First Goose Hunt Of The Season

While I have been working various odd jobs this summer, one of which has been weed eating for some friends who live just outside Bend. I know this landscape well for it is within a stones throw of my old stomping grounds. During the days I was working I had been keeping a watchful eye on the Canada Geese in the adjacent pasture. They started out as small fuzzy awkward goslings and have become full fledged manure spreaders and eaters of fresh grass shoots. Thus leaving the neighbors cattle less than thrilled, not to mention the owners. Ah a sigh of relief washes over me as I here my friend say "you're welcome to come shoot some if you like". My eyes must have lit up like saucers as my friend smiled and nodded in agreement. "Really" I said, "that would be o.k. with you"? She assured me indeed it was. I asked about her neighbors whose pasture the geese were residing on and she encouraged me to talk with them and so I did. They are very nice neighbors and certainly interested in getting the geese to reside elsewhere. I mainly wanted to introduce myself and make sure they were o.k. with me shooting as well as for me to recover a goose if it went on their property. Yes to all the above, in fact the wife also hunted with her dad when she was a young girl and enjoys eating geese too. I told them I'd drop off a goose to them after the mornings hunt and they were excited to fire up the Traeger and smoke the goose whole. I felt my body heave a big sigh of envy with the thought of a Traeger smoked Canada goose. I can only imagine how good that will taste. Alright, another savings fund has started for my own Traeger.

So it was set, that I was to have my first goose hunt of the season. Let me catch you up on this early September goose hunt. The ODFW has a special Canada goose only hunt for a week in early Sept. to reduce the numbers due to an over abundance of geese. There are only specific counties that the hunt takes place in and it is not statewide. So that's how I was able to hunt geese this month.

Now back to my story. I figured it will take me 40 minutes of travel time and then time to grab decoys, headlamp, gun and shells. So that meant a 4 a.m. wake up which hurt a bit just thinking about. Shooting time was 6:10 and I like to have a few minutes to settle in before legal time. Well it all worked well with the exception that the ditch I was planning to lay in now had irrigation water flowing down it, so I had to opt for plan B. which I didn't have but managed to come up with one, being a resourceful hunter and educated in the days of minimalists field comforts.

I found a not so comfortable rock crib to hunker behind and threw some camo netting with weeds over me to break up my outline. I had set out 8 G & H standard goose shells off to my left at about 10 to 20 yards away. The mild temperatures found me quite comfortable wearing my chamois shirt and cotton camo bdu's. It was about 55 degrees and all I was missing was another cup of coffee. I had that to look forward to once I got back to the truck. So, I am all dressed up and waiting for the guests of honor to arrive. The morning is slowly waking up as the vroom of cars, trucks, school buses and farm equipment starts to rumble. Horses are knocking on fencing panels impatiently waiting their morning ration of alfalfa and the geese are starting to be vocal off in the distance. My heart quickens with the first true "honk" that rang through the distant junipers. Oh how I love to be affected by my quarry, it's magical!

I was facing south and the horizon was thinly veiled in cloud cover. To the north I heard more geese and slowly leaned from out behind the rock crib to catch a glimpse of just where the geese were coming from. It was a pair coming in on a string low and close. They passed by and did a fly by over the neighbors pond, then spotted my decoys. I got ready to roll to my knees and timed it well as they passed by just off to my right. I fired twice and dropped one on the first shot and didn't make a good second shot so away it went, all the wiser. The goose landed by the adjacent rock crib and as I got up to go retrieve it, it was standing and ready to take evasive actions. The pursuit began and eventually I was able to reach out and put my gun barrel on its back to stop it before it got to the neighbors fence line. It was either that or a full fledged tackle. With goose in hand I returned to my make shift ground blind behind the rock crib and waited for the next guests to arrive. It didn't take long and a string of 20 or so came from behind off to my left side. They also knew where they wanted to go and I was able to drop another out of this flock. I again hunkered down hoping that maybe one more group would come by, but none did in more than an hour and a half of waiting. That was it and at 8:45 I picked up my decoys etc. and had to get on with the rest of my days obligations.

That cup of coffee was tastier than the earlier cups as I headed out to BLM to pluck and process the birds. Then stopped at the neighbors to thank them and give them a previously processed goose from this past season for their Traeger. Also tossed in a White fronted goose as they have never eaten one of them. Told them that was the fillet mignon of the goose world, none better. What a great morning and I was ready to continue with the final weed wacking of the season. All in all a spectacular day full of everything I enjoy doing, yes even weed wacking.

In approximately 2 weeks I will be out on my Buck only deer hunt. Close to home and sleeping in my own bed, not such a bad deal. Til then enjoy each day and may your shots ring true.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Summer Fun

Hello to one and all. I have been away from the blogoshere although not far from home. Have been enjoying a much needed hiatus from writing this summer and focusing more on outdoor adventures. I have been putting in my share of cycling road miles averaging about 125 miles per week, give or take a few. Also have been doing various summer odd jobs to help keep the frig full. Other than that I am still trying to get my house sold which is like trying to sell sand to the sandman.

Earlier this summer my friend Larry and I successfully completed our Master Hunter certification for Oregon and have since been spending time woodcutting for ourselves and his clients. Just about anything having to do with wood I enjoy and it's especially fun working with him. He spent many years up in Alaska as a Coast Guard helicopter pilot on Kodiak Island and other locations. He tells a good hunting story and I relish the opportunity to be his audience.

Hunting season for me may start with Sage Grouse in September, provided I draw a tag. My friend Dan, his son and I put in together so we'll see. Jet is still pretty much retired and will not go with us for this hunt due to the typically scorching heat. Just not worth taking the chance with her health and ageing hips. She will however go with me for some evening September Dove hunts. Those I am more able to keep a close eye on her activity and physical abilities should she have problems.

I did draw a rifle buck tag for early October but no tag for Elk, which leaves me hunting the general rifle season come mid November. I did consider archery which starts September 1 but opted to keep cycling for that month. Just having to much fun riding this summer to call it quits so early. It is a short cycling season here in the high desert anyhow, and riding indoors is not nearly as enjoyable to maintain my fitness and motivation. Waterfowl season also starts in October and I hope to have a buck hanging at my house or in the freezer by the time I reach for my steel shot and decoys.

Not much else going on right now just getting ready and staying busy as best I can. I will be posting more often come next month and the start of hunting season. Thanks for sticking around and I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful summer.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Oregon Controlled Draw Results

The results for Oregon's controlled hunts are now available online at this link. ODFW
I am rather disappointed as I only drew my buck tag and having 4 points towards my elk tag I thought this was going to be my year, well I figured wrong. So next year I will have 5 points for my elk tag and again I will be cautiously optimistic. I will have 9 points for Antelope also. It takes about 12 points to get the tag I am choosing for Antelope. Well I am getting closer and that counts for something.

Otherwise not a whole going on. Been cutting firewood preparing for next winter and staying busy in my shop. Also doing my best to get in some road bike cycling when the weather permits. It continues to be unseasonable cool and wet this summer. Highs in the upper 40's today with rain and snow at higher elevations. I have been living in Central Oregon since 1993 and haven't seen a Spring this cold, windy and wet as this one. It does bring up concerns for gallinaceous birds and the survival rates of their broods this year. It has been a late season for Mule deer does dropping their fawns too. I hope the weather gets warmer and we actually have a summer this year. Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Nosler Plant Explosian

I was meeting with some friends in town yesterday afternoon when I heard about the explosion. The Nosler factory is on the west side of town (Bend,OR). You could feel the explosion several miles away and fortunately no one was hurt. Read more.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Breakfast With Ginger

Click on link below and have your volume turned on, enjoy!

Breakfast With Ginger

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Master Hunter Program

I apologize for the lack of posts this Spring and truly appreciate your patience, comments and loyalty. Here is an overview of what I've been up to in between rain, snow and wind.

I have been studying and meeting the requirements for Oregon's Master Hunter Test that the Oregon Department Of Fish and Wildlife offers to hunters who have successfully completed their basic Hunter Safety Education. The Master Hunter is a continuation and more involved test than the former. Building upon the basics while also asking more of the student, both in the class room and the field. There are over 125 questions in a study book, covering topics from land use, fire safety, firearms, game care, specialty hunting, first aid, water safety and hypothermia. Plus a myriad of ethical questions that require a full description of your reasoning and how you came to your conclusion. There is a 4 hour class room study session followed by a 50 question multiple answer test. Each student is required to do 20 hours of volunteer service to benefit a natural resource such as BLM, Oregon Hunter's Association, RMEF, DU or similar. A shooting test is also required and consists of shooting a caliber legal to hunt elk in the state of Oregon which happens to be a .25 or larger. The shooting test consists of 5 rounds from 100 yards using a kneeling, sitting or standing position without a rest at an 8" diameter circle, of which 4 of the 5 shots must be within an 8" diameter target. This may sound easy to some of you and I invite you to go try it for yourself. Trust me it's not as easy as it sounds. I used my new(to me) .257 Roberts in Remington that was my friends fathers rifle. It is a real tack driver as they say. This is the best I have ever shot with a rifle, and to say I was thrilled is an understatement! The black on this target defines the 8" diameter.

My friend and I completed the last of our 20 hours on Tuesday. Our paperwork is on its way to Salem to be approved, at which time we will be issued Master Hunter certification cards that will give us precedence for big game emergency hunts. Here is the definition from ODFW, "A hunt held on short notice to resolve an acute game mammal damage problem to livestock, agriculture, or timber."

I have yet to go Spring bear hunting as a result of weather and work. As I write this post it is raining buckets and the winds are steady at 15 with gusts to 40. I guess this year we are going from Winter to Summer without much Spring. Snow level is getting back down there too. On the other hand I continue to plod along with my woodworking picking up dovetail drawer orders here and there. At least enough to keep the lights on and cover my overhead.

Thanks for stopping by and as inspiration finds me I'll be writing and sharing of my escapades here on the pages of Women's Hunting Journal. Hope everyone is having a good Spring and are getting out into the wilds of this wonderful world we live in.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Women's Hunting Journal, 2nd. Birthday

I can hardly believe it has been 2 years that I have been writing on the
pages of Women's Hunting Journal. What started out as a friendly suggestion has taken on a life of its own and an appetite to match. Anyone who blogs knows about what an insatiable appetite blogs have, and the challenge to keep purging content from within oneself. Interesting how the ebb and flow of life is mirrored in all that we do. Striking while the iron is hot is easily done during the hunting season while the days spent afield give way to new experiences and stories to follow.

I wanted to do something fun for the second birthday of Women's Hunting Journal. I've been a hat lover since I can remember and I figured why not splurge, you only go around once. So keeping in the spirit of my passion for hats, I now have Women's Hunting Journal hats for sale. They are cotton twill, low profile cap with a velcro closure and not the high fronted truckers cap. They are Kestrel slate blue with my header logo on front and Integrity For The Hunt on the back. If you are interested in getting one or more please email me with your enquiry. I am not looking to make big money here, just offering a fun, comfortable and well fitting hat at an affordable price.

If anyone else is interested in having hats made I highly recommend contacting Jeremy at Ethic Promotions, Inc.. There is nothing better than working directly with the owner of a business and Jeremy went above and beyond in earning my business. It was clear from the start that he wanted to get it right for me, not anyone else. Not once did I feel pressured or rushed to make a decision or purchase. He had several samples made and sent to me using various materials, styles and sizes at no charge to me. Their turn around time was excellent and working with him was a pleasure. I got exactly what I wanted, a low profile hat that fits my little head perfectly without any bunching in the back where the velcro closure is. In my book that is 100% success in a big way. Here is Jeremy's contact information,
ethicheadwear.com Phone # 888-723-5571 PST.

Thanks again Jeremy for the wonderful hats and excellent customer service!

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Hunting & Blackberries?

I have thought many times about having a lap top computer for writing blog posts and checking emails while I was away from home. Yet each time I have been on hunting trips I have been either to tired, didn't have the time or was enjoying being away from the electronic age. Usually it has been a time factor, considering that when I hunt I am up hours before daybreak and finish my days hunt well after dark if I have to process game. I'll admit I have been slow in the uptake of computers, resisting owning one until early 2001 when I started producing my Quail Flats Gunning Boxes. I sit here at my desk with a desk top computer and still do not to own a lap top. This is only one small way of being connected these days and anymore it has become somewhat outdated. With the advance of cell phones Blackberries, and now I-pads we have become addicted to being connected.

So much so that there are now actual "addictions" that people suffer from. Not to mention the fact that our youth are more overweight now than ever. While there have been some studies showing that certain computer games are good for then brain, I wonder just how much is to much of a good thing?

For me I am fully immersed in hunting when I am hunting. Be it laying for hours and days on end in a ground blind hunting geese or walking slowly during deer and elk season. Either way I am not interested in being connected to social trappings while I hunt. About as close as I get is having my cell phone on me for emergencies and my GPS when hunting big game. Occasionally a thought will run through my head about a blog topic or idea for a post, but that is all. Were I to actually take out my Blackberry and write a quick post I would not be hunting and I just can't seem to mix the two in the field. Hunting is hunting and blogging is blogging. For me they are two completely separate worlds requiring different skill sets, as well as mind sets.

On a hunting trip this past winter I was with a friend who had their Blackberry in the field with them. I could hear it and I found it quite other worldly to what I was doing. It made me wonder about how one spends their time waiting for their quarry to arrive. while still hunting for waterfowl. Also what about all the little things that one doesn't see or experience because of fiddling with the internet or email while being in the field?

So how many other hunters spend time on their Blackberries etc. while actually hunting? I can assure you that for me all I'll be taking in the field is my cell phone and GPS. I am interested to hear your feedback and thoughts on this subject.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

LaCrosse Footwear, An Excellent Company

This past Fall while Jet and I were chasing waterfowl I was wearing my LaCrosse Women's Alphaburly boots and I began to get that cool sensation on the back of my right ankle. I thought to myself, no way can these boots be leaking. They haven't failed me in the year plus that I've been wearing them. After I got back to the cabin, I did a close inspection of my right boot and I'll be darned if there wasn't a small opening where two layers of rubber overlapped. Ummm I thought to myself. So when I got home I scuffed the area and patched it although it never did stay on for long. Even using good contact cement. So my next thought was if LaCrosse Footwear would warranty them, knowing I have had them beyond their 1 year warranty period. I emailed the company and explained the situation to them and was advised to send them in with a note stating the particulars plus return address etc. etc. About a week later I received an email from their consumer sales specialist Ryan McAndrew. He informed me they had received the boots and it was going to be a little while before they got to mine. After a couple weeks Ryan emailed me again and told me that my boots were found defective and that I was credited with a full refund to purchase another pair.

I was thrilled to hear the good news. I thanked Ryan and told him which model I was interested in and the size etc. Within a week I had my new Women's Alphaburly Sport Insulated boots with 800 grams thinsulate ultra. Yea, just in time for the late season White Fronted Goose hunt in the Klamath Basin.

I absolutely love these boots and wear them for all my waterfowl hunting when I'm not in chest high waders.( trust me I hardly ever wear my chest highs) Their customer service is second to none and Ryan was wonderful in returning my emails in a timely manner. If any of you are looking for intermediate footwear of the waterproof variety, give LaCrosse Footwear a good looking over. They come in women's sizes and have a snug ankle fit without any slop. Thanks again Ryan for all your help and wonderful customer service.

Review of Alphaburly Sport Insulated Boots

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Chocolate Espresso Fudge Cakes

Oh my goodness, I thought my brownie recipe was seriously rich with chocolate. This recipe goes to the next level and beyond! While visiting some of my dearest friends who spent their Spring break here at Sunriver in Central Oregon this past week, I was treated to this intoxicating chocolate espresso dessert. It does take a little time to make, yet is well worth it. Also it is a dessert that one can not eat quickly, at least not by me.

Ingredients:

3/4 c. all purpose flour
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa
5 tsp. instant espresso powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. fresh eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 dark chocolate bar finely chopped, such as Valrhona Le Noir or Green and Black's 85% cocoa

Preparation:

1. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup, level w/knife. Add cocoa, espresso powder, baking powder, salt and sift together.

2. In a large bowl add butter and mix at med speed for 1 minute. Add both sugars and blend for approx. 5 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla beating until well blended. Fold flour mixture into sugar mixture, then fold in chocolate.

3. Divide batter evenly among 10 (4-ounce) ramekins. Arrange ramekins on a cookie sheet cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 2 days.

4. Preheat oven to 350

5. Let ramekins stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before cooking. Place in oven uncovered for 21 minutes or until cakes are puffy and slightly crusty on top. Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve hot immediately. The top should be cooked and appear cake like while the inside will have the consistency of pudding.

Servings 10, calories vary depending on type of dark chocolate used.

An ice cold glass of milk is a fine accompaniment to wash down this decadently rich dessert. Also if caffeine keeps you up at night, than I suggest having this wonderful dessert after a fine lunch.

My thanks and appreciation go to my friends Stephanie and Leah for sharing this recipe with me, so that I can share it with all of you. Enjoy!

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity for The Hunt