The Hunting Times

I go back and forth on the NRA.  On one hand, they do more to support gun rights and the Second Amendment than anyone other than Ted Nugent.  On the other hand, they are always having a crisis - a burning platform - to get you to send in more money, and more money, etc.  That's strikes me wrong sometimes.  Yes, I am a member.  It does not piss me off THAT much.  And by the way, if you are not a member, shame on you, you should be! On to the May 2016 issue of American Hunter magazine - one of the perks of being a member.  On page 22, there is an article on "5 Reasons to be an American Hunter."  The article itself is fairly well written and addresses an aspect that I rarely think about.  It's in my DNA.  Sometimes I forget that it's not in everyone's. The last two paragraphs sum it up, as Bill and Ted would say, most excellently.  I have copied them here without permission, but have cited my source above in attempts to avoid legal issues.  This bl

New tractor finally arrived today.  I had quotes from both Big Greene and Hunter's Orange.  I negotiated to get them to within $3k of each other, and Orange had a 40 hp engine versus the 32 of Greene.  I bought Orange. It arrived with the 5' bush hog (PTO driven) attached at the rear and the bucket on the front.  Of course the quick hitch was already attached.  I am missing the planer / grader with scarifier teeth.  Too bad because we were going to use THAT to grade the lane today.  Oh well. Alex and I figured out how to unhook the bush hog.  It's way too wet to hog anything - and besides there is nothing to hog.  It's stored in the barn now.  Then we took her out for a test drive.  Afterwards I used it to dig out a stump behind the barn that I have been mowing around for ten years.  Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but it's gone now. Specs:  4-wheel drive; 40 hp, 14 mph, diesel, hydrostatic drive, and this is the cleanest it will ever be - that's why I to

If you have not yet heard Luke Bryan's latest release from his Kill the Lights album, you must go here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja7PhPTG1JE and listen to Huntin' Fishin' and Lovin' Every Day .  The video is awesome.  I don't know what software they used to do that, but I want to get my hands on it.  Imagine my Secret Public Journals in that format - Sweet! Yes, you will have to watch an advertisement.  So what?  It's going to be worth it. This is NOT a replacement for Bocephus' A Country Boy Can Survive .  But, it is certainly up there with it.  Speaks to the heart of those like-minded individuals who are probably reading this blog. And, just for kicks, Luke has a clothing line associated with this song.  He already had 32 Bridge brand at Cabela's.  And now he is offering the HFE line there too. Must be good to be Luke, Kenny Chesney or Jimmy Buffet.  They are cashing in big.  Do you ever ask yourself why?  It's because they

Remember, it's all about the end game.  The goal?  Retire in 8 years.  Back up from there and figure out what will be bought and paid for before then.  Thus, the change... Sure the SRT8 was awesome.  How could 500 HP and 500 ft-lb torque not be?  Practical.  Not even close.  More so than the Porsche 911, I must admit.  At least I could haul my clubs in the SRT8. So I took Mama's car, a 2014 Nissan Altima and she got a new car, a 2016 Chevy Malibu 2.0 Turbo in red. So today when I drove it, I got 32 miles to the gallon versus 25.  Again, 25 is better than the truck at 18, but 32 is better than 25.  Besides insurance, oil changes, tires, plates, and everything else will be less expensive.  In the end, it was a practical call that was also the right call.  Bye bye Dodge.  Remember, it was just a car. In turn, we are about to become the proud owners of a new tractor, with bush hog and grader.  Yes, it has a front bucket.  And yes, I will write it off as a farm expense.

This morning for breakfast, I warmed up left-over venison tenderloins we had grilled on Sunday.  We didn't just grill them, mind you.  We seasoned them with McCormick's Spicy Montreal Steak seasoning mix, pounded them with a meat tenderizer, wrapped them in thick-cut pepper bacon, and then grilled them.  While on the grill, we poured on teriyaki sauce and beer - both for seasonings and to keep the flames down. Like all venison should be, we served them medium rare.  And man were they delicious! This morning, I put two left-over loins on a plate, poured on some more teriyaki, and threw them in the microwave for 35 seconds.  I cut them into bite-sized pieces, with the bacon still on, and washed them down with some Gold Peak Sweet Iced Tea.  Slap my grandma.  Miss Kay Robertson could not have made a better meal.  I actually said, "Mmmmm" out loud. And that got me thinking that I was glad I was not a Meth Head - slang for a user of methamphetimine.  You see, met

As has become our custom, we traveled S to Montezuma bright and early Saturday morning for the purpose of grinding up all the deer we shot last hunting season.  And Mother Nature did not disappoint either.  She provided us with the worst weather April has seen in many years - snow, sleet, and a brutally cold 27 degrees F (duly noted - brutal for April).  Since no matter when we grind, the weather is horrific, we have decided that we will grind deer in January next year.  That way by April the weather will be Spring-like, we hope. I picked up Alex at 5:50.  We grabbed a tank of gas and some Mt. Dews and then picked up Davey at 6:00.  We drove down 231 to Crawfordsville, took 47 to Turkey Run, 41 into Rockville, and then 36 into Montezuma.  God's Country for sure.  We arrived about 7:40.  Rob Vincent and his Dad Bob were waiting on us with breakfast ready. Rob had prepared homemade bacon, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, and we washed it all down with homemade tomato juice.  Afte

So back in October, I began working with the local United States Division of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) office in Frankfort.  All good people, but having some personnel turn-over issues.  Silly me, I thought that 6 months would be plenty of time to work through getting signed up for a conservation program in the Spring. In October, I signed a document stating my intent that I wished to have CP-33 (an upland bird buffer) around my N, E, and W property boundaries.  In turn for taking that land out of crop production, the government would pay me approximately $250 / acre.  That's an okay deal all around.  I have to provide the seed and labor and must maintain the buffer for ten years. If you recall, two years ago we planted 1,350 trees and about 4 acres of prairie grass / wild flowers.  I did NOT enroll that into a government program because I wanted to maintain total control over what happened with that acreage. Back in about February, I cal