it better than Quail and i was quite surprised with the mild flavor as in the lack of gamy taste. Would i bag a few more next time Yes in fact i leave tonite to do it again.. Quail season closes Sunday the 27th... so its my last hunt for the season... Now Cody get one more hunt. He put a reservation card in for the Youth Waterfowl hunt and he got drawn number 2... very good he should be getting a good blind. The Youth hunt is for kids 15 years and younger. It is a week after the season closes so the birds have settled down and only the kids get to hunt. I get to be bird dog, caller and decoy set up and take down.. more on this after next Saturday..... i will not forget the camera.. well i do have one pic of Cody with a Jack Rabbit and one of me and a final bird..

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Another Birthday

OK-to start with i forgot the camera, twice... First it was on Friday night when Cody and I went to the hockey game it was his birthday. The Anaheim Ducks played against the Columbus Blue Jackets... what a game the Ducks had a 3-0 lead with less than 7 min. to play only to watch the Blue Jackets score a goal... well one is OK... not... then with 2 min. to play they scored another 3 goals... it was awesome if you are a Blue Jackets fan... and during the game i had a new cell phone for him and had not given it to him.. well during the game it rang and so i handed it to him and told him happy birthday this call is for you.. it was his mother who was working and called to wish him a happy birthday..... his sister also called later that night to wish him the same... very sweet of her... On Saturday evening Cody's friend Adam was over so we asked him if he wanted to go to dinner and cart racing with us... he did.... after dinner we headed out to Speed Zone for some cart racing... we let the them two race by them selves.. Oh how i wish we had the camera... the first track was a slick track.. i lost the bet that they would not make one lap before they crashed.. The smiles on their faces was great.. after that it was of to the faster carts... well half way through the race Cody lost steering control on his cart bounced off the walls three times before coming to rest wedged under the guard rail, it was complete with a magnificent shower of sparks.. It shut down the race for over 5 minuets so they could drag off his cart and put him into another one... well after a hard nite of racing we headed to Krispy Kreme Donuts just to get their sugar level back up... well that's all for this weekend cannot wait for the next........