Well, if you are part werewolf and part historian like me, you are certainly aware of the fact that we have just experienced a hunter's moon.The native Americans took this full moon in October as a signal that it was time to start hunting and curing meat for the winter months. They didn't have microwaves and grocery stores; so they relied on nature and instinct for survival.They also did not have Washington looking after them, and that was a good thing. I don't know about you folks, but I am mighty glad that the circus in Washington has closed --at least temporarily.
Our forefathers also knew how to live off of the land. Have you ever been asked the question,"why do you hunt"? I have, and I think that this hunter's moon has helped me define my answer. I hunt for the same reason that I eat and breathe. It is in my DNA code, and it is a part of who I am and my heritage. Hunting also gives me a connection to the land, a connection I can't ignore. I feel sorry for people stuck in front of televisions or computers who no longer relish the changing of the seasons and the richness and smell of the earth. We hunters hunt because we love the outdoors,we love the excitement and challenge, and we enjoy eating what we are fortunate enough to bag.
In conclusion, let me just say that this is our first week of the quail hunting season at Riverview. God has blessed us with a crisp fall weather for our opening week. We got just enough rain to make the scenting conditions good for the dogs, and we have had some hunters actually manage to shoot a quail. I am tickled for that because I am real tired of my guides shooting birds under the guise of "dog training". We had better have some of the best handling dogs in years based on the amount of shooting I was hearing last week in our final preseason tune up prior to the real thing.If you have not booked your hunt for this season, i would encourage you to call soon. Open dates on our reservation calendar are disappearing fast!
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Fall season
My favorite season of the year is fall. I think that southerners probably appreciate fall more than anyone.After living through repressive,heat,humidity,and bugs for so long,that first hint of cooler,drier air feels like the breath of God promising better times ahead.It was 51 degrees here this morning with almost no humidity in the air. Fall is also the time of the year when Mother Nature shoots for her grand finale. There is an explosion of colors and smells. It reminds me of the end of the big fireworks shows on the Fourth of July.
And,of course, there is the smell of gunpowder in the air as hunters take to the woods again in the timeless tradition of their ancestors.I was disappointed upon renewing my hunting license to see that they had not added a couple of Congressmen to my bag limit. All of our winter grass has come up around the lodge grounds now, and we are running water sprinklers day and night. The soft,damp ground attracts the armadillos. Armadillos,like Congressmen, serve no useful purpose, and only destroy our beautiful grounds.
However, there is no bag limit on these pests,and we have declared open season on them. My only concern is that someone will drive up one night and catch me walking around in my underdrawers in the middle of the night with a miner's lamp on my head and a shotgun in my hand. I'm afraid that they might send someone with a butterfly net to catch me.
We open the 2013-2014 quail hunting season next weekend, and we are all ready to get started!
And,of course, there is the smell of gunpowder in the air as hunters take to the woods again in the timeless tradition of their ancestors.I was disappointed upon renewing my hunting license to see that they had not added a couple of Congressmen to my bag limit. All of our winter grass has come up around the lodge grounds now, and we are running water sprinklers day and night. The soft,damp ground attracts the armadillos. Armadillos,like Congressmen, serve no useful purpose, and only destroy our beautiful grounds.
However, there is no bag limit on these pests,and we have declared open season on them. My only concern is that someone will drive up one night and catch me walking around in my underdrawers in the middle of the night with a miner's lamp on my head and a shotgun in my hand. I'm afraid that they might send someone with a butterfly net to catch me.
We open the 2013-2014 quail hunting season next weekend, and we are all ready to get started!
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Lodge Grounds clean-up
The crops are all harvested except for our late season milo that we plant behind our spring sweet corn crops.Most all of our hunting course preparation work is complete with the exception of woods road maintenance and mowing our jeep trails through the woods. While Ronnie was mowing jeep trails yesterday on the Yates place, he bumped into one of the largest hornet nests that I have seen in years. He was a happy camper to be in a tractor with a cab because he took some photos with his IPhone of the swarm of hornets surrounding his tractor. We are making plans to get rid of those bad boys before the Federal government tries to add them to the endangered species list along with the eastern diamondback rattler. Somehow, I do not think that many of our guests could outrun a bunch of angry hornets.
While Ronnie was lucky to be in a cab tractor, the same cannot be said for Jarvis. Most of our crew have moved to the lodge grounds for our fall clean up. Jarvis was weed eating along the edge of the lodge lake when he ran his weed eater over a ground nest of yellow jackets. I had no idea that Jarvis was that fast. I happened to be watching him as he broke the world record for the 100 yard dash. I have never seen yellow jackets give up so quickly. The only small problem has been convincing Jarvis to retrieve his weed eater. At my last check,it was still right there on the ground by the nest. However, we will take care of those insects also.
We have pruned,mowed, and planted all of our winter grass around the cottages. In another week, it will really look like quail hunting season here. that's a good thing because it is just around the corner with our first guests arriving on Oct.17th.
While I realize that the NSA will read my blog, I just have to close by expressing my disgust with our dysfunctional government in Washington. Whatever happened to compromise and statesmanship? Wouldn't Mark Twain and Will Rogers have a good time lampooning these clowns we have in Washington today! I would like to criticize them more vocally myself,but I am not overly anxious to incur an IRS audit.
While Ronnie was lucky to be in a cab tractor, the same cannot be said for Jarvis. Most of our crew have moved to the lodge grounds for our fall clean up. Jarvis was weed eating along the edge of the lodge lake when he ran his weed eater over a ground nest of yellow jackets. I had no idea that Jarvis was that fast. I happened to be watching him as he broke the world record for the 100 yard dash. I have never seen yellow jackets give up so quickly. The only small problem has been convincing Jarvis to retrieve his weed eater. At my last check,it was still right there on the ground by the nest. However, we will take care of those insects also.
We have pruned,mowed, and planted all of our winter grass around the cottages. In another week, it will really look like quail hunting season here. that's a good thing because it is just around the corner with our first guests arriving on Oct.17th.
While I realize that the NSA will read my blog, I just have to close by expressing my disgust with our dysfunctional government in Washington. Whatever happened to compromise and statesmanship? Wouldn't Mark Twain and Will Rogers have a good time lampooning these clowns we have in Washington today! I would like to criticize them more vocally myself,but I am not overly anxious to incur an IRS audit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)