New York Hillbilly

Congrats! She looks like a tank!

Congrats!

I don't think it's a sign of being lazy as much as the reality that many of us have a lot of responsibilities that compete for our limited head space. It sucks when you sit there on stand thinking about everything that needs to get done elsewhere. I know for me there are days I just admit to myself that I'm going to be thinking about everything other than hunting so I talk myself out of going, or if I do go hunting, I pull the plug early and head back to the house. Believe it or not; there have been several times over the years I have called to check on my patient's while hunting. One time in particular, years ago, the nurse on the other end asked me why I was whispering. When I told her I was in a pine tree deer hunting she cracked up laughing and told me quit calling and go back to hunting.

Dead quiet on the hill. Feels lonely this season.

All I got was cramped fingers!

In the swamp. Close quarters. Shotgun only in here. If happens it will be 5 to 30 yards at the most. Fingers crossed!

Happy Anniversary! Must be great minds do think alike! Yesterday was our 44th anniversary, and we too had pizza (and Utica greens) for dinner. And, believe it or not, even though neither of us are sick at this point, she chose to eat at home and the pizza. : ) Speedy recovery to you both!

Also, why thinking Feist. I have lots of squirrels here and think it might be fun treeing them. : )

It was your dog pics, and the news yesterday talking about NYC hiring a "Rat Czar" that got me to thinking about my rat killer dachshund. Also, with our garden growing in size each year and getting chickens soon, mice and rats are a major consideration for me. A couple childhood experiences really freaked me out when it comes to rats, so I'm not embarrassed ( well maybe a little..lol) to admit I not only hate them but have something of a fear of them. I trained our Westie from a pup to search for and kill mice,and she is good at it. She has a high prey drive and always on the hunt. But, with her being really small for a Westie (she was the runt of her litter) and now almost 9 years old, I would fear for her safety if she tangled with anything that put up much of a fight. I've been actively looking at adding another member to the family pack and thinking either dachshund or rat terrier/feist type dog. I even considered miniature schnauzer based on what I have read. Something short hair, somewhat non shedding that won't require frequent trips to the groomer for haircuts. Also. needs to be good around kids for when my 6 year old grandson comes to visit. What's your thinking?

Great pictures Al. I raised, trained, hunted, and trialed beagles for many years, And, one of my all time favorites dogs was my mini dachshund, "Squeaker". He was a rat, snake, woodchuck killing machine! Even though he lost a back leg, that had to be amputated after being caught in a neighbors trap and laying there for days before they found him and let him loose to drag himself home. He would ride on my tractor when I was brush hogging, and would wait for me to stop and let him jump off to grab field mice and rats, then wait for me to get off to put him back on. lol He was a great dog and fearless when it came to hunting!

After morning sit, I grabbed the card out of my camera that is over the carcass of the doe I shot. Expecting to see crows and coyotes, to my surprise and dismay I find I have a trespasser. This brazen fool was actually in the direct middle of my property and within 150 yards of where I had been sitting in a pine tree ladder stand. He must have heard me leave on my wheeler last night before he walked out, because the time on the picture was 4:56PM. I left at 4:35PM. We're not talking he was just across the line, he was directly in the center of my land. Unfortunately I did not get his face because he was so close to the camera, but did get his whole body up to his chin. His clothes and way he was dressed, his body, his shotgun and odd way he carries it with the sling(shortest shotgun I have ever seen, looks sawed off), and carrying some sort of fanny pack in front of him, makes him easy to pick out. So, I spent a couple hours this afternoon walking the property line and putting up new (additional) posted signs, where I suspect he came through. I hate people who have no respect for others, and as a trespasser clearly no respect for themself either!

Three nervous does being followed by a coyote. Coyote was in brush so no shot.

Back in the saddle again. Maybe tonight is the lucky night!

Holy smoke is it ever windy out here! That's enough! I don't care what deer walks by now. I'm getting out before this stand decides to flip over.

Happy Birthday!

Keep us posted how it goes, and if you open a jar to try, how you like it!

As an update; the Weatherby is my go to rifle every time I leave the door. It has done a great job filling our shelves. And, my wife was just saying today out of the clear blue, "that is the prettiest gun you have!". : ) She has never mentioned anything ever before about my firearms.

Here’s a picture of one of our shelves, and there are four shelf sections in total, full.

Great question! Until last year I would not have been able to answer it myself. lol After having a freezer go down one time to many, my wife and I decided to can venison as well as everything (almost) from our garden. Our kids and friends thought we were nuts a few years ago when we started canning so much in preparation for any shortages. Stories from my grandparents about the Depression came flooding back to me during the whole Covid where the hell is the toilet paper thing. Now if the power goes out or food shortages hit we are very well positioned to feed us and our friends and/or family. And, as far a venison goes; until you have tried it you can not believe what you are missing! It is melt in your mouth tender (even the tough cuts like leg meat) and the flavor like slow cooked pot roast. It makes awesome stew, soup, enchiladas, etc. I'll admit the first time pressure canning we were sitting on the edge of our seats the whole time worried we might blow the house up, but now my wife is an expert at it in my opinion. Oh...and nobody we know are laughing at us now! Our Thanksgiving dinner with the exception of the turkey all came straight from our homestead.

This was yesterday’s hard work. 10 quarts (quart plus pint jars) of canned venison, plus 21 pounds breakfast sausage, 1 pickled deer heart (from other day). The tenderloins and backstraps in the freezer. Also kept the liver in case someone asks for it. : )

Saw this coming from a mile away. But, they are all just conspiracy theories!

I'm jealous of that grinder set up! What a great looking grind. I'm here going nuts again with mine. Do you freeze the meat before grinding? PS. The pickled heart recipe was on point.

I could not agree more. It speaks to a bigger issue in my opinion. There is a sense of entitlement, passive aggressive bully BS, and how can I act like an A'hole and get away with it that seems to afflict many people these days. It's like people get their rocks off being jerks!

Trying your heart recipe this morning.

Absolutely! This describes my property perfectly. Unfortunately, what I started to protect fawns and turkey nests by allowing my fields to overgrow also made my deer hunting even more challenging. I let the fields overgrow to make it tougher for coyotes to locate young wildlife in the Spring, and to try and improve rabbit cover. I think it worked in that regard, but really changed the face of hunting for me. I can sit up on the farm opposite mine and glass my whole property, and have done it for years. When you do that you are looking straight into the brushy fields and can watch the deer walking around and chasing each other all day long. The tough part is when you are actually on the hill hunting you will not see them and they know it! Once the deer start seeing, hearing and smelling humans in the woods, they just take up residence in the brush.