Christmas with Elaine (Blog 274)

Today is Christmas Eve, and our kids and grandchildren are coming her for lunch.  Yesterday, Elaine spent much of the day cooking and preparing for the repast today.  As always, she wants to be the best possible mom and grandmother for them.

I met Elaine in June of 1974 at a summer camp, and I was definitely infatuated with her, if not in love with her, from the first time I saw her. For years I wanted to ask her out but did not do so until 1977 when we had all of five dates before I proposed. This is our 39th Christmas together.

She once told me that everyday she tries to make me laugh, something she excels at.  But what Elaine is spectacularly good at is making her so easy to love and adore. I knew when I met her that she was a superior woman, and my first impression was correct.

Merry Christmas, sweetheart.

Holiday Plans (Blog 273)

The first semester at school ended yesterday, and the fortnight-plus of days off lends itself to a realm of possibilities. Some of the things I would like to do are as follows.

Spend some time playing with my grandsons.

Do habitat improvement projects on the land behind our house.

Cut firewood

Go fishing with Britt Stoudenmire of the New River Outdoor Company on the New River. We often fish together on New Year's Day.

Not carry a gun, and take other people deer and turkey hunting.

Welcome Elaine's and my son Mark back from Alaska

Work on magazine article assignments and queries for the coming year

Spend time with my sweetheart Elaine, my favorite thing to do.

Down and Out on a West Virginia Muzzleloader Hunt (Blog 272)

A doe standing still and broadside at a distance of 25 yards would seem like an easy target on the last day of West Virginia's muzzleloader season.  But not when  the trigger is pulled and the only sound is a light "snick."

Over the years, I have committed many snafus during Virginia and West Virginia's muzzleloader seasons, and today was just my latest miscue.  There was the time when snow had somehow leaked into the barrel, the time the cap was slightly misshapen and caused the gun not to fire, and the time I had not seated the bullet properly.

Today, the problem, as I found out later, was that the powder had somehow become moist.  I cleaned out the gun, put in fresh powder, and test fired, and the results were satisfactory.  It's too late to do anything about my West Virginia misadventure, but I will be afield this evening in Virginia to try again.

December Bowhunting (Blog 271)

I haven't hunted for the past several weeks as I have been busy taking other people afield. My biggest thrill was sitting beside a novice adult hunter who killed his first deer the day after Thanksgiving.

So I went back to bowhunting today.  I have always struggled  to kill a deer during the December bow and muzzleloader seasons.  And today was no exception.  I arose early, decided to hunt from a ground blind, and proceeded to not see a whitetail all morning.

At 10:00 A.M., shivering and hungry, I decided to call it a day.  Outdoor writers often write about the second rut that occurs in December and what a great opportunity it is for individuals after trophy bucks.  Personally, any day in December when I can spot a deer of either sex of any age is a good one for me.

I have long held the view that the second rut is mostly a creature of outdoor writers in need of selling a story.

Reading to My Grandson Eli (Blog 270)

A Thanksgiving tradition for Elaine and me is to have Wednesday dinner at our daughter Sarah and her husband David's house.  As usual, Elaine and Sarah prepared a delicious meal.

But the highlight for me came after dinner when my 1 1/2-year-old grandson Eli came over to me, crawled up onto the sofa and said, "Read."

Sarah and David have done an outstanding job in inculcating a love of reading in their two boys, Sam and Eli.  As a school teacher, I know how important this is as reading to a child is one of the nost developmentally important things a parent can do.

Afterwards, Elaine and I marvelled at how Eli's vocabulary is growing, as he seems to know many more words every time we visit with him.

Mentoring New Hunters (Blog 269)

Saturday morning, I am taking two adult hunters afield on land that Elaine and I own in Craig County, Virginia.  One has only been hunting a few years, and the other just started this fall. I won't be carrying a gun, as I want to concentrate on them killing a deer.

I actually enjoy not toting a rifle and concentrating on putting others in a good spot to succeed.  One will be overlooking a feeding flat and the other a bedding area.  It has been fun to go over with them all the possible scenarios for the morning, and the possibilities that the game plans I have devised will be successful.

Who knows how tomorrow will turn out, hopefully we will be bringing two deer to my butcher's.

Opening Day of Virginia's General Firearms Season Blog (268)

My son-in-law David Reynolds and I went hunting on one of our family's three Craig County properties today, which was the first day of Virginia's General Firearms seasons for deer.  David and I were hoping to see a nice buck, but, realistically, both of our objectives were to kill a doe.

Although both of use saw some 16 deer between us, neither of us ever fired a shot.  The only deer that we could have shot were spikes and 2 and 4 pointers, which we both passed on.  In fact, I had one 2 pointer broadside and 20 yards away, and David probably could have shot several 1 1/2-year-old bucks.

The most interesting aspect of the hunt was the sea change that has occurred the last 10 to 15 years or so about hunters not shooting  1 1/2-year-old bucks, and many individuals not shooting 2 1/2-year-old ones, either.

When I started deer hunting in 1985, that attitude was not common, either.  Again, the metamorphosis of hunters in this area is fascinating.

Doe Day in Craig County (Blog 267)

Today was the only doe day for Craig County during Virginia's early muzzleloader season, so I went to our 140-acre tract there.  The forecast was for morning long rain, so I brought along a pop-up blind, so I could hunt without becoming wet.

I had been to our Craig land twice earlier this autumn, both times pursuing turkeys.  On those two occasions, the turkeys had never come close enough to shoot despite my scattering gangs both time.  I did see good numbers of deer both times, once, in fact, spotting 13.

This time, however, I saw a gang of eight turkeys ambling by at a distance of just 35 yards, and the only two deer I saw were 125 yards away, well out of my range, especially given the terrain and underbrush.  Random chance has not operated in my favor on my three visits to the property this year.

Success in the Virginia Fall Turkey Woods (Blog 266)

This morning, Virginia's early muzzleloading season began, and I relish my time using a smokepole to pursue deer.  But the fall turkey season was still in, and I had not killed a bird - so there was no doubt that I would be going turkey hunting.

I hope to do a magazine story on the outing, but the short version is that I called in and killed a jenny that weighed all of nine pounds.  Although I have had a satisfying deer season so far, nothing this entire hunting season brought me so much joy as

tagging that turkey.

Deer hunting is a complex, wonderful pastime that is richly satisfying, but I love nothing better than pursuing turkeys in the spring and fall.  Elaine and I cut off every bit of meat that we could from that turkey and will honor it by eating many meals from the bird.  What a thrilling day.

Lost Weekend of Fall Turkey Hunting Blog 265)

There is nothing I enjoy doing more in the fall than turkey hunting.  As much as I relish pursuing deer, when Virginia's fall turkey starts, I stop deer hunting for the weekend.  I will share the two low points.  On Saturday when I finally came across a flock, I began the charge to scatter the gang - and made it all of five running steps before I tripped and fell.  Needless to say, the bust was not a good one.

And after coming close to having a shot on Sunday, I was so tired that I left my Northeast Proucts Therm-A-Seat Wedge behind in the woods. I was so exhausted that I had to ask my long suffering wife Elaine if she would drive me back to the mountain where I had left it behind.

So the highlight of my weekend was my being able to find the tree where I had left my seat cushion behind.  Driving to and looking for the seat took about 2 1/2 hours - lost time on a lost weekend.  I will be back turkey hunting this coming weekend.  Things can't go any worse, I hope.

The Death of our Buff Orpington hen, Ophelia (Blog 264)

It was not a good week in our Buff Orpington chicken run.  We only had two BOs left of the four that hatched last April, and now there is only one.  Ophelia had been a great layer since she started in September and produced an egg on Wednesday, behaved normally on Thursday, and was dead Friday morning.

Elaine and I are at a total loss to figure out what happened.  And poor Orville, now alone in the run, has spent Friday and Saturday looking for Ophelia and giving the food cluck.

Fortunately, our Rhode Island Red run is adjacent to the Buff one, so Orville will at least have the company of other chickens.  But we expect it will be a very lonely winter for him, as it will be spring before we order some new Buffs.

In Praise of Virginia's Sunday Hunting (Blog 263)

Last Saturday was opening day of Virginia's early archery season, and most of the day I spent watching rain come down.  Therefore, it was both a joy and a relief to be able to go hunting on Sunday.  And even more of a joy when I killed a very nice mature doe that morning.

This Sunday afternoon, I am taking Robin Clark of Virginia's Wheelin' Sportsmen bowhunting as part of a suburban deer hunt.  We will be setting up in a blind in a backyard whose home owner has told me she is plagued by an overpopulation of deer.

Both Robin and I had other commitments on Saturday, and Sunday afternoon was the best time for us to go.  I hope he arrows a fat doe.

Deer Kidney Pot Pie, Anyone? (Blog 262)

While hunting behind our Botetourt County, Virginia home this morning, I was fortunate enough to kill a mature doe with my Parker Thunderhawk Crossbow.  After dragging the doe back to the house, I asked Elaine, as usual, to help a little with the field dressing chores.

Also, as usual, I cut out the heart and tongue (both delicacies as far as I am concerned) and Elaine took them to the kitchen to clean and freeze for later use.  As I was working on the bottom loins, I asked my sweetheart if she would mind making some kidney pot pie like the British do.

Elaine said she would make the entree, but I would have to eat it all myself the first time. We would appreciate any advice from folks who have prepared kidneys.

Rain on Opening Day of West Virginia's Bow Season (Blog 261)

For several months, I have looked foward to opening day of West Virginia's bow season, which is today, September 26.  But all week the forecast has been for rain today, and, unfortunately, the forecast was accurate.

Ten or so days ago, I had made a quick visit to our Gap Mills land in Monroe County to check out the acorn situation.  I had determined my stand site and made my game plan for the day, which was simple - stay on stand until noon, go back to the truck for lunch and a nap, and be back on stand by 2:30, and stay there until dark or until I arrowed a deer.

The rainy forecast was so ominous last night that I didn't even bother to set the alarm.  As I write this, it is now 10:47 A.M. and the forecast remains poor for the rest of the day.  I imagine my bow will remain where it is.

Locavore Weekend: Deer Butchering, Grape Jelly, and More (Blog 260)

Elaine and I experienced a very busy weekend last week.  On Friday evening, we gathered wild summer grapes.  On Saturday, she and I prepared the grapes so that our daughter Sarah and Elaine could make the actual jelly on Sunday.

Saturday morning, I killed a doe, and we spent part of Saturday and Sunday butchering it.  We saved the heart and tongue for lunches this week, froze the top and bottom loins, and canned the rest.

Our last task, food wise, was to pick crabapples from our Dolgo crabapple tree.  Elaine made crabapple/walnut muffins this week.

A busy weekend, but a productive one.

Buff Orpington Hen Lays First Egg (Blog 259)

Elaine and I were thrilled to discover this week that our heritage Buff Orpington hen, Ophelia, had laid her first egg.  In fact, Ophelia has laid an egg per day from Monday through Thursday.

Normally, from our experience, first time layers don't lay every day the first several weeks after they begin.  But Ophelia has not read the handbook on egg laying and her consistency has been amazing.

In the run adjacent to the Buff's, we have three heritage Rhode Island Red hens that are just a week younger than Ophelia.  Perhaps they will begin their egg laying careers next week.

The Passing of a Pigeon (Blog 258)

I recently received a call from a neighbor that said she had a strange bird, which appeared to be sick, in her back field.  Always curious about wildlife and ready for a photo op, I came over after school.

What I found was a common pigeon that was unable to fly and looked to have suffered some sort of internal injury.  The neigbor, a very kind individual, wanted to know if she should contact the local animal control and have the folks there rescue the bird.

I explained that the pigeon is an invasive species, that farmers despise this bird, and that pigeons compete negatively with native birds.  I also said that animal control would be unlikely to respond to her request, although obviously I could not speak for that agency.

I followed up with what her options were.
She could easily capture the bird and attempt to nurse it back to health.
She could put the bird out of its misery, as it was likely to die before morning.
She could bring the pigeon to a vet, but that option was likely to be futile and expensive.
She could do nothing, and nature would decide the issue before morning.

The lady decided on the last option, and the next day she told me that the bird was gone.  I replied that what had happened to the pigeon was what eventually happens to all wild animals, it had become part of the food chain as no doubt some predator's proverbial ship had come in overnight.

I write this blog not out of cruelty toward pigeons or any animal, but such is the way of the wild world.  It is truly a jungle out there.

Fall Hunting and Berry Season Begins (Blog 257)

As much as I enjoy participating in Virginia's Urban Archery Season, which begins next Saturday in Roanoke County -one county over from Elaine's and my Botetourt County, Virginia home, I also enjoy another form of outdoor recreation that is just starting... wild fruit gathering.

Several days ago, Elaine and I picked some hackberries and wild cherries from trees growing along our rural road.  No such thing exists as hackberry cobbler or wild cherry pie (at least from our experience) because both fruits are smaller than peas and gathering many is time consuming.

But both cherries and hackberries are a nice snack, and good sprinkled over oatmeal, and are precursors to fall fruits that can provide substantial meals.  Summer grapes ripen in September and make outstanding jelly. Paw paws fall in late September and can be made into bread and cookies.

Then last to ripen, usually sometime in early November, are persimmons.  Persimmon/wild black walnut bread is, hands down, one of the best things I have ever eaten.  I killed several deer with my bow last fall that had come to feast on persimmons - it is understandable that whitetails relish persimmons as well.

Rome Apples and Dolgo Crabapples (Blog 256)

This week, Elaine and I are harvesting our backyard apples.  In our backyard, we have two North Star cherry trees, young Black Twig and Grimes Golden apple trees and bearing Dolgo crabapple and Rome apple trees. In the past week, Elaine has made two loaves of Rome Apple Bread, the last one with black walnuts, which is, by far, the best tasting one.  Black walnuts make just about everything taste better. I have some in my oatmeal every morning.

This evening we hope to pick some crabapples.  Some people ignore the fruit from their crabapple trees, leaving the berries to the birds and other creatures.  That is fine to do so, of course, but crabapple/walnut bread is a taste sensation, even better than the bread that Elaine makes from the Rome apples.

I hope we can have some for Sunday lunch.

Cutting Our Ash Trees (Blog 255)

For the past several weeks, my son-in-law David Reynolds and I have been cutting timber on our Botetourt County land.  The standing trees that we have targetted are all ashes.

The reason we are doing so is the emerald ash borer which showed up in Michigan in 2002 and has spread relentlessly since then.  As far as I know, this Asian invasive has not yet been found in Botetourt County, Virginia where we live, but sightings have been documented several counties away.

The adult beetles eat the ash's foliage, but that is not the major problem.  It is the insidious larva that ravage the inner bark which eventually causes the deaths of larger trees.

I wish that David and I did not have to do this timbering, but at least we are both laying in a supply of firewood.