Let's go hunting

My fish was THIS big....

2010-02-08T12:44:00.002-07:00

Saturday was a decent day for a good ice fishing trip. I have been waiting for a day that wasn't too cold, windy, or wet to get Timbo out for his first time. Being a saturday, Tommy and Grandpa got to go too. Dad and I had been to this same spot a week and a half earlier, and had not only brought a nice trout or two home, but we also broke off one other really nice fish. This saturday, as dad was setting up the first rod, he hooked into something big, that broke the line right at the top line guide. Dad swings down, and grabs into the ice hole. Somehow, he grabbed the broken line, and started pulling up a fish. I went to help him, and, as I grabbed the fish, I ended up with a hook in my thumb. I noticed that this hook was not the one dad had been fishing with, but the jig that I lost in the big fish a week before. In other words, dad had caught the same fish. Here he is with the boys, and the fish, that ended up being 21", around 4 lbs.
The boys took a LOT of time to throw snowballs! They had an absolute blast.

The last time we were here, the ice had been covered in slushy water. I set things up so that the kids could hang out in my sled, and play, to stay out of the water.

Timbo had a blast for his first trip!! Here he is checking a couple of the poles, or just running around!

And, the big one in the background is throwing snowballs and throwing himself in the snow!

Halloween: Tommy's b-day hunt!

2009-11-01T08:26:00.003-07:00

Tommy really likes to tag along on duck hunting trips, and is really looking forward to his tenth birthday, when he can actually participate. This year, though, on his birthday, I was supposed to be taking my little brother, his father-in-law, and brother-in-law. Tommy still wanted to go with us, though, and was more than excited when I got him up at 4:45 in the morning to get dressed. At 5:00am, the designated meeting time, my brother called to say that he was almost to my house, but that his FIL was sick, and his BIL had been MIA that morning, so he was alone. Oh well, we'd be shooting for two limits of ducks instead of four. We made our way down to the mighty Snake River, and I started throwing out the decoys. As we were a little later than I'd hoped for, someone else got the best spot, but we got down to a pretty good hole - one where I limited out with three other guys on opening day last year. We got all set up, hid the truck, and got ready for the "opening bell," which was set for 7:33. At about 7:25, the group set up at the good spot up river, started blasting away - an insane round of fire that sounded like the opening of a war! I wasn't happy, I hate cheaters, and it was too dark to even see the birds flying! Anyway, my worries that it was too nice of a day, and there were too many people on the river were all soon quelled and we started putting some birds down. We ended the day at 10:00, so that Jake could get home to get his kiddos ready for Trick-or-Treats, with 5 widgeons, 2 mallards, and 1 gadwall. A great day! Tommy had a blast, and got to carry the birds to the truck, and pose for a picture or two! He's a good luck charm, for sure!

Hunting Success!!!!!

2009-10-14T16:34:00.002-06:00

October has been GREAT for us, and our hunting successes. Good thing, too, since September was such a bust. I saw a total of one elk during my archery season - granted, it was a big bull - and didn't come close to getting a shot, yet again. I did draw my bow and try to get a shot at a little 2 point buck, but he busted out of there before I could even look through my peep sight.

Anyway, I digress. We started off duck season on Oct 3, in Soda Springs, on the Bear River. It was a really slow morning, with only one shot fired, and it was a miss by my "little" brother. That evening, Heidi let me convince her to get us a babysitter, and we went back out. This time we hit a little pond off to the side of American Falls Reservoir. We, of course, forgot the camera, so this picture from my phone of Heidi getting ready is all I got. Good thing she looks so good!!!

We ended up coming home with three drake mallards - one of which was Heidi's - and a little pintail hen.

I went back out for ducks on Monday and killed four more. Then I took Tommy on Thursday (his parent teacher conference gave him a four day weekend). I didn't even have my phone for that hunt, so I got a picture of him and our lone pintail hen - I couldn't resist that one with Tommy saying "get it dad!" - when we got home. Man, that kid is getting too big!!! Two more years, and he'll be shooting with me!

After archery season was a bust, my new brother-in-law, Randy, told me he'd take me out during rifle season for a buck. I have never had luck deer hunting, and I wasn't holding out much hope for this year to be any different. But, as long as he was inviting, I was all for a hunt! Randy and his dad let me tag along with them to their family property somewhere north of Soda Springs. We hunted all day, walked like crazy, and rode the four wheelers all over that property. Finally, at the end of a cold, wet day, we headed back to the trucks. We had just come through one of the two gates when Randy's dad punched the throttle on his "wheeler" and I noticed he was speeding toward a guy standing in the road. I asked Randy who that was, and he told me it was his cousin, Chad. Chad had his rifle, and was looking through the scope at the hillside. I got the signal to stop, so I shut off the four wheeler, and Randy and I baled off to see what was so interesting. While we were looking in vain, Chad walked up and pointed out two young bucks on the hillside, just a few hundred yards from the trucks. I was able to kneel down, find the larger of the two bucks in the scope, and touch off my first shot before I even totally realized that I was shooting at my first deer! I missed a second shot as my buck was limping down the hill, and had to finish him off with a third when we jumped him up from where he had fallen. My first deer is a two-by-three, two to three year old, and I couldn't be any happier. Unfortunately, I didn't think about pictures until after Chad and Randy had dragged the deer down to the pasture, and after Chad's friend Colby had helped me gut him. This phone picture was taken in the light from my truck's cargo and reverse lights, and my phone's crappy flash. Sorry, it's the best I could do, it was dark by that time.

Here's hoping the rest of the year is anywhere near as good as October has already been!!!

A new Hunting Partner

2009-09-03T12:39:00.003-06:00

Once upon a time in a land called "every man's fantasy," a fair maiden brought home a long awaited surprise for her prince! This prince had been wishing for a duck hunting partner for as long as he has been hunting but fate had been unkind to him. When the lady heard of his wishes she decided to take fate into her own hands. It took many, many, many moons but the time had finally come to find the prince his hunting partner. The search was far and wide, but ended in Twin Falls, Idaho on Saturday night. The lady found this handsome pup and brought him home to meet her prince. It was love at first sight!

The handsome pup, ROCKY, has adjusted well and is a dream come true. He is just the right size, he has an amazing nose, and loves to play... The dear children in this land enjoy having him as well.

And they all lived happily ever after...

(written by Heidi...if anyone couldn't tell)

He is a natural hunter, great retriever, and has more energy than he knows what to do with. He will still need a good bit of training, but his natural ability so far amazes me. Plus, he really is a handsome boy. Oh, he may lose just a bit of his craziness next week. He is almost two, but his original owner did not have him neutered. I, though, don't want the goof ball peeing on anything else - though it was one of the ten funniest things I've ever seen when he lifted his leg on Heidi!!!

Gone Fishing, again...

2009-07-21T19:49:00.003-06:00

I have been absent from my little updates here for a while. Shell has new internet policies, so I don't do a lot of computer playing at work anymore. Then, I tried to write up an essay about patriotism for the fourth, and the internet went out on me all together, so I bagged the idea. That brings me to "the here and now."

There is a ton of stuff going on this summer, not the least of which is my littlest sister's wedding. They are having two receptions, but one of them will be at my parents' house, so my dad is going crazy with projects he wants to finish before all of those folks come over. He bought a bunch of flagstone to build a kind of porch in his backyard - it's really freaking cool, I ought to take a picture! Anyway, my point is coming up, he bought the stone from the famous quarry town of Oakley, ID. Aside from the stone sales shops, there isn't really much to Oakley, it's just a great little town, a little way off of the beaten path. However, they do have a beautiful reservoir there that is well stocked with walleye, a fish that neither dad or I had ever caught. So, when dad decided to go get his last load of flagstone, he hitched up his little boat, threw Tommy and I in the big green truck, and set off at a steady lope for our first try at walleye. It was really windy when we got to the reservoir, but we stuck it out and managed to catch not only our first walleye, but our first several! Each of us hooked and landed several little fish, and each hooked into a nice little native trout - although I released mine a tad earlier than the others, it counts for a hooked fish anyway. We didn't keep any walleye, but I did let Tommy keep his nice little rainbow, and taught him to clean a trout for the first time. It was a great day, even though dad and I got way too much sun, and I can't wait to repeat it. Here are a few pics, for laughs.

This is my monster walleye. As per usual, I caught the small fish of the day. Also "par for the course," dad caught the biggest - it was the first walleye and I didn't think fast enough to get a picture.

Here is Tommy's second walleye. Again, I was too excited when he brought up the first one, and didn't get a picture of it. These things didn't fight at all. We guessed that they were probably recent planters, and hoped that we could get a little fight out of some bigger ones. Unfortunately, the bigger ones never came. This one was a fair representation of what we caught all morning long, and they were almost as limp on the line as a chub.

Here the little guy is showing off his freshly cleaned rainbow. He was really tired when we finally got home that night, and I couldn't convince him to try barbequed trout with me. Maybe another time!

He didn't make it far into the drive home. Totally tuckered out!

Thanks for looking. I hope everyone is having a great summer. I will be after coyotes in Wyoming during my next two week "hitch." Hopefully I'll have something new to add here!

2009-03-14T10:03:00.004-06:00

This kid is so freaking funny. When Heidi told me about this little story I had to have her send it to me so I could put it here. Tommy's teacher says that he hurries with his work every day, but not to goof around, just to write stories. It's obvious that he was in a hurry, only part of it is colored and the writing is crooked, but it's the best story I've ever read, just the same. My favorite part is where it says "illistrated by Tomas D."

I love you Tommy, Dad

I love IDAHO!!!

2009-03-08T14:23:00.002-06:00

I don't think that I need to post much comment about this. I am proud of our state legislators for this.

Originally Posted by PDF linkedLEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixtieth Legislature First Regular Session 2009 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 3 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE A JOINT MEMORIAL TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the State of Idaho assembled in the First Regular Session of the Sixtieth Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
WHEREAS, the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution does not simply provide for a collective right or a right for the states to establish militias; rather it provides for the right of the people to keep and bear arms; and
WHEREAS, the primary purpose of the right to keep and bear arms is to protect one’s self, family and possessions from either the private lawlessness of other persons or the tyranny of government; and
WHEREAS, the right to keep and bear arms is also meant to protect the general private uses of firearms in activities such as hunting and other sporting activities; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S.Ct. 2783 (2008), recently struck down a firearms ban in the District of Columbia, explicitly ruling that the Second Amendment protects the right of the people to possess firearms for private use; and

WHEREAS, despite this ruling, legislation has been introduced in the United States House of Representatives calling for a system of mandatory federal licensing of all firearm owners; and

WHEREAS, the legislation introduced would require all firearm owners to apply for and carry a federally issued picture identification in order to keep any firearm in their homes; and

WHEREAS, the legislation introduced would make it a federal crime to keep a loaded firearm or an unloaded firearm and ammunition within any premises including, under certain circumstances, American homes where a child may be present; and

WHEREAS, the legislation introduced specifically purports to preempt any state or local law inconsistent with it; and

WHEREAS, the introduced legislation, Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, is a direct imposition on each American’s individual right to keep and bear arms in their homes and for their protection. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session of the Sixtieth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, that members of the United States Congress cease and desist attempting to enact federal legislation impinging on the individual right of every American to keep and bear arms in any manner. Specifically, that members of Congress oppose the passage of the Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, and any similar legislation.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate be, and she is herebyauthorized and directed to forward a copy of this Memorial to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Congress, and the congressional delegation representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.

Gun Ban

2009-03-08T09:58:00.002-06:00

Well, as I knew he would, Eric Holder announced that President Obama's administration will, after all, be going after guns. His reasoning makes sense too. We need to ban "assault weapons" in the US, because it will benefit Mexico (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6960824&page=1). How exactly it will benefit Mexico, we don't know, but Mr. Holder says it will have a positive effect there. I played around a while and found some other, equally good reasons for banning guns so here you go (the ones in red are my favorites):

1. Banning guns works, which is why New York, DC, & Chicago cops need guns.

2. Washington DC’s low murder rate of 69 per 100,000 is due to strict gun control, and Indianapolis’ high murder rate of 9 per 100,000 is due to the lack of gun control.

3. Statistics showing high murder rates justify gun control but statistics showing increasing murder rates after gun control are “just statistics.”

4. The Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban, both of which went into effect in 1994 are responsible for the decrease in violent crime rates, which have been declining since 1991.

5. We must get rid of guns because a deranged lunatic may go on a shooting spree at any time and anyone who would own a gun out of fear of such a lunatic is paranoid.

6. The more helpless you are the safer you are from criminals.

7. An intruder will be incapacitated by tear gas or oven spray, but if shot with a .357 Magnum will get angry and kill you.

8. A woman raped and strangled is morally superior to a woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet.

9. When confronted by violent criminals, you should “put up no defense - give them what they want, or run” (Handgun Control Inc. Chairman Pete Shields, Guns Don’t Die - People Do, 1981, p. 125).

10. The New England Journal of Medicine is filled with expert advice about guns; just like Guns & Ammo has some excellent treatises on heart surgery.

11. One should consult an automotive engineer for safer seatbelts, a civil engineer for a better bridge, a surgeon for internal medicine, a computer programmer for hard drive problems, and Sarah Brady for firearms expertise.

12. The 2nd Amendment, ratified in 1787, refers to the National Guard, which was created 130 years later, in 1917.

13. The National Guard, federally funded, with bases on federal land, using federally-owned weapons, vehicles, buildings and uniforms, punishing trespassers under federal law, is a “state” militia.

14. These phrases: “right of the people peaceably to assemble,” “right of the people to be secure in their homes,” “enumerations herein of certain rights shall not be construed to disparage others retained by the people,” and “The powers not delegated herein are reserved to the states respectively, and to the people” all refer to individuals, but “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” refers to the state.

15. “The Constitution is strong and will never change.” But we should ban and seize all guns thereby violating the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Amendments to that Constitution.

16. Rifles and handguns aren’t necessary to national defense! Of course, the army has hundreds of thousands of them.

17. Private citizens shouldn’t have handguns, because they aren’t “military weapons”, but private citizens shouldn’t have “assault rifles”, because they are military weapons.

18. In spite of waiting periods, background checks, fingerprinting, government forms, etc., guns today are too readily available, which is responsible for recent school shootings. In the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s, anyone could buy guns at hardware stores, army surplus stores, gas stations, variety stores, Sears mail order, no waiting, no background check, no fingerprints, no government forms and there were no school shootings.

19. The NRA’s attempt to run a “don’t touch” campaign about kids handling guns is propaganda, but the anti-gun lobby’s attempt to run a “don’t touch” campaign is responsible social activity.

20. Guns are so complex that special training is necessary to use them properly, and so simple to use that they make murder easy.

21. A handgun, with up to 4 controls, is far too complex for the typical adult to learn to use, as opposed to an automobile that only has 20.

22. Women are just as intelligent and capable as men but a woman with a gun is “an accident waiting to happen” and gun makers’ advertisements aimed at women are “preying on their fears.”

23. Ordinary people in the presence of guns turn into slaughtering butchers but revert to normal when the weapon is removed.

24. Guns cause violence, which is why there are so many mass killings at gun shows.

25. A majority of the population supports gun control, just like a majority of the population supported owning slaves.

26. Any self-loading small arm can legitimately be considered to be a “weapon of mass destruction” or an “assault weapon.”

27. Most people can’t be trusted, so we should have laws against guns, which most people will abide by because they can be trusted.

28. The right of Internet pornographers to exist cannot be questioned because it is constitutionally protected by the Bill of Rights, but the use of handguns for self defense is not really protected by the Bill of Rights.

29. Free speech entitles one to own newspapers, transmitters, computers, and typewriters, but self- defense only justifies bare hands.

30. The ACLU is good because it uncompromisingly defends certain parts of the Constitution, and the NRA is bad, because it defends other parts of the Constitution.

31. Charlton Heston, a movie actor as president of the NRA is a cheap lunatic who should be ignored, but Michael Douglas, a movie actor as a representative of Handgun Control, Inc. is an ambassador for peace who is entitled to an audience at the UN arms control summit.

32. Police operate with backup within groups, which is why they need larger capacity pistol magazines than do “civilians” who must face criminals alone and therefore need less ammunition.

33. We should ban “Saturday Night Specials” and other inexpensive guns because it’s not fair that poor people have access to guns too.

34. Police officers have some special Jedi-like mastery over handguns that private citizens can never hope to obtain.

35. Private citizens don’t need a gun for self- protection because the police are there to protect them even though the Supreme Court says the police are not responsible for their protection.

36. Citizens don’t need to carry a gun for personal protection but police chiefs, who are desk-bound administrators who work in a building filled with cops, need a gun.

37. “Assault weapons” have no purpose other than to kill large numbers of people. The police need assault weapons. You do not.

38. When Microsoft pressures its distributors to give Microsoft preferential promotion, that’s bad; but when the Federal government pressures cities to buy guns only from Smith & Wesson, that’s good.

39. Trigger locks do not interfere with the ability to use a gun for defensive purposes, which is why you see police officers with one on their duty weapon.

40. Handgun Control, Inc., says they want to “keep guns out of the wrong hands.” Guess what? You have the wrong hands.

Somthing a little off the wall

2009-02-12T09:58:00.002-07:00

Well, duck season ended on a boring note. Heidi and I went out on the last day, had a great time watching the birds fly, and sitting in the mist, but never did get a shot. We got out very late - it happens when you have to get the kids off to school and a babysitter (thanks Mohna) before you can go - and we missed out on the spot I wanted to sit at. No big deal, except the guy sitting there was getting shot after shot, and finally limited out, I think.

Anyway, I'm stuck at work now for a couple weeks, and don't have any adventures to write about. However, I do have a couple things. Last time I was up here the free Sirius subscription ran out for our work truck. I'm not usually much of a music listener but, since there aren't any radio stations at all to listen to, I put a couple of my old CD's in the truck to pass the time. I had a "hankerin'" to listen to Creed, so I grabbed the three CD's I have and I've been listening to them for a week straight now. A couple of the songs have always been favorites of mine, so I'll put them up here for anyone that wants to see them.

And one that I've only just fallen in love with. If you know me well, you know that I have a very hard time trusting people, that I'm a very cynical and sarcastic individual, and that I have a hard time caring about things that don't involve me. I see that in the individual described in this song. I see the point of this song as a person struggling to open his heart and love his fellow humans. Anyway, this is Weathered:

5 times skunked

2009-01-05T09:39:00.005-07:00

Well, I haven't had a productive hunt since my birthday, but that doesn't stop me from having fun! I've hunted 3 days since Christmas, once with Heidi's dad which was a really cold morning, and have had a few shots at birds, but it just hasn't come together very well. Anyway, here is a couple pictures of my latest adventure.

That's an icy Snake river under a beautiful sun rise. Unfortunately, nice days are not great for duck hunting.

While the hunting hasn't been great, everything else has been. I worked an extra week in Wyoming at the beginning of December and got enough overtime to get Heidi a new stove, microwave and carpet for the bedroom. Plus, I had enough to get and AR15. However, I decided that I only wanted the AR as a rebellion, and I don't really need or want one. So, I got a bolt action .243 instead and had enough left over for some serious ice fishing gear!

I'M A MEATATARIAN!!!!

2008-12-23T10:57:00.003-07:00

My favorite line: "It's a personal choice, you have to commit to it..." Anyway, I saw this on tv the other night and had to post it.

Yep, I'm 30

2008-11-11T07:54:00.002-07:00

Well it finally happened. I turned the big 3-0 last saturday. It was the best birthday ever! I got to go duck hunting with a bunch of friends (including my "little" brother, Jake) in the morning which turned out to be 3 1/2 hours of almost constant birds coming in. There were six of us in the blinds and it was only poor shooting that caused us to leave so many ducks flying. We had a beautiful decoy spread laid out, but none of us expected the flock sizes we saw trying to come into us and I think several bigger groups passed us up for not having enough of a "landing zone."

After hunting, Jake and I went to a local trap club where my ward's Elder's quorum had reserved the morning to shoot some clay pigeons. We had an excellent turn out and some of those that had never even fired a shotgun before were able to break some clay and have an absolute blast.

Next, Tommy and I watched a movie (meaning I napped while Tommy enjoyed a "cowboy movie" - he and I share a love for John Wayne flicks). Before we started the movie, though, Heidi had a surprise for me. The kids got me new duck hunting waders for my b-day. Aren't they cute? I can't wait for my next hunt to try them out.

Then we dropped the kids off with my little sister for a little while before they headed to Grammy and Papa's to spend the night. When I got back home, Heidi was already preparing dinner. We had a TON of fun making dinner together - bacon and potato chowder and snow crab legs - and a very nice candlelit meal. Without the kids, we got to bed early and slept in on Sunday morning. PERFECTION!!!

Just as I thought my b-day was over, I got the real shocker. After church on Sunday Heidi blindfolded me with a pink jacket (I can only imagine what people were thinking) and said she had one more birthday surprise. She drove around the entire town, I think, and then came to a stop and told me to take off the blindfold. We were at our own house, but there were cars everywhere and some joker had written on my front window. I might be a little slow, but I caught on when I read the window, "you're a member of the nerdy 30 club." Then I started to recognize cars and realized this was a party. Sure enough, Heidi had stolen my friends' phone numbers from my phone and had put together a big ole part-ay!!!

All said and done, it was the best birthday. I have the best family in the world - close and far! Thank you all and I love you.

Josh

NOBAMA!!!!

2008-10-23T11:26:00.007-06:00

I will try to make a calm civil post about my reasons for not voting for Barrack Obama. First of all, I would like to make it plain that I do not think that John McCain is the best person for the job. In fact, more than ever, this is definately a case of choosing a lesser of two "bads" (don't want to say "evil").

My first reason for not supporting Obama is that I do not feel that he is trustworthy. Like it or not Obama fans, he is still refusing to show his Certificate of Live Birth, to document himself as a legal US citizen. To be elected as to other government offices, such as US Senator, a person may be a naturalized immigrant to the US. Not so for the President - Article 2 Clause 5 of the US Constitution: No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

In other words, if Obama, as is suspected, was not actually born in Hawaii, but in Africa, he is ineligible for this office and would be violating the Constitution if elected. This is apparently one of the changes he speaks about so frequently, that he wants to change the Constitution, and it leads to my second point. Obama, although actively denying it in this campaign (look into his role in ACORN and their platform if you don't believe me, this guy hates gun owners), has fought for years to ban firearms. I do not think that I want to take up space here to show the MANY quotes of the founding fathers and other patriots since that spell out the necessity of the Second Amendment of the Constitution. They were very clear that they intended the individual citizen to have the right to bear arms, and they were very clear that the removal of that right is a necessity of tyranny. This right was written into the Constitution to maintain the freedom of our Nation from itself and its leaders. I am going to quote a favorite movie of mine (yes, it's rated R, flame away if you want to) "...Why would I trade one tyrant 3000 miles away for 3000 tyrants one mile away. An elected legislature can trample a man's rights as easily as a king can." - Patriot

My last point is about his stand on "economic justice" (I will stay away from Obama's ethnic - I am not a racist, I don't care about race, I am talking about his ties to the Middle East - and religious ties here because that is where I get heated, and these three points are more than enough to convince me I shouldn't vote for him). This is a Socialist view. Anyone that hears these ideas and doesn't believe them to be Socialist is naiive and ignorant. I do not disagree with Socialism - a system based on economic equality where the lowly garbage man and the top brain surgeon are in the same economical class, where teachers' and lawyers' salaries are the same. However, true Socialism is not a possiblility. Man is a greedy and envious being, but above all, man is lazy. No one would ever put in the work to be a doctor or a lawyer, or even a teacher after it's all said and done, when the bag boy at Walmart makes the same wage. Socialism can not work in the economic world we live it - maybe in a barter system, but I digress. This is well known, that is what Karl Marx realized. What Obama is pitching here in "economic justice" is Marxism, Communism.

So, in summary, I will not vote for someone who snubbs his nose at the Constitution, who has spent his career trying to change parts of the Constitution that he doesn't like, and who appears to be trying to change the entire Governmental system of our Nation laid out in the Constitution.

Better an imperfect Republican, than a perfect Communist!

Opening Day

2008-10-05T20:29:00.004-06:00

Somehow, Mother Nature seems to know exactly when opening day of duck season is every year. I had been watching the weather.com report for Pocatello, using the 10 day report, and then the weekend report, and then using the all day breakdown, they all reported rain for October 4, opening day. Possibly more amazing than Mother Nature guessing the correct date, the meteorologists at weather.com were actually right for once. Starting around midnight, a total downpour hit and would keep up most of the day.

Heidi, Tommy, Savana, my dad, my brother, and I went to a creek that kind of paralells the Snake River, leaving my parent's house at just after 4 am. I thought we'd have the creek to ourselves, I've never seen anyone else duck hunting there, but that was not anywhere near correct. In not more than 600 yards of the creek, there were at least 5 groups hunting the small waterway. Due to the warm weather over the last few weeks, I don't think the migrating birds have come south yet. So, between the large numbers of hunters and the lower bird numbers than I expected, and the rain, it wasn't the morning I had been dreaming of. We did make the very best of it, and had as much fun as the weather would allow. The only regret was not getting picture of dad in his "camouflage." He wore a BRIGHT yellow poncho, while the rest of us were decked out in total camo, even the kids who had adorable flannel camouflage ponchos that their mom made them.

Anyway, to the hunt. It took a few minutes and a few high flights of ducks past us, but we finally got a couple to commit to our decoy spread and light calling. They came from upstream, and my brother pulled up and dropped the first one, while I followed with the second. A couple missed shots later from our whole group, and Heidi hit what we later found was a young drake mallard, then my brother finished it off so I made him cross the creek and retrieve it. We brought a couple more groups in but were unable to put any more birds down. Looking back, the day was a complete success, my dad even took a few shots.

Because of the rain, I decided to leave the camera in the truck, so we only have after-the-hunt pictures. I'll try to get some better field pictures next time.

Every story needs to be told

2008-09-30T12:56:00.002-06:00

For my senior year of high school, I had moved to the thriving metropolis of American Falls, Idaho. If I remember correctly, my senior class had a total of 97 students in it at the beginning of the year. There wasn't much to do in that little community, and, after some inquisition, I found out that for fun these guys went hunting and fishing. Now, I had been fishing all my life, and it was, from time to time, more than a passion for me. Hunting, though, was not something I had ever done much of.

I grew up in a big city life, and later found out that my dad had given up hunting after moving to Utah and having a couple very dangerous hunts and had sold his rifle. I had some friends in Utah that hunted, but I never had so I didn't think it was "my thing." However, shortly after coming to Idaho, Grandpa Taylor took me "plinking." The ground squirrels dig holes all through the cattle pastures and are a general nuisance to ranchers. We took out some .22's and had a long day of fun. Toward the end of our day, though, we were approached by a couple of Game Wardens. I didn't know at that time that I needed to have a license to shoot varmints in Idaho. Luckily, Grandpa Taylor, being the talker that he was, convinced the senior officer not to ticket us, and to just warn us. That little escapade earned me the nickname "poacher" and also convinced me to take Hunter's Education. That summer, my brother and I both passed Hunter Ed, and dad took us on a one-day deer hunt that fall. We ended up seeing several does, but no bucks. It didn't matter to me, I loved the experience.

Back to American Falls. When baseball season rolled around (well, kind of, we were practicing in the gym because March is still winter in Idaho) I met a person that drove the hook in deeper. Shane and I started hanging out after school and before practice. We only had about 4 subjects of conversation: baseball, hunting, fishing, and, of course, girls. Through the rest of our school year we became great friends, and especially hung out the next fall when we could go chase college girls. Over that summer and early fall I somehow invited myself on an annual family elk hunt with Shane, his brother, dad and grandpa. I borrowed Grandpa Taylor's 30/06 and practiced with it a couple times before the hunt. Also, Shane's dad, Van, took a lot of time to go over the hunt area maps with me so I could give my parents a decent idea of where we'd be (yeah right I was so freaking lost...).

The day finally came. We loaded into Van's truck and hit the road. I was so excited I don't think I even noticed the normally long and boring drive to Boise. In fact, I don't remember the drive at all, come to think of it. No, wait, I have one VIVID memory. As we were winding up the twisty gravel roads, we came along side a Salmon River tributary. We all looked at the water, it was beautiful and we hoped we'd get to see some fall steelhead running. Suddenly we want around a corner and came face to face with a BIG Mack dumptruck coming down the hill. When the skidding stopped, we were close enough to see the facial features of the Mack bulldog on the hood, and I had to check to see if I need to change pants!

Unfortunately, I didn't take Van's advice to put this story down soon enough. This was 11 years ago and most of the hunt is very hazy. However, there are some parts that are just as fresh in my mind as they were the days they happened. The first is the pack in. I knew how far it was going to be, we'd been over it several times. I just didn't know how long it would take to get there! After what I was sure was our 300th hour of walking I asked how much farther. I was told that we were about half way! I could have died, and found out later that my disappointment was very obvious. Luckily they were all just having some fun at my expense and it was only a couple minutes later that we turned from the trail to the meadow that would be home for the next several days.

The next highly memorable event was out grouse slaughter, but it doesn't need a lot of explanation. Just to say, grouse is good eatin'.

The most memorable of all though, and the reason for telling the story, is the day I got my bull. Since I had never been to the area before, nor had I ever really spent much time in the mountains, I had been splitting time with everyone in camp. That day I was hunting with Van, and we woke up to a cool morning and a skiff of snow. We had high hopes that day because of the snow, and headed out quickly. We hunted through the morning and didn't hear or see anything but a couple guys riding their horses up the trail blowing bugles trying to locate the elk. As the day warmed, Van and I sat down under a big shady tree and had some sandwiches. As we ate, Van layed out his plan to hunt along the ridges and saddles and eventually end up back at camp. We had crossed only a couple of ridges after lunch when Van told me to go to the top of the next one and find a quiet place to sit down, that he'd catch up in a while. I had only been sitting on my log for maybe a minute when I heard a twig snap behind me and to my left. I thought Van had gone all the way around me and was coming down the hill to me now, but, when I looked, I saw a very nice little mule deer buck. He walked down the hill and passed by me at under 30 yards. Even though deer season was open, I had been asked not to shoot a buck unless it was an absolute monster since we would have to pack it out all that way. I put the cross hairs on his chest but did not pull the trigger, I just watched him continue walking down the ridge. The next twig to break came from my right, and was Van. He had seen the deer too, and, when he sat next to me, we watched that buck for several minutes together as we sat and talked. Even though I had never seen an elk in the wild - heck that had been the first buck deer I'd ever seen - I had been joking to Van about seeing elk around every bend since we had got to the mountains in the truck, and he had been doing the same to me. So, when I turned to look at the next twig snapping behind me, and told Van that a bull elk was right behind us, he didn't believe me. In fact, he said, quite loudly, "well shoot it then." I said, "oh, ok." I immediately dropped off of the log onto a knee and put the cross hairs on the shoulder of the elk I had actually seen. Just as I was about to pull the trigger, though, I questioned if it was actually a bull - I don't know why, it was my first hunt. After confirming it had antlers, I repositioned on his shoulder and started to squeeze the trigger. At some point Van realized that I wasn't kidding, and turned as well to see the bull staring at us from about 35 yards. I still don't know what that bull was thinking to stand there that long, but after I didn't shoot for what Van said was forever, he decided to take the shot. There was a great echo as both 30/06's went off almost as one. That bull didn't run very far and we found him on the other side of the rise, almost at the edge of a small pond. Van immediately went to work to gut and half the elk, while I stood there dumbfounded and watched.

Again, the rest of the trip is a blur. I know we had some problems with the horse trailer on the way out of the hills, but I don't remember anything else about it. The small 5x6 antlers still sit on top of the horse barn at my parents house, waiting for a spot in my landscaping, I guess.

I still haven't killed a deer and that is the only elk I've taken, though I always hope to remedy that. I will always be greatful to that awesome family for letting a very green but budding hunter tag along on their time.

Here we go

2008-09-26T19:33:00.003-06:00

Well, although I have been out hunting a few times by myself already (brought home one whole dove and blanked on five coyote stands) our family's season is just beginning.

Last year we started what I hope will be a long-time tradition in our family, our opening day duck hunt. On the first Friday of October, Heidi and I took the boys to Rexburg, ID (the girls stayed with my parents and mostly played Barbies and bugged Papa if memory serves) to pick up my little sister, stay the night in a hotel and for Tommy, Heidi and I to hunt ducks the next morning. It rained most of that Friday, and I was afraid it would rain Saturday morning as well. Sure enough, when we got up it was still raining and it was COLD. I told Heidi that she and Tommy could stay at the hotel if they wanted, but they were both really excited for the hunt. So, we loaded up and went out to Cartier Slough WMA just west of town and just off of the Henry's Fork. The cloud cover was low but the rain had become more of a drizzle. I got all of the gear strapped on my back and then made sure Heidi and Tommy had on as much rain gear as I could scrounge up, and off we set for a little pond I had seen before. It turns out the rain was not the end of my bad luck. I had forgotten my waders and the ponds were much more swollen than I had hoped. I did find us a nice little spot of water just off the main trail, and managed to throw out 6 decoys without overcrowding the hole. Then the luck got worse. As the sun finally started to come up, the drizzling rain got heavier and then turned to snow. I couldn't help but think the other two had to be freezing, but Heidi still had an excited look on her face, so we stuck it out. Almost shooting light now and I can hear the ducks flying over us. It's obvious that there are a lot of birds, and suddenly a nice flock dropped below the clouds. There must have been 30 mallards coming right over the trail, right at us. I raise my gun and hear a "click" OH NO!!! I cycle the semi-auto action and try again on the next wave of birds, "click." My old "dependable" failed me. I got Heidi to shoot a couple times, before we all froze, and we decided to pack it in after about 45 minutes. As we walked back to the truck the ducks continued to fly over in numbers I hadn't seen before. In that short 45 minutes to an hour I guessed that we must have seen at least 500 birds, and, although we didn't bring any home, we all had the time of our lives.

Now, in just over a week, we will try to do it again. This time Savana wants to go and my brother will be with us as well. It should be a blast.