It's almost over

I know, I know... it's been a long time since I've written a post here. For any of you that actually enjoyed my dribble, I'm sorry for the hiatus. I really haven't done much since duck season kicked off and I assumed that folks would get tired of just seeing pictures of duck hunts, so I just left alone until now. It's been another great season for me and Lizzy Lou. I'd have to go back and do some counting, but I'm pretty sure that she picked up around 175 birds this year since September(doves and ducks). She really turned a corner this year and has become an exceptional bird finder, despite my lack of training skills.

Over 130 ducks were killed on hunts that I was on this past season(again, I'd have to go back and count to get exact numbers), and I killed a banded greenhead. I also somewhat introduced 2 folks to shooting decoying ducks and they seemed to enjoy it immensely. I had several days of limits, and a few of skunks. Weather was great, and weather was terrible. It was a typical duck season, and it was fantastic. I've got one more weekend to hunt, so I'm hoping that I can end the season on a high note with a couple more good shoots and a nicely plumed cinnamon teal...if not, I still won't have any complaints.

Here's a few pictures from the past season, and check back later. I'm actually going to start writing more now that duck season has wound down.

 

 









 





Cool, North breezes...

Cool, light breezes out of the North. Shorter days. Frosty windshields in the mornings. A lone, scout sandhill crane flying overhead looking for a suitable place to bring all his buddies. Migrations have started. My time of year is here.

I know I said that I was excited before my elk hunt, and I was. I truly was. And shooting doves might be #2 on my list of favorite things to do ever. Those are both still a far cry from what I really love doing. I'm a duck hunter, plain and simple. I have been since I shot my first duck 21 years ago. I keep trying to pick up new hobbies like elk hunting, fly fishing, and trying to really get into the whole Western hunting thing. I honestly do enjoy those things. Lots. But ducks are on my brain 12 months out of the year...365 days straight I think about ducks at some point and time during the day.

Setting decoys out in the pre-dawn with the sound of wings over head. Random peeps and quacks and whistles from ducks just waking up in the dark. Coffee never tastes better. I can't describe the feelings that come from the sound of wind ripping through cupped wings when birds are dropping into your group of pseudo-ducks. Or how awesome it is to see a dog locked onto a belly and a set of kicking webbed feet.

I don't expect most folks to understand it, although most hunters will understand. For some people it's a bugling bull elk or a mature gobbler trying his damndest to wake up the world that fires them up(both of which will tie you up in knots if you love the outdoors like I do). For others, it might be a pack of beagles working a briar thicket chasing after bunnies on a frosty morning. For me, it's web-footed birds. Simply put, decoying ducks is the most fun I know how to have with my clothes on. I've been blessed by the duck hunting opportunities that the Lord has given me over the years without a doubt.

Our season started last week, and even though I don't get to hunt as much as I would like(but really, who does?), a good Saturday morning keeps me going until the next weekend. And Saturday was a good day.

Good luck to all you duck hunters, where ever you are, in your upcoming openers. I hope everyone has a stellar year ahead of them.

You feel like chicken tonight?

I'm a little hesitant to put this all over the interwebs for everyone to see, but I like helping folks and making them happy(and my BBQ chicken tends to make people happy) so here it goes. It's a longer process, so don't plan on going from the fridge to the grill to the table in an hour. That ain't going to happen. Rome wasn't built in a day, was it?

First off, you need chicken. I like to use thighs or leg quarters,  but I do know some folks prefer white meat and this works just fine too. I sprinkle the thighs with a little garlic salt(and sometimes a little paprika) on both sides, and put it on a grill that's not too hot(indirect heat works best). I guess around 350 or so, but I don't pay that much attention to it, just remember that you're going to be cooking this chicken for a couple of hours and not searing steaks.

When the chicken goes on, it's time to start the magic...the sauce. Here's most of what you'll need(I know that the beer is a yankee beer, but I felt like branching out from my usual Keystone or Shiner for a bit. Please forgive me). Not pictured is the pepper and brown sugar.

Fill a pot up about 3/4 full of apple cider vinegar and bring it to a boil, then just let it simmer for about 45 minutes or so.

If too much of the vinegar "cooks out" of the pot, just add a little more. Pour in a jar of BBQ sauce of your liking. I like Stubb's and Sticky Fingers(but you can't get Sticky Fingers out here, so I stick with Stubb's). You can add more than a jar if you want. The more you add to the vinegar, the thicker and less tangy the sauce will be. Add some garlic salt, and mesquite seasoning. I like to add some black and red pepper and a handful or two of dark brown sugar sometimes too. Feel free to taste as you go and add what you think you need. This recipe is more like a set of broad guidelines rather than a blue-print, so add whatever you want. Bring the sauce back to a light simmer and stir every few minutes. Then turn the heat down so you don't burn the sauce.

When the juice has started running clear from the chicken, it's time to start dunking it. I'll drop a few pieces in the pot and let it sit in there for a  minute before I throw it back on the grill. This is where indirect heat, or very low heat is key. You have to keep an eye out for flair-ups once you start saucing the poultry. I usually dunk the chicken every 10-15 minutes for about an hour. If you're worried about over-cooking the yard-bird and drying it out, don't be. You can turn down the heat if you want, but the repeated dunkings keeps the meat moist. When I take the chicken off for the last time, I give it a good dunking again before it goes on the platter so that it looks like this while it's waiting to be devoured.

As you might imagine, potatoe salad, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, corn, beans, and rolls all go good with this, so pair it up with whatever sounds best to you. Serve with lots of napkins, you're going to need them.

Caveat lector: I wouldn't suggest this as a meal for a first date. Chances are, you'll both have pretty saucy faces and this could be a big turn-off for some folks.

Now for you folks reading this that still reside in South Carolina, I know that this isn't true Low Country BBQ chicken, but it turns out that most folks outside of our little culinary circle don't like just vinegar and pepper for BBQ sauce, so don't go hatin'. I haven't found anyone yet that doesn't like my little spin on it, so don't leave me nasty messages about how I've gone and forgotten what real BBQ chicken is.

It's time

Well folks, it's that time of year again. The time for poor wives to turn into hunting widows, gun powder to start burning, freezers to start filling up, and men to be men again. It's my favorite and busiest time of the year. In many states deer season is opening(or has been open for a few weeks in a few places), dove season starts on Sunday, teal season kicks in a couple of weeks and if you're lucky enough, you get to start chasing the great wapiti in 2 days. Soon we'll all be grilling wild game and drinking a beer while re-telling stories of the hunt(s). Thankfully, my Springer will get to start working again and burn off some excess energy. She’s about to drive me nuts and is as ready to start picking up birds as I am to start killing them. Once I start pulling the trigger again, I should start being happier too. This ought to make the Good Dr. happy as well, because I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately. I’m chalking it up to it having been so long since I’ve drawn blood. If all goes well though, I’ll get an arrow covered in elk blood AND I’ll kill some doves this week. That will put me on cloud 9 and would be a hell of a way to start off the season. I want to wish everyone out there a great and successful start to their seasons. Make sure you give your wife a big hug and tell her how much you love her, no matter how “distant” you may get in the coming months. Get one or two more good nights of sleep, because that’s going to be a rarity until February too. And smile, because cool weather, changing leaves, whistling wings, and “free-ranging organic meat” is about to bless your grills. Happy hunting everyone, and be sure to take a minute to check back in here every so often. With hunting season going on, I’ll have a little more to write about and show off.

 

 



 

Little Water and Feisty Fish

I've been wanting to make a trip into the Gila to fly fish for some smallmouth bass since I found out that there were smallies in the rivers. Thanks in large part to a buddy or two that was nice enough to give me some pointers, I finally marked another adventure off of my list here in the Land of Enchantment. I didn't catch a ton of fish. In fact, I only caught 4 fish all weekend, but it was still an awesome trip. It was different than any place I have fished before. The river never got over 20-25ft wide, and it's very shallow. I was completely out of my element being that all of my fly fishing has taken place on still water(ponds/lakes) or a wider and deeper river that was much easier to read. I still gave it a go and got to land a couple of small, albeit beautiful, fish. 

Me and my buddy RP left Cruces Saturday morning and got up to our first destination sometime around lunch. We hiked the 1/3rd of a mile or so down into the canyon and got rigged up. 

You can see the smokey haze from the Silver Fire trying to sneak in.

On my second cast, a little guy smashed my fly. Got a picture taken, but it didn't turn out(lens was set to manual focus and RP didn't realize it). Luckily, 2 casts later, a little bigger specimen attempted to eat my bugger(my wooly bugger, not a snot-created booger) .

We fished for another couple of hours, and I missed one more little smallie, but that was it. By then, the smoke was really starting to drop down into the canyon, and we headed back to the truck. The smoke was bad enough that it was starting to bother our throats and eyes, but we decided that since we were already in the Gila, we might as well head on down to destination #2.

Our second stop put us hiking into the Gila Wilderness. We had originally planned to backpack into the Wilderness and stay overnight, but between the smoke and us getting there so late, we decided to just hike in and back out that evening and just camp by the road. So we grabbed our packs and headed out. Luckily, when we got to where we were going, the wind had turned around and all the smoke started to clear out.

It took me awhile, but I finally caught my first Gila Wilderness fish.

I reared back and chunked this bug(my bugger)

 

close to that big clump of grass on the left

and made about two strips when I snagged this fish's lips.

I know that they aren't much to look at, but I sure enjoyed them. In my eyes, a fish caught on a flyrod is like an animal killed with a bow...they're just a little more special.

One of the really awesome features of the Gila country are the rock outcroppings. Here's one of them.

There's also a ton of mint just growing wild along the river. I'm not real sure how it got there, but it apparently really likes the habitat that the Gila provides. It really is everywhere.

Like I mentioned, we decided that we would just camp on the side of the road rather than backpacking in. So we found a place with a nice view(which isn't hard to do), set up the tipi, and pulled out the lazy boy camp chairs.

After we enjoyed some delicious chilled beverages, we decided it was supper time. We dug out some Mountain House meals, got our stoves out and fired them up, and got some water boiling to re-hydrate our astronaut food.

You know you're in elk country when your stove is setup beside elk crap.

We hit the hay not too long after that and got some much needed rest. Our alarm clock Sunday morning was a bunch of cow elk that were calling back and forth to each other, and that sounds a ton better than the blaring of an alarm clock that normally wakes me up. I rolled out of my sleeping bag and fired up my trusty stove again to make some go-go juice, walked over to the edge of the mesa and found the perfect place to drink my coffee.

There were a few elk already in the canyon, and before long, several more had joined them.

Once my coffee cup was empty, I headed back over to the tipi for an ultimate camping breakfast...astronaut eggs and ham washed down with a cold beer.

After breakfast, we packed up camp and headed to one last place that we wanted to check out. My second cast of the day led to me landing fish #4 for the trip. Again, we fished for another couple of hours with no fish anywhere to be found. When the sun started getting hot, we headed back to the truck and hit the road back to Cruces. While driving down a National Forest road, we saw some odd looking tracks in the road and got out to investigate them. Bear tracks! This bear decided that walking down the road was easier than walking through the woods, so that's exactly what he did...for about 2 miles or so. Eventually he headed back into the forest, but not before answering that age old question...Does a bear shit in the woods? Turns out, the answer is no...they shit in the middle of the road for everyone to see.

All in all it was another fantastic trip to the Gila, just like every other one. That place truly is a paradise and I'm extremely grateful to have the ability to spend time up there. I do wish that the rain gods would smile down on it(and all of the rest of New Mexico for that matter). This part of the world is dry enough to make a popcorn fart feel mushy...like the popcorn might need to go check itself. There is no grass other than right along the river. The elk are skinny(except for the ones living by the rivers), and the babies aren't as plentiful as I would like. Turkeys are dying, and poults are almost non-existant. I would be willing to say that 95% of all water tanks are dry. It's getting pretty rough on God's creatures, but hopefully He'll show some mercy and start letting the monsoons loose very soon, before a lightning strike burns down the whole Forest.

I'd like to give a big thanks to the couple of folks that steered me in the right direction for this trip, and for my buddy RP for tagging along. Good company always makes the trips more enjoyable. I also wanted to say thanks to all of the folks that have taken the time to read my blog. I really appreciate y'all taking the time to read my non-sensical(I think I just made that word up) ramblings. I didn't think that I would have almost 2000 views with just a handful of posts. It's kind of neat to know that enough people are interested in reading what I have to say. So thanks, again. 

Be sure to stay tuned this fall...I'm going to have lots of outdoor reports from the Southwest over the next 6 months. Everything from bears to elk to birds to antelope to deer to javalina and who knows what else. Till next time...

Sunday Funday

The Good Dr. and I went to the desert to "our" shooting range today and burnt some brass. We got her a new pistol back a few months ago and she finally shot it for the first time today(yes, we've been a bit busy around here lately). Turns out, she seems to really like the Kel-Tec PF9, and it shoots great despite being a small concealed carry gun once you get used to the 3 mile long trigger. She even threw a few big bullets at the target with my .45. We worked on moving and shooting, as well as a little off-hand shooting and I pity any BG(that's short for Bad Guy) that happens to find himself in our home while we're here too. Turns out, I've got a pretty deadly deputy...

Some of you might know that we both drew an antelope tag this year. If you didn't know that, well, you do now. The boss lady has shot her .22 a good bit, and is pretty deadly with it, but since I feel that the .22LR is not an appropriate antelope cartridge past point-blank range, I figured that we need to start shooting the big rifle. So she sent some lead down the bore of the .243.

She shot 10 rounds at 100 yards, and missed the plate with one shot(hit just below it, and put that big ass hole in the board right below the plate). Here's one of her targets. Not bad at all for her first time shooting something at 100 yards with rifle bigger than a .22. I think she's got potential.