July 13th, 2008
By Arthur

Another weekend come and gone.  I say this all the time, but I really can’t believe how fast the weekend’s go lately, and when the baby comes, I know they are only going to get faster.  It is sad really.  You live all week for the weekend, and then in a flash it is gone.

Now, moving onto more positive things.  First off, I have a challenge.  Will someone please tell me what is in this trailcam picture.  Please focus on the lower right squadrant and you will see whatever it is.  I honestly am not sure.  I keep thinking I see a face that is somewhat like a badger, although I think my mind may be playing tricks on me.  It could be a possum, I honestly have no idea.  Everyone’s opinion is appreciated though.(I know it’s not a badger, I just was giving you an idea of the type of face I see).

I thought I would share this camera picture as well.  He is just a little guy, and more than likely, I will let him pass this year if we meet, but I thought the picture was pretty cool.  Apparently he wanted to pose for the camera.  Pretty funny.  I also got some coyote butt on camera.  The camera was a little slow in the flash department, but I’m glad that it still managed to capture him/her.  I’m also glad, that despite his presence, I still saw two fawns as I drove into the property today, and also got one of them on cam as well.  A good camera check all the way around.

On Sunday we rounded out the weekend by shooting our bows.  We got my cousin Corrin in on the act, as well as her friend Jordan.  It was only Jordan’s second time shooting a bow, but I have to be honest and say she did pretty well since she obviously was shooting  a bow not custom setup for her.  She’s not real sure about the hunting aspect of it, and that I can understand, but I think we might be able to convince her to hunt those ugly ‘ole turkeys.  She has a soft spot for deer so no need to pressure there.  It obviously isn’t for everyone.  As long as she continues to shoot archery she can still hang out with us.

Corrin also had a first this weekend.  She robin-hooded one of MY arrows.  It wasn’t a complete robin hood because she was on a different angle than me when she was shooting, but it was still awesome either way.  If I’m going to lose an arrow I love losing it that way. Nice shot ‘rin.  That was awesome.

All in all it was a pretty good weekend.  Hopefully this work week goes by fast, and hopefully I can work in another fishing trip to the father-in-law’s private pond.  I’m having some withdrawals.

Popularity: 20% [?]

June 15th, 2008
By Arthur

I didn’t get to check the trailcam, but I did manage to have a great outdoor-related weekend.

On Saturday night the wife and I headed over to her step-father’s private pond. A few years back they stocked the pond with bass and bluegill, and we finally decided to check it out and see how the fish were coming along. I had saw a few gills the last couple of years up on the beds, so I knew that they were doing pretty good, but I couldn’t have been more pleased with the fishing results we had.

The fish do need a few more years to grow, but if we pratice catch and release, we will have quite a fun little pond to fish. I didn’t have the line in the water for more than 10 seconds and I already had a bite. A few gills were almost keepers, but the bass still need a couple of years. We did catch one that might have been 8 inches or so, but it is going to take some time before they get big! I’m hear to tell you though, that I honestly didn’t care about the size of fish, what mattered most was that it was an awesome time. It is going to be a great little spot for the kids in our family, just simply because of the instant gratification. There is no waiting for fish to bite and that will keep the kids interested and coming back for more. I was a slacker and didn’t bring the camera with me on Saturday so hopefully I will have some pictures to share of the pond fishing soon. I just have to get the mother-in-law to send them to me this week.

We also found some time to practice with the bows on Father’s Day. My brother’s boys got in on the action as well and they both had bullseyes at 40yds. I know that looks like I’m crazy, but I am so not kidding. It was awesome and just goes to show you how far youth bows have come in the last few years. We would never allow them to shoot that far at a live animal, but for bragging purposes it was a lot of fun. I even got a mug shot of one of the boys after his bullseye, but I was a slacker and didn’t take a picture when the other one got his. Sorry Tyler G.

It was a great weekend all the way around, and we got to do quite a few things outdoors. I’m hoping to get to the trailcam at some point, but for now it will probably do some good to leave it in its current spot undisturbed for awhile. We could not have asked for a more perfect weekend and everybody had a really good time.

Popularity: 21% [?]

May 20th, 2008
By Arthur

My brother and I were shooting the bows last weekend and we got to talking about doing an activity that I really do miss. We realized that we hadn’t shot an archery 3-d course in quite some time.

When I first got into archery, we used to shoot these courses all the time. We would start around May, and then just make our rounds through the local courses. Honestly, at the time, it made for a great Saturday morning ritual for myself and a buddy of mine. I can’t think of a better way to spend 3 hours on a weekend then shooting the bow. It was awesome.

While we will have our 3-d course set up on my cousin’s property again this year, it is just not the same as getting out and shooting a true 3-d course. It is much easier, and closer to my house, but it doesn’t provide for the different scenarios that you can experience while shooting a 3-d course for the first time. It is a great experience, and I think the closest representation of actually shooting at an animal, that you can find. Sure there are video shoots and such, but they don’t provide the feeling of realism that being outside, deciding the yardage, and taking the shot does. It is great practice and a great time.

So my first outdoor intention for this year is to get out and shoot a couple archery 3-d courses. It might be hard, with the newborn on the way, but I’m sure the wife will be nice enough to let me work it in.

I’m looking forward to it.

Author’s note: That is not one of us in the picture. It was just a very good representation of the activity I am talking about.

Popularity: 32% [?]

May 12th, 2008
By Arthur

The weekend was a downer for outdoor plans. I guess it wasn’t a total bust, but my Mother’s day plans really didn’t go quite as well as I would have liked them too. I guess that is the way life works sometimes, and you just have to roll with the punches so to speak.

Saturday was absolutely gorgeous. It was in the high 60’s and absolutely beautiful outside. I took the dog out to let him run around and enjoy the nice weather. While he did that I sat on the porch and got my fishing poles around for our first fishing trip of the season that was planned for the next day. I put new line on my reels, made sure they were functioning as they should, got the tackle box around, and loaded it up with some new lures I got last year for Christmas, and just overall made sure I had everything ready for the next day’s fishing events.

So the next day comes (Mother’s day), and what does it do? Rain. All day! A little rain normally doesn’t keep me away from fishing, but this was the constant all day, accompanied with 20mph winds, rain. Not something I wanted to venture out in for my first fishing trip of the season.

The day wasn’t completely a bust though. Jeff got a little ingenuitive. We wanted to shoot our bows for the first time this year, and apparently with us not being able to fish, he was desperate. That made him, on the way out to our parents house, devise a plan that would still allow us to shoot the bows without getting wet. My parent’s polebarn has a sliding door at the back corner of it, so we sat a target out in lawn, 20yds in front of us, and shot from inside the pole barn through the door. What a brilliant idea from Jeff. It wasn’t quite like having a gorgeous day to shoot, and it limited the different shots we could take, but it still provided for some outdoor activities without getting drenched. We got all the boys, and Corrin, in on the act as well. It actually was a pretty good time.

So, hopefully we manage to get out fishing some night this week, and hopefully the rain finally holds off as well. If that doesn’t happen I am just going to focus my attention on the wife and I’s first camping trip this weekend.

Hopefully it doesn’t rain for that either!

Popularity: 27% [?]