Spring Goose Hunt

I am preparing my gear for the White Fronted and Snow goose hunt in the Klamath Basin which begins on this Saturday. My friend Jackie will be hunting with me on opening day before she returns to the bay area on Sunday. A few weeks ago I wrote about when we hunted the last weekend of the regular season. This was her first time ever goose hunting and she did get her first goose, what an experience. Pt.1/Pt.2. She is once again eager and ready to get after them and has purchased a Final Approach Express ground blind and some other water fowling gear to use this time. I am relatively sure that we have a new waterfowl hunter in our midst. She is talking of next season already, this is a good sign! I too have some new items to field test, cabin test and will report my results when I return. Jet too is ready to get back in the field and enjoy some mild weather hunts. Sure hope to get her a few birds, that would be great.

The weather has been unseasonably warm and mild which I hope translates into the Northern migration having begun. This year we can harvest 2 White Fronted Geese and 4 Snow Geese per day. I have yet to shoot a Snow goose and am really curious to find out for myself if they taste as bad as I've heard. If so then perhaps thuringer is the way to go with them. I know that Specs (aka White Fronted) are the best goose out there and I am already licking my chops just thinking about getting a few of them back home. Have even bought a hundred Texas Rags for the Snow Goose decoys and am looking forward to seeing just how well they work. They are sure time consuming in their initial set up. Certainly something to do prior to the hunt.

That's all for now, will catch up next week with a hunting report and some photos. Also will let you know how the new gear and decoys work.

Otherwise I have been watching the Olympics and rooting for the home team. Sure were some wicked falls in the women's D.H., I can't watch those crashes, just hurts to damn much. Sure am happy for Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso's results. Congratulations Team U.S.A.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Inspiration, Motivation and Dedication

I am dedicating this post to Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Georgian luge athlete who was tragically killed during a training run yesterday at the Vancouver Winter Games. I am sure that most of you have heard about or seen the accident during the opening ceremonies last night. I was deeply saddened after hearing the news. I give my sincerest heartfelt condolences to his team mates, family and friends. I am glad the Georgian team has chosen to stay and participate in the games, honoring their friend Nodar. It certainly goes without saying that there has been a shadow cast over the games. Even so, in the true spirit of competition these athletes will push themselves in ways they never realized or thought possible. In fact it has already begun.

Some of you may wonder why I have chosen to write this post, when it strays seemingly quite a distance from the blog title of Women's Hunting Journal. Well, let me say that my life before I reached 30 was dedicated to becoming an Olympian. While I never did make the U.S. Ski Team that was my goal and ultimately the Olympics. I chose to to forgo much of the social life of the typical teenager for the pursuit of my passion for ski racing. For me I didn't feel as though I missed or gave up any part of being a kid while chasing my athletic dreams. That was my choice and I loved everything about it, even the not so good days. There is a satisfaction and pride within ones self that is a result of being dedicated in doing the work to attain such lofty goals. While injuries prevented me from reaching my ski racing goals the desire and passion from those years has continued to serve me well throughout my life. The basic building blocks of character which is proudly displayed on all the faces of our young Olympians is, for me a source of great pride and inspiration.

Perhaps you've noticed yourself or friends giving that extra bit of effort at work recently. Or you are working out with more enthusiasm and dedication. Well, me too and I plan to continue to draw upon the Olympics for that extra nudge to continue with more focus and attitude. Soon Spring Goose season will start and then comes Bear hunting. I am fortunate to be healthy and not nursing a torn knee ligament like last year at this time. Provided I draw a Spring Bear tag I will be eager and ready to get after it!

The percentage of individuals who can call themselves Olympians is quite small, this is why the prize is of enormous proportions. Equally are the efforts put forth by these young Olympians. You'll never find a better opportunity(in my opinion) for inspiration and motivation than watching these amazing athletes. I will be glued to the TV and other media sources during the next 16 days, especially for the Alpine Skiing events. I will also be glued to my bike on my indoor trainer as well. Enjoy the games everyone and say a prayer for the safety of the athletes, coaches, trainers and especially the family, friends and members of the Georgian Luge Team.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

35 Years In The Making, A Goose Hunt Pt. 2

After a short hunt on Thursday afternoon we had a wonderful dinner and got ready for an early start on Friday. The alarm sounded at 5:oo a.m. and we hit the floor and got the coffee started, followed by a fire in the wood cook stove. Grabbed a quick breakfast for the field and left the cabin at 6:15. We had the decoys all set out by shooting time at 7:o2 and now it was up to the geese to do their part.

We spent many hours tucked away in our ground blinds as the snow, sleet and rain squalls passed over us without any real discomfort. We had light to moderate S.S.W. winds which gave the Spec Full Body decoys, excellent eye catching movement. The weather was just fine and we were both being patient waiting for the geese to start flying. We heard several talking amongst themselves not to far away, at least as distance goes when your waiting it out. After several hours we decided to take a break and head to the cabin for lunch then come back out for the afternoon hunt. It was good to get out of our cocoons and stretch the legs a bit. We didn't stay to long in the cabin and resumed our posts by early afternoon and Jet joined us. I re arranged the decoys a bit just because that is the typical thing a hunter does if there haven't been any geese coming by. We waited and waited and waited some more. I took Jet back to the truck with an hour left of legal hunting light. She was out of patience and not enjoying being still. Then I resumed my position. It was quitting time on Friday evening and even though we never fired a shot we did see some geese flying and moving, just not in our direction. As I have observed for many, many years I knew that the geese had their own flight plans filed and were sticking to them. Trying to call them in was going to be a challenge.

Again we broke down our decoys and stashed everything against the dike. Making sure to cover the decoy heads so they didn't get rained on and frozen. That doesn't help the realism factor in the early morning hours. Rambled back to the cabin and had a wonderful dinner and got ready for our last morning hunt of the year. We decided to not leave the cabin quite as early cause the geese didn't fly til well after shooting light.

After a good nights sleep we got up and got back out there to our ground blinds and were set up before 7:30 A.M. We heard the geese chatting it up from the usual direction and we remained optimistic. I have had geese come in to my decoys in stealth mode, totally silent til all I heard was the beating of their wings as they made their final approach. That's pretty much one of those adrenaline infusions that warms you instantly from head to toe as your eyes become saucers and your heart pounds like a bass drum in your ears. drowning out every other sound. I kept telling Jackie it can happen at any moment, just be ready. Or if one decides to answer the call of mother nature, or stretch their legs, or fiddle with the decoys, these are the times that quite often the geese will point themselves in your direction.

It wasn't much later that we saw and heard a couple geese heading our way. I told Jackie to stay down and don't move. Whatever you do just don't move! There were 3 Canada Geese flying directly at our location and they weren't to terribly high either, though they were still out of range. They were vocalizing and as they came over us I gave them a short acknowledgement call and that was all. Sometimes less is more and this was certainly one of those times. They swung over us twice eyeballing every detail on the ground, making sure the decoys were legitimate and that no predators were lurking around the dike. I gave them another short call and they seemed confident in their assessment. On their third pass after they swung over the dike they began dropping in elevation and began to stretch out their landing gears while spotting their landing amongst the decoy. I could hardly believe my eyes when they began to come in for a landing. I was adrenalined up full throttle and kept telling Jackie "don't move, don't move," and as they began to back peddle with their wings and were a foot or two above the decoys I yelled, NOW! We both sprang up and let both barrels go. We had two geese on the ground cripples with broken wings. We reloaded to try and get the third, yet he had gained to much distance and managed to scathe away. I was running to catch my goose and I told Jackie to shoot again, and she made a good shot on her goose. I was able to catch up with mine and dispatch him without having to shoot again.

We were thrilled and it was only 9:00 in the morning. Unbelievable I told Jackie, that is the hardest thing to do decoying late season Canada's. She was speechless with excitement and could hardly stand it. I was amazed at how well she held tight and didn't move a muscle. Hell, it's hard for a seasoned veteran to not twitch when you've got those big geese circling your decoys. They look closer than they are because of their size and you have to wait and let them get to within real shooting range. Jackie couldn't believe how fast she was able to sit up in the ground blind and shoot and didn't even remember how she did it. That's good, nothing like be present and fully in the moment. We celebrated and I congratulated Jackie on her first goose ever and what a goose it was! A well educated late season Canada Goose. They don't come much smarter than that. We did a good job to conceal ourselves and not wiggle. Also setting up the decoys far enough away from the dike to give the real birds the illusion of safety, yet being just within range.

We got settled back in and waited for another hour or so then we headed to the cabin for lunch and to process our birds. After shooting the geese Jackie was having a challenging time of sitting still. A bad case of ants in the pants one might say. We had a fun time going back over the scenario and did so for the rest of the trip. We finished the day at 5:09 P.M. and broke our set after nothing else flying the entire afternoon. Bagged everything up and readied our gear for home. Jet was happy to see us and we had some great food all the while replaying our few moments of excitement over and over and over. I'll tell you, nothing like being with an old friend whose never shot a goose or even waterfowl hunted til 2 days before then shoots her first Honker! That's a moment I'll never forget. Congratulations Jackie, you hunted hard, were patient, a great student and shot like a seasoned veteran! Looking forward to our next hunt and thanks for the great memories.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

35 Years In The Making, A Goose Hunt Pt. 1

Little did I know who was coming my way via Facebook last summer. None other than a friend I had lost touch with during my teen years. It was wonderful to reconnect with Jackie after a lifetime of years and miles. We conversed and emailed often, eventually coming to find out she has property near my home. Although she resides and works in N.Cal. she makes frequent trips to my neck of the woods. Among our early conversations we found a common interest in firearms. She has been shooting on a skeet league for a few years now and was totally up for a hunt.

Ah, the stage was being set and I offered her an invite to go waterfowl hunting with me this year. She was excited at the idea and had all kinds of questions regarding gear, shells, etc. etc. I told her to make sure she had good rain gear and enough layers underneath for seriously cold temps and I'd take care of everything else. Not a problem she said and even though her clothing was not camo I told her not to worry, as she'd be in my Final Approach ground blind covered from head to toe and brushed in. She didn't fully understand the language I was speaking, yet she was game for learning.

So it was that we set some dates to hunt for late season geese in S.W. Oregon in the Klamath Basin specifically. The date she headed N. was also during one of the biggest storms of the year and it took her 12 hours including having to chain up to get to my home. Usually it's a 7 hour drive comfortably. It was clear to me that Jackie was still just as gritty and adventurous now, as in our youth. That's not to say that we still don't push the envelope a tad just for sake of doing so. It does keep life exciting that way. After a quick hello and relaxing for a bit we made plans for our morning departure and I gave her a brief overview of what I expected to find where we'll be hunting . It all sounded great to her even though the waterfowl numbers have been low this season. Jackie has spent a good deal of her life in the outdoors and is quite knowledgeable , so I knew a little rain or snow wasn't going to be a problem. The outdoors is where we both are most at ease and I was really looking forward to sharing my love of waterfowling with her.

We left early the next morning, excited and caffeine'd up. Once we got our gear stowed in the cabin we headed out for an afternoon hunt and some recon. The Klamath River was wide open with zero shelf ice and unfortunately no ducks in sight either. We did see some Canada geese on the upper Klamath Lake some 25 miles N.N.E. on our way to Lowlands. I kept the boat hooked up to my truck and backed it into the boat launch area and parked. We were going to hunt the field side of the river dike. This way if we did get a cripple that landed in the river we were ready to retrieve it aided by my boat and a 15 H.P. Mercury outboard. Geese are very fast paddlers and I have lost more than one by not getting to it before it reached a cut bank and hid. We began to shoulder decoy bags, shovels, ground blind and the usual gear. We walked about a 1/4 mile in stubble that was well worn from winter's wrath. As the temperatures warmed so did the ground and the clay in the soil began sticking to our boots. Just like it did when I was a kid hunting the pear orchards for Pheasants in the Rogue Valley. It made for awkward footing and an ongoing task of slinging it off whenever it got to heavy. None the less we made it to where we were going to hunt the next several days and began to dig in- Yes, really physically dig in our ground blinds with a shovel into the face of the dike. Then brush over ourselves so as to be flush with the face of the dike and disappear from the sharp & experienced eyes of late season honkers.

Jackie was fully engaged and having a ball. I wish I had given her the shovel sooner as she is a digger extraordinaire! As we began setting out the decoys Jackie was just beside herself with the landscape and hearing geese off in the distance. She watched as I began attaching heads to bodies (G & H 747) of the field shells and jumped right in. Then we set up the GHG full bodied Spec decoys too. In all we had a couple dozen deeks and with the light S.W. wind we had the Spec decoys had excellent movement. I helped her get situated in the Final Approach Eliminator ground blind then brushed her in. She was happy and ready for whatever and whoever to come flying into range. Not long after I got settled in she was asking "how do you shoot from here"? I said "you throw the top back and sit up and let them have it, just as quick as you can". I told her not to worry that it's much easier when it happens for real then trying to think out all the steps individually. Your reactions will take care of themselves, it's instinctual to a large degree.

Mmm she replied, O.K. and so we waited and talked about all sorts of things. Mostly hunting related and every now and then we'd hear a goose off in the distance, but nothing close. Although when you're with someone who has never hunted geese every goose they hear is exciting and it rubs off on you too. Made me remember back to my early years. A new hunter's enthusiasm is contagious and I was having a blast. The first afternoon came to an end all to quickly and as we broke our set and stashed the decoys, Jackie was giving me the run down of our evening dinner menu. Let's just say she cooked up some wonderful meals including homemade French Bread with fresh Rosemary and Cracked Pepper. It was well worth the wait.

With two more full days left of hunting our enthusiasm was still running high. These were the last days of the 2009/10 waterfowl season and patience was a pre requisite for late season goose hunting. Good things come to those who wait, or at least that's what my mom used to tell me.
I'll let you know how it all turned out and if Jackie got her first goose or not.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

One Last Hunt

Heading out early to the Klamath Basin in the morning. Hopes of crossing paths with some late season Canada Geese or perhaps even northerly migrating Specs. Considering the weeks of recent warm temps and lack of snow (I am not complaining) I may be pleasantly surprised. With the current storms pounding the Sierra's and dumping rain in the Ca. lowlands there just might be an early return north. That thought keeps me optimistic and even if this hunt over the next few days proves to be somewhat of a bust, I remain optimistic for Feb. and the depredation Spec and Snow Goose hunt.

I am not anticipating much shelf ice left in the Klamath Rv. although I do expect whatever birds are there to be actively looking for food and at least stretching their wings once a day if not twice. Storms have a way of getting critters moving if their not to intense. A little rain and snow squall is not a grounding event for waterfowl. Mind you 40 plus mph winds can be and are most of the time. I have seen days so windy that not even the Eagles and raptures were flying. Everyone and everything was completely grounded and after realizing such I had to ask myself what the heck was I doing out there? My answer is still the same, don't know if I don't go. Some days hunting is nothing more than the opportunity for a walk surrounded by natures beauty, knowing you've got about a snow balls chance in hell of ever firing a shot. None the less, hunting is about being out there in wild places and less about shooting. Anymore I see the aspect of shooting while hunting more of a bonus. Kinda like getting a wiggle when you're fishing. Get's the old heart to skip a beat and gets your attention like nothing else can. Seeing sunrises like this one in the photo are worth getting up early for, no matter what. Makes me thankful to be alive and appreciate the small stuff.

I am looking forward to a few days laying in my ground blind hunting with my friend and enjoying whatever comes our way. Taking the boat and covering my bases just in case there are some diving ducks cruising the river. Jet is ready and I tossed her field blind in the truck too. Just some last minute items to gather in the morning and we'll be on our way. At the very least we'll tell some stories, eat some wonderful meals and create new memories from our adventures. Sounds like a good time to me.
Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Wild Goose Hunt

After getting my ducks in a row the other day regarding shipment of my new wide belt sander, Jet and I took off for an afternoon adventure.

I was so relieved to have gotten my sander ordered on the last day of 2009 for tax purposes that I was just beside myself and ready to celebrate. We headed south not far from home and checked in with a land owner for permission and to say thank you for letting us hunt on their property. While visiting with the land owner I gazed out the window to see a Canada Goose swimming non chalantly upstream next to the cut bank. Then I exclaimed my find in a controlled manner as much as I was able to and politely excused myself.

My pulse was racing and the adrenaline fully charged my system as I hurriedly walked to my truck to get Jet, gun, shells and coat. I was already wearing my breathable chest highs as I knew we'd be getting wet either from the snow, retrieving birds or both. This stretch of water is the Little Deschutes River and it is not a big river, although it runs deep and has a fair current to it with lots of oxbows. We had to negotiate several split rail fences to find clearance enough for Jet to go underneath. The bottom rails are less than a foot off the ground and Jet is a bit bigger than that, so we eventually found a higher rail for her to crawl under. Then I made the executive decision as to where we would sneak in hopes of jumping the goose or geese as I figured there would be at least 2, if not more. Seldom do geese hang out by themselves. So it was that we headed to a split rail fence that was within a foot of a high cut bank along the edge of the Little Deschutes. With the fence being as high as I am tall, I positioned my gun over the top rail and made my presence known. With as much surprise to myself as the geese I had snuck in on them right where they were. With wings flapping and bills honking I let go of both barrels knocking down first the larger of the two and then the smaller one. WOW, a double on honkers! That's doesn't happen every day and we were both thrilled.

Now comes the challenging part, retrieving them. The river had areas of ice extending out from the banks on both sides, with open water in the middle and a decent current too. I began to access my options and no sooner done, did I see jet drop down off the bank onto the ice and immediately break through. She was surprised and I moved into rescue mode. She was caught up between the vertical bank and ice without being able to touch the bottom. She was literally spinning vertical on her axis trying to get a hold of anything on the bank. I jumped in with my waders only at waste level and reached over to grab her and pulled her up the bank. Then got myself out and told her to stay! I then took my coat, vest off and got my waders as high as they would go. Then we began the retrieve in earnest. One goose was on the far bank itself and the other had drifted down river a bit and got hung up on the shelf ice. Jet was not going to stay while I went without her so, I grabbed her scruff and we waded across together. As we got to the shelf ice she was able to get her front feet up on it and I reached down and gave her a boost to get the rest of her up on the ice. I grabbed the first goose that got hunt up while she retrieved the smaller one on the bank. She was so proud of herself as she brought me the goose. Wagging from head to toe and looking like a pup again, if it weren't for the gray she now wears.

With both birds firmly in my left hand we began to cross back over. I grabbed her by the scruff and helped her into the water off the shelf ice and we made our way safely back. The water was just shy of reaching the top of my waders. I walked as tall as I knew how and was very thankful we both made it without any further incident. The weather was mild and a light drizzle began as we headed back to the truck. I was now overheating and just happy that we were able to recover both birds. No cripples and no major incidents. We went to a couple other areas to check for birds and saw nothing. Then we found a comfortable clump of turf and I began to start plucking the geese. I saved the down as well and after an hour or so we started to point the truck home.

Jet was wet through and through and darkness was upon us. We had enjoyed a wonderful afternoon on a wild goose hunt, and there was no better ending than a hot meal and a warm fire. The geese dressed out nicely without any shot to the breast or back(as they took the shots to their head and necks) they will be wonderful eating. What a great day after a long dry spell on waterfowl.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The hunt

Alas, A New Beginning

Happy New Year to all of you and by golly lets start off positive and with hope for a better year than the last. Even the sound of 2010 rings better than 2009. I am at least cautiously optimistic.

It is no secret that this previous 2009 Fall waterfowl season has been the worst that I have experienced to date. Worst in the way of very few birds in the Klamath Basin where I hunt. I shot one lonely ol' hen Shoveler the entire month of Dec. and that has not happened since my sabbatical some 20 plus years ago. We recently have had snow storms followed by a warm thaw and rain. I am itching to get down to Klamath and hunt the river, but not by myself and it's tough to find friends with as flexible a work schedule as mine to go with. I imagine there is not much shelf ice left and that the birds are cruising looking for food. Me, I'm looking for passing shots at diving ducks and make mine Goldeneyes if you please! Ah yes, that will be a dream come true and perhaps in a week or two I'll have some photos to share of just an expedition.

When I was down there last I did come across a certain fellow who was swimming under the ice in the ditches and coming up in the round holes in the ice. Mmmm any guesses? Right you are, non other than Mr. River Otter. I had the opportunity to watch him play on the ice and also eat fresh water mussels. Such characters they are. Needless to say there wasn't a duck with a 1/2 mile of him. So, Jet and I went about our way looking for open water with a duck or two in it.

In other news the costs of hunting fees and tags has gone up considerably this year. So select your hunts wisely and look for bargains on ammo and hunting gear. One place I have subscribed to and made several purchases from is CamoFire. Amazing deals and great products, not a dog in the bunch. They're easy to subscribe to and products up to 70% off retail prices. Heck they even had shirts on there for $2.00 each a week ago. There is also a forum for gear discussions and hunting photos. Check them out, you won't believe the deals.

As for shop news of the woodworking type I am finally getting a wide belt sander for my dovetail drawer business. It has been on my list for some time and I just got it ordered before the new year. Figured the sander will serve me better than me paying the tax man. Seemed liked a no brainer and I am looking forward to it. It will certainly streamline my production and reduce the wear and tear on me from random orbit sanding. Here's a link to check it out if you're into equipment, Grizzly 15" Wide Belt Sander. It will be arriving next week and I am so excited to get it up and running.

Otherwise there is not much else to report at this time. Jet and I had a quiet Christmas and we tried finding some waterfowl here locally to hunt, but just no luck. Did manage to see a beautiful rainbow over the Deschutes River on a drizzly morning.

Cheers to all and lets make this a better year! Be safe out there everyone.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Pheasant Stew

This recipe came to me via my friend Jackie. When I saw it said crock pot, I was there in a heartbeat. I made this recipe yesterday and it was very good. The Pheasant fell off the the leg and wing bones and had a wonderful flavor.

Ingredients:

2 Pheasants, boned out
2 cans chicken broth
1 can tomatoes in chipotle sauce
4 garlic cloves
1 yellow onion
2 red potatoes
1 broccoli floret
16 oz. crimini mushrooms
olive oil

Seasoning:
1 c. whole wheat flour
1Tbls. pepper
dash paprika
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. celery powder

Directions:

Bone out the pheasants as best as possible, I left the thighs, drumsticks and wings whole.
Toss in a paper bag with seasoning and shake well then put into skillet and brown for a few minutes. Then place in crock pot.

Next slice the onion and leave as rings, quarter the mushrooms and chop the garlic. Place in skillet and saute when pheasant is done. Then add to crock pot and turn crock on H.

Next pour the chicken broth in the skillet to deglaze then add to crock.
Then add the Tomato Chipotle sauce.
Add broccoli and potatoes chopped /diced as you like and cook on high for 3 hours, followed by low for 2 hours. Find a pheasant leg and make sure the meat falls off the bone, then you are done.

This recipe is easy and delicious. Best of all, I was able to freeze a couple containers for a quick and easy dinner or lunch. Bon Appetit!

Jet and I are headed to Klamath tomorrow and hopefully we'll find some waterfowl. My shop work is complete for now so off we go for a pre Christmas duck and goose hunt. I hope to have some stories for you all when we get back. Have a great weekend everyone!

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt

Sub Zero and Wood Chips

Hello to one and all! I just thought I'd give you all a quick update on the past weeks events.

The week started out with getting materials for a large dovetail drawer order on Monday. Before I begin routing the dovetails the material is machined to 5/8" thickness using first a jointer then a thickness planer. Then I go to the table saw and rip the maple to specific widths followed by the chop saw where it is cut to specified lenghts. Then it is ready to be routed into dovetail drawers. Followed by ripping the groove for the drawer bottoms, then sand the inside surfaces of the drawer before they are glued, assembled and pin nailed. After which more sanding (and puttying if needed) then the backs are notched on the table saw using a dado blade for bottom mount drawer guides which sit up under the drawer sides. After that comes routing a 1/4 radius on the top edges of the drawers with the exception of the front outside edge where an applied drawer front will go. Then I sand the radius and give the drawer a quick once over before calling it done. Phew, so lets see. . . I have 33 finished from stock of 8" and wider(inside drawer depth) and am now working on the last 40 which are smaller in height and will take a third less time to sand etc. Delivery day is this coming Monday, so I guess you figured it out already that I won't be in the marsh this weekend. Which brings me to the other noteworthy highlight of this week.

Sub zero temps and I am talking really cold, like try about - 28 degrees F. That'll put a damper on your waterfowl hunting. Only the fact that every piece of water is now frozen and then some. I imagine the birds that were here in Central Oregon are either hanging on the faster stretches of water on the Deschutes River or have gone South. I know I'd head south if I were a feathered fowl. Being a woodworker has its advantages for sure, especially in the winter. Now as for summer, then I'm missing being outdoors. The trade off is well worth it and I am glad to not be an excavator. That would be a miserable job during winter, just ask my hunting buddy John about that. Fortunately we only had 4 or so days of that sub zero and now we are back with seasonal averages. Not quite tropical, but close!

Well enough ramblings, time to go relax for awhile then get busy finishing up my drawers. Have a good weekend everyone and I hope to be back out in the field next week. Jet is even starting to get a bit of cabin fever so we'll be going hunting somewhere. Even if it's only to take my shotgun for a walk it'll be good to get out and stretch our legs a bit.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity for The Hunt

Rose Bowl Bound

So, how about those ducks! I am trickled pink that they have continued to play well and now off to the big show. As for me, sorry for my absence as it is not due to my hunting, but rather the opposite.

I did spend a few days on my second season archery cow elk hunt and had zero luck. I decided to call it quits on that due to the fact it was costing me 40 bucks in gas for each day of hunting. With the lack of work and the holidays it just wasn't panning out period. The good news is that I am now swamped with several custom dovetail drawer jobs. These will keep me busy in the shop for the next 2 weeks and with a little luck I hope to get away for a quick weekend waterfowl hunt.

I have missed my daily reads and hope to get back to visiting my favorite bloggers here in the near future. Until then have a great time hunting, fishing and just being in the great outdoors. I'll be making lots of sawdust and look forward to getting back in the field.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt