airedale

Took a ride on my scooter the other day in the late afternoon and saw five different does with fawns near the side of the roads, looks like a good crop this year. Al

For anyone looking to get hold of almost impossible to find large rifle primers for reloading, Powder Valley has some in stock from an outfit called White River. Al Small arms ammunition primers made in America. Located in a state-of-the-art facility in Arkansas, USA, WRE supports a wide range of domestic and international clients in defense and sporting markets through the manufacture and distribution of primers for small caliber ammunition.

Been using the old proven Coleman Fuel stoves as far back as I can remember, they just work great. Al

I have been wanting to get a boat for several years now, but at my age I did not want to go into hock for a new one. I had it in my mind if I came across a good used boat that was reasonably close by that was structurally sound and mechanically sound I would consider buying it. This boat is pretty old, a 1991 with a 2004 50 HP motor, but it was well maintained, no leaks, rot or soft floors, and everything worked, it was fairly close by and priced right. There were a few cosmetic things that were addressed and I did some upgrades to the old accessories, I love doing all that tinkering and as they say getting her shipshape did not cost a whole lot of money. Spent the past week or so sprucing her up and I think she will work out well for me at this stage of the game. As for Catfishing Oneida Lake and her tributaries that have deep holes are great for them, it is pretty close by and has nice boat launches. Back when I did a bit of Catfishing I did pretty well in those places. The Redfield reservoir is my favorite for Bass along with Delta lake North of Rome, caught some nice Northerns out of there. Al

Well it has been around forty years since I had a boat and now that I am entering my second childhood I decided it was time to get another. A Tracker Deep V17 in decent shape, looking forward to Bass season and doing some Catfishing. Al

From what I know it is all about getting exposed to air, as long as it is frozen with no air intrusion it will not spoil, as time goes by it will not have the taste of fresher meat but it won't kill you. LOL I once watched on TV one of those Discovery Channel shows about excavating Wooly Mammoths out of the frozen tundra of Siberia. One specimen was so well preserved that one of the crew cut off a slab of several thousand year old flesh cooked it and ate some of it. According to that tale it tasted fine and nobody got sick from eating it. Al

Looked out the window a few minutes ago and one of the local Turkey hens walking by with her poults in tow. She has a least a half dozen that I could see, they are all out of the woods in the open when it rains, a couple of nice Toms out there also.

Wow!, a big one that has been eating good! Al

Fishing is getting a lot like hunting when it comes to shore fishing, many of the places I fished are now all posted, there are plenty of public places but you sometimes have to contend with crowed conditions. I bit the bullet and picked up a used boat which opened a myriad of options and I plan on doing a little more fishing this summer especially for Bass. Al

I am so busy this time of year I do not have much time for social media, I ain't complaining as I am having a lot of fun with plenty of things to do. Al

Saw a hen with a pretty good hatch of new poults making their way through one of my pastures, a half dozen at least. Best hatch I have seen around here in quite a few years. Also saw a bearded hen scratching around for food. Al

You can take my advice with a grain of salt as I am far from being any kind of expert Turkey hunter, in fact I am not much of a Turkey hunter and have never killed a fall Turkey. That being said I have had the opportunity to kill them in the fall many times while hunting other game. The one key element I focus on is a food supply when I hunt just about any game animal, find out what they are eating, find a source of that food and the game will be in that area. Turkeys, Deer and Squirrels like to eat a lot of the same mast, Acorns and Beechnuts, find a good stand of those trees and you will have action. Turkeys can be patterned like Deer, they have a schedule for feeding and I see them many times turn up in the same place at the same time, I have had them parade by me while sitting on watch Deer hunting in good feed areas. The later in the season the less I see Turkeys in and around open fields, they seem to stay in the woods a lot more and are bunched in flocks more. Woods that border cut off corn fields may attract them close to the edges. Calling in the fall is not the same as Spring mating time, if you can get a flock busted up and scattered they look to regroup calls can be effective. The only call I do is a basic yelp from the several different calls I have, I am far from being a good Turkey caller. Getting out there and observing using trial and error will teach you plenty, getting good at anything takes time and patience, just keep at it and good luck to you. Al

Happy belated Birthday Grampy.

Totally gone and deader than a doornail, I give this recipe an A plus! Al

I have a walnut stocked Marlin 95 45-70, it was passed down to me from my Dad, he killed Deer with it and I have taken several with it, accurate and reliable, I believe with the right ammo one could hunt just about anything that walks with a 45-70. Regardless of the furniture she is wearing that Dark series model 95 Marlin will make a great Bear hunting rifle I think. Al

The black tactical look is the in thing these days, rifles and shotguns of all types are getting the black treatment. Whatever floats your boat as they say, but not my cup of tea. Al

So while I was doing my chores this morning I see my cattle fixated on something in the pasture, a cow and her calf started trotting after something and I could see something red colored running in front of them in the high grass. At first I thought it was a fox but as I got a better look I could see it was a newborn fawn. It ran up to my barn and laid down along side of it, I got out there quick and brought it into the barnyard away from the cattle. Of course it was bleating bloody murder but that was good as I hoped the mother was withing earshot and I could bring it to her. I saw nothing. I figured it belonged to a doe that comes out in the back pasture behind my house, the fencing back there is page wire with big spacing and I have seen fawns squeeze through it several times in years past and that is probably where the fawn got in. The problem is the fawn wandered down into my lower pasture that is fenced with small square horse fence and could not get out. Years ago I had a Coyote kill a young deer it ran into the fence down there. So I decided to take the fawn to the back pasture and release it on the other side of the fence, while I am carrying it this little guy was bleating up a storm and low and behold here comes the doe, she jumps the fence and is staring at me. I set the fawn down and he ran back to her so I think all will be fine. This morning there was a goofy turkey walking around in the yard going back and forth along the fence, they fly in with no problem but it takes them forever to figure out how to get back, had to wait for it to fly back over before I could let the Airedale out. Noticed a sparrow with a nest in a hanging basket on the front porch. Never a dull moment and always something going on here at green acres, back to the chores. Al

So I took a couple of more photos yesterday showing the effects of the home made concoction on various weeds after a couple of days. Al

Good for her and congratulations to Erika. Al

I have some turkeys in my area but I do not have any desire to hunt them anymore, I see them all the time out doing my chores around the farm and it would not be very difficult to kill one as they act almost like barnyard birds. I have had my Turkey hunting fun, seems like these days I enjoy sitting back and watching wildlife more than hunting them. Al

So I watched a couple of videos online on how to brew your own cost effective and environment safe weed killer. A gallon of 40% vinegar, a cup of salt and a good squeeze of dish washing liquid, put it all in your sprayer and shake it up so it mixes well. I gave it a try this morning on some poison ivy vines growing on one of my oaks in the back yard, gave them a good spraying and checked them a few minutes ago and they are looking poorly. I think another good shot in the morning ought to finish them off. Al

Persistence, I had a year Deer hunting where I was out almost every day and did not see a single Buck the entire season, that is until the last half hour of daylight on the final day of the season, BANG! Al

Got to say that you are getting some good real world practice in which is always a good thing. Al

Tough to lose those old timers, I have learned a lot over the years from guys like that, very sad when they are gone. Al

I believe the local hens have started sitting and incubating their eggs, I see them singly out in fields for a few minutes getting a quick bite to eat and disappearing back to their nests, the Toms are wandering around by themselves. Al