Hunting Sense

As I mentioned in yesterdays post, Bill over at Muskoka Outdoors awarded me with a Schmooze Award. It’s an award given by bloggers to bloggers who develop relationships with their fellow readers and other bloggers. When awarded, bloggers need to find five others to award it to to keep the award going. I have to say I’m honored, but a bit embarrassed as well.

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I’m sure at least a few people noticed the lack of posting over the last few days. Don’t worry, I haven’t thrown in the towel just yet. Aside from an annoying internet and comp problem, I’m still here ready to write. It seems like all is resolved now, so I’m once again a happy camper.

I guess a logical place to start the new week would be to catch up on some things that have been going on here.

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I ran across an interesting article at the Peterson’s Hunting site while Googling the latest hunting news today. A multivitamin that can enhance your natural hunting ability? Pardon me for a moment while I roll on the floor and laugh hysterically.

To be fair, reading the medical findings listed in the article, some of the claims make sense. Still, packaging and marketing a pill that, when all is said and done, possibly makes a person believe taking it will somehow magically make them more successful while hunting seems nuts. No matter the benefits of all the vitamins and herbs contained in those pills, there not going to turn an ordinary hunter into some kind of super hunter.

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As nearly everyone knows evergreens are excellent windbreaks. Even wildlife are well aware of this fact, seeking out the shelter the trees offer when the wind gets bad and the weather gets nasty. This provides hunters willing to take up the challenge of hunting evergreen stand an excellent opportunity to take advantage of less than favorable hunting conditions.

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I know I just did one, but with everything that has been going on, this is an easy post. Especially considering the quality of posts my fellow outdoor blogs deliver on a regular basis. Hopefully, next week I’ll be able to get back to trying my best to add my own posts to such an incredible community. So here it is, Blog Hunt #5.

Outdoors with Othmar Vohringer
New Definition Of “Gun Control”

It’s a phenomenon that gives the term “gun control” a whole new meaning: community ordinances that encourage citizens to own guns.

Last month, Greenleaf, Idaho, adopted Ordinance 208, calling for its citizens to own guns and keep them ready in their homes in case of emergency. It’s not a response to high crime rates. As The Associated Press reported, “Greenleaf doesn’t really have crime … the most violent offense reported in the past two years was a fist fight.” Rather, it’s a statement about preparedness in the event of an emergency, and an effort to promote a culture of self-reliance.

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There’s no denying that heat intensifies odor. My wife can verify that when I come home after sweating all day. Seriously, though, think about it. Nearly anything with an odor that is heated will end up smelling a lot stronger than it does cold, right? Carrying over from my post on cover scents, I thought heated scents for hunting could be an interesting topic.

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Skunk, raccoon, red fox, cedar, persimmon, acorn, and earth. These are just a few of many kinds of scents a hunter is likely to find on the market to use. All of them have their use, but sometimes, no matter how great they sound, some scents just don’t make sense to use. That isn’t to say you should never use them, it just means that you need to use common sense when to or not use them.

How many times have you seen a skunk in a tree? I know I never have, and I think I’ve seen some pretty strange things in my time in the woods, but that isn’t one of them. So does wearing a skunk cover scent make any sense when crawling up into a tree stand for a long day of hunting? Even overlooking the smell, no, it doesn’t.

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Some of you might have noticed Cliff has been less than active the past couple of days. I take most of the responsibility for that (some falls to my mother, though). For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been battling…well, we’re not really sure, as of yet, but it looks like I might be diabetic. (We’re just now waiting for the results of blood work.) The poor man has been practically waiting on me hand and foot, due to extreme fatigue on my part, fevers, and my wildly fluctuating blood sugars, which have made driving a no-no, work near impossible, and child care a one-man show. Coupled with that, his mother-in-law has kept him busy doing renovations to the house, pushing to have them finished before the oldest two children return from a month long US vacation tomorrow.

Between the 5 hour trips to the ER (where they told me they couldn’t find a thing wrong with me after running two, count ‘em, two, tests), trips to the family Dr. for both myself and our youngest, cooking, cleaning, yard work, and being the only functioning parent, the guy just hasn’t had the time he’d like to spend on his blog. For that, I’m sorry.

If all goes well, by Monday, he’ll be back making his regular postings, so stay tuned, folks.

Thanks,
the wife

The long overdue issue #4 of the Blog Hunt.

I’ve been excited over the recent rash of posts made by my fellow outdoor bloggers on blogging. As I’m still fairly new at blogging and always looking for ways to improve, I find myself doing Google searches for blogging tips all the time. What is out there is great, but when you here experiences and tips from people who blog about the same things you do, that is valuable information. Here are just a few of the great posts anyone who blogs about the outdoors should read.

Alpha Trilogy
Outdoor Blog Marketing 101 - Fill The Parking Lot, part 1

…So, what is my point? What does parking in front of the store have to do with your blog? The point is simply to ‘Make your visitor feel comfortable’. Make them feel safe and comfortable entering your site and digging a little deeper.

How? How do you park out front and fill up the parking lot?…

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Over the weekend we finally got to forget about work and what needed to be done and headed to Awenda Provincial Park for some swimming and hiking. The water was downright cold since Awenda’s beaches are on Georgian Bay, a part of Lake Huron. After being in it for a while, though, the temp became comfortable and we had a lot of fun on the beach.

We left the beach area eventually and headed off for some hiking on the numerous trails maintained by the park. In total, I think there’s around 30 kilometers of trails, allowing visitors to explore nearly every part of the park. I have to say, that is what the wife and I enjoyed the most. On the trails, there were no sounds except those we made and those of nature. It was quite invigorating.

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As you can tell from the picture to the left, growing up to be a hunter wasn’t an option for me, it was destined to be. This is me with my first deer, one apparent by my age in the photo that I successfully rattled in. That was just bad, wasn’t it? Sorry, but I couldn’t resist.

In all seriousness, I received a letter from my Mom that had some photos enclosed. One of them was this picture. It was taken when I was nine months old and the person helping hold me is my grandmother, I do believe. Proof enough that I grew up in a family of hunters, right? Not hardly, it actually started way before that.

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I’ve always found it amazing just how many hunters don’t know the proper way to field dress an animal after they make the kill. For that reason, I’m posting up an excellent field dressing guide I found on the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources website. The entire document is worth reading as it has quite a bit more useful information and tips on transporting and processing game animals. Check it out.

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The other day, Darrell over at Alpha Trilogy made a post about his Dukes of Hazard lifestyle in the Ozarks over the weekend. I have to admit, the mosquito fogger trick on the vehicles had me rolling. I don’t know why I’ve never thought of that before. Sadly to say, though, the Duke boy stunt with the bows and arrows brought back some memories as well.

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I just got an email from my mother in Oklahoma. It seems that with the recent rains, the old home place where my brother still lives may be flooded. If so, this will be the second time since the Oologah damn was built around thirty-five years ago. The first time was in 1986 and was basically the result of mismanagement of water levels in the Oologah lake.

This time seems to be somewhat the same situation. From what I understand, there has been very little water let out for various reasons as the lake level continued to rise. But when you can wade the river at the riffles and not get wet above your knees, I think a little water could have been discharged to get a jump on potential problems down the road.

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According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife Associated Recreation, only five percent of Americans now call themselves hunters. This sad fact is driven home by situations like the one in Solebury, Pennsylvania where they are paying the U.S. Department of Agriculture over $250,000 for sharpshooters to get the deer population under control. There is something seriously wrong with people being paid to kill deer because hunter numbers aren’t great enough to control the ever growing deer population.

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