Happy New Year Bloggers!

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Hope your New Year is as wonderful as you are!

Hunting We Will Go...

to the famous Christmas Place Plantation and Hunting Club in the morning. Rex over at Deer Camp Blog has invited Bob and I to come up for a few days to hunt in the great outdoors. I'm hoping to get a nice buck on the Arrowhead Stand. The last time I was on this stand, I saw 15 deer walk out, mostly does and yearlings. You would think there would be a BIG PAPA BUCK somewhere in the woods close by!! Charming, Just Charming!

Ian's Hunting Outfit

A picture I took of my great grandson, "Ian", during the Christmas holidays in his hunting outfit that his grandmother bought for him. My daughter, Kathy, is also a avid deer hunter. It's all in the family! I hope to one day take Ian hunting with me in our great outdoors! He is such a sweetthing!

Bullet Footage

Got this from Dennis - he said, It’s still “Deer Season” you know. Y’all might want to bone up a bit on Y’all’s accuracy. Take a gander at what a well placed round can do. Some really interesting footage of a .243 rifle.

Happy Birthday John Gregory

My step-grandson, John Gregory, was 15 on December 24, Christmas Eve, and I forgot to post his birthday. On my grandchildren's birthday, if they live in town, I call Radio Station, River 101 because they announce birthday's everyday and if they draw your name you will receive a gift. Today they announced the birthdays for last week (because of the Christmas holiday) and John's named was picked and he won two free pizza's from Domino's. When I called to let him know, his Mom said he had spent the night with a friend. So when he comes home he will have his birthday pizza! Looks like John is still celebrating his birthday. Many more happy returns of the day John. We love you - Gran Gran and Grandpa Bob

Christmas With Family

Bob with son, Greg, on Christmas Day.

A family portrait ~ Greg, Laura and John Gregory and Eleanor in background.

The family cat, Blackie, posing for a picture!

Another nice deer - Greg is an avid deer hunter and harvested this big 8-point buck (see picture) taken south of town in December 2000. He was the guest of a hunting buddy/friend and used his in line muzzle loader. The deer weighed 255 lbs. and the antlers had an inside spread of 25 inches. His buck scored 131 on the Boone and Crockett.

A front view.

My step-son, Greg, made this "table" mount for his deer out of peke cypress. This is a side view and a very different and unusual way in presenting a deer.

Vicksburg On The Hunt

Kenny Fields of Vicksburg shot this 11-point buck on private land in Warren County of December 6.

Elizabeth Holloway, 13, killed this 10-point, 225-pound buck on December 5 in northern Warren County. Elizabeth is the daughter of Hugh and Tara Holloway of Valley Park.

Reese King, 5, shot his first deer, a doe, on November 15 while hunting in northern Warren County. Reese is the son of Eddie and Shelly King of Vicksburg.

Ashtin Ross, 14, shot her first deer, an 8-point buck, on private land in south Warren County during the weekend youth hunt. Ashtin is the daughter of Mary and Charles Massey of Vicksburg.

Lee Middleton, 12, shot this 8-point, 198-pound buck on November 27 while hunting on private land in Warren County. Lee is the son of Jay and Stefany Middleton of Vicksburg.

Harrison Hunter, 12, shot this 7-point buck, his first, in late November on private land in Claiborne County. He took down the 180-pounder from 30 yards away with a 7mm-08 while hunting with his mother, Lindy Hunter. Harrison's father is Bobby Hunter.

Marla Grace McCaskill,8, shot her first buck while hunting with her grandfather Randy Hynum in Port Gibson over the Thanksgiving holiday. The buck weighed more than 210 pounds, and had a rack with a 15-inch spread. Marla Grace is the daughter of Margaret and Kevin McCaskill of Brandon. Congrats to all our hunters in the great outdoors! Charming, Just Charming!

What a Christmas Present!

My friend and mentor, Rex, over at Deer Camp Blog shot a giant 9-point buck with a drop tine at the famous Christmas Place and Plantation Hunting Club. Go over and congratulate him on his fine harvest in our great wild outdoors! Bob and I are sending our congrats to you Rex!

Your "STUPID MORONS" Files

Got this from Steve and thought it would be worth sharing...

'Hunting' over bait earns expensive lesson Sunday, December 21, 2008.

Having traveled to several states through the years, I've had the opportunity to experience hunting over bait and hunting without bait.

There's no doubt in my mind that bait makes a difference -- and anyone who tells you otherwise is confused or just plain fibbing. I've spent a lot of boring afternoons in the field when I wished there was a bait pile out there to spice things up. You probably have, too. You may have even thought about taking a chance and spreading a little around in a no-bait zone. But 11 guys from middle Tennessee will tell you that's a really bad idea. A bad idea with terribly expensive consequences.

Last week in Benton County General Sessions Court, nine hunters were slapped with harsh fines and stripped of their hunting privileges after killing an insane number of ducks over bait during Tennessee 's early wood duck season back in September.

Another hunter connected with the case received similar penalties in November, and one more is scheduled to appear in court next month. I doubt he'll fare much better. I use the term "hunter" lightly in this case because what these guys were doing really doesn't fall under the definition of hunting.

They were poaching -- and they're paying dearly for it, just as they should. As you probably know, the limit for wood ducks during Tennessee 's early season is two per day. Tennessee is the only state in the country that allows such a season for woodies.

These brain donors weren't caught with three wood ducks apiece. They had a sickening total of 169 birds, and they were hunting them over bait.

After fines, restitution and court costs, the whole deal will run them about $3,000 apiece. They all lost their hunting privileges for at least year, and one of them will be sidelined for a whopping seven years.

For a moment, let's just say that killing all of those ducks was the most exhilarating experience of their lives.

Maybe the idea of having a sure thing at their duck camp made for the best pre-hunt good sleep they've ever had.

It doesn't matter. It still couldn't have been worth all of the trouble, expense and embarrassment they're going through.When hunting over bait is allowed, it's allowed for a reason.

When it's illegal, it's illegal for a reason -- and if you violate the law, you'll eventually get caught.

Like it or not, conservation officers have more authority, in some cases, than a highway patrolman. They can come on to your property to set up undercover operations whenever they feel the need.

When you set up to hunt over bait, you never know when one of them might be setting up to hunt you.

Limits are in place for a reason, too.

I've never been a fan of stringent creel or bag limits. I prefer liberal bag limits and stringent penalties for the people who violate them.

The penalties dished out in Benton County last week were harsh, but fair -- and they sent the perfect message to other folks who may be skirting the hunting laws in Tennessee:

Hunt right, or you won't be hunting at all!

Merry Christmas!

~ Bob and Marian~

My Friends & Bloggers

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A Christ's Mass Eve Story

It was Christ's Mass Eve night
I was all alone
And in my customary mode,
A bit pensive
In my humble abode.

The fire was burning bright
Casting shadows on the wall,
Filling up my mind
With long, long ago recalls.

I thought of many loved ones
Some departed many years,
Of souls like me who've wandered
Through many joys and many tears.

The night was still enough to hear
The dropping of a pin,
So cold and bitter out of doors,
So cozy warm within.

That stillness changed so suddenly
Replaced by howling winds,
The golden grasses lying flat,
The trees with bending limbs.

All creatures ran for cover,
Chilled to the marrow of their bones,
More logs I placed upon the fire,
That blue norther wailed and moaned

It was a night not fit for man nor beast,
Thus my sudden, startled surprise,
Some stranger knocking on my door
On such a dreadful night?

A CHRIST'S MASS EVE STORY page 2

I bid the man to enter,
Served him bread and sweet, hot tea.
Then he opened up my heart and mind
With things he spoke to me.

He had no coat he had no gloves,
Not tall and very lean,
His shoes were worn his shirt was torn
And holes were in his jeans

Such kindness dwelt upon his face
I had not one single fear,
I'd never seen such gentle grace,
He spoke, I paused to hear.

His words were chosen carefully,
Flowing gently, pure, and kind,
He spoke about so many things,
Things that had never crossed my mind.

He spoke about creation,
About the minds of God and men.
He told me how the stars were born
And how the world began.

He spoke of human destiny,
And where we go from here,
His words shown like beams of light,
Existence became so clear.

He unraveled every tangled web
Of fear and guilt and doubt.
He told me a thousand things
To live with and live without.

A CHRIST'S MASS EVE STORY page 3

He spoke of a Redeemer
Born two thousand years ago,
He explained it all so simply
I knew every word was so.

The fire was bright and warm,
I was at such wondrous peace,
I drank his words with thirsty joy
Then drifted off to sleep.

Sometime in the night
The firelight waned and died.
The stranger had departed,
I rushed to look outside.

I know mysteries appear,
I know mysteries come and go.
I know when I looked out the window
There was not one track in the snow.

That Christ's Mass Eve those years ago,
By far the best I've spent,
Though I never knew that stranger's name,
And never knew where he went.

Written by Bill Worrell - New Art, Texas
Published with his permission.

"Hoo...Rah...Kimmy!"

The ex-cheerleader, (age 19), in the picture below was watching a road that led to a NATO military base when she observed a man digging by the road. She acquired the target, and she shot him. Turned out, he was a bomb maker for the Taliban and he was burying an “IED” that was to be detonated when a U.S. patrol walked by 30 minutes later. It would have certainly killed and wounded several soldiers.

The interesting fact of this story is the shot was measured at….725 yards, or a distance over the length of seven (7) football fields. She shot him as he was bent over burying the bomb. The shot struck him in the butt throwing him into the bomb which detonated. He was blown to pieces.
The Marine Corps made a motivational poster of her. Her name is “Kimmy.”

Please...say a prayer for all our brave, young, and courageous men and women who are holding “steadfast,” that line which keeps us safe and keeps us FREE! ~Marian ~

No Deer - Just Squirrels and Hunters

Saw two hunters (no deer) and shot this hunter going to his stand rather late.

Only saw 2 squirrels (no deer) and managed to shoot one with my camera as the sun was going down.

You can see how much he opened it up for me.

This past weekend I went hunting both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. As you can see from this picture their are a lot of limbs in the way. So the first picture is a before picture and the next one is after it was cleared by my step-son, Greg, a few weeks later. He did a fantastic job and also put my tin roof on top of my stand. Now I want get wet if it rains. I do have an camo tree half-umbrella but I prefer my roof. Now - if I can get a deer to walk in front of me!

Deer Picture Published

Here is a picture I shot with my camera while on the Arrowhead Stand at the famous Christmas Place Plantation and Hunting Club in the Mississippi Delta . It was published today in The Vicksburg Post. I saw 15 deer off of this stand that afternoon on a Youth Weekend hunt. The young hunters brought in seven deer that day. An exciting day for all of us in the great wild outdoors! Charming, Just Charming!

Vicksburg Youth On The Hunt

Garret Nelson, 10, shot this 175-pound, seven-point buck on November 28, in south Warren County while hunting with his grandfather, John Nelson, of Vicksburg. Garret is the son of Chris and Kay Nelson of Brandon. It was the first deer he killed.

Cody Church, 13 of Vancleave, killed his first deer while hunting on November 15 at False River Hunting Club with his uncle, Mike Smith. Cody shot the five-point, 210 buck with a .243 rifle at 160 yards.

During the Youth Hunt week at St. Alban's Hunting and Fishing Club, Shane Still killed his first deer, a doe. Shane took the 115-pounder with a .243 rifle at 127 yards.

Connor Smith, 12, killed this big nine-point, 235-pound buck on November 15 while hunting in north Warren County. Smith is the son of Carl and Stacey Smith of Vicksburg.

Torey Daniels killed a doe on November 29 while hunting with her father in south Warren County. She shot the 100 pound deer with a .243, the same rifle she used to take a five-point, 130-pound buck a week later.

Jon Edward King, 8, shot this 10-point buck on December 7 while hunting in northern Warren County. Jon is the son of Eddie and Shelly King of Vicksburg. Congratulations to all our young hunters in the great outdoors.

Bret's 13 pt. Buck and a Doe!!

Here is the story of Bret's doe and 13 pt. buck harvested in his own words through his grandmother, T, who has a MySpace site and a good friend of mine from north Mississippi.

Opening morning was just a normal day I thought for deer hunting. I was with my Gramp Gramp on a Juneville hunt in TN . We were sitting in my stand, and I fell asleep, and my gramp gramp woke me up. We saw a 4pt. and there were two does with it. They walked off before I could get my gun up. Then we waited a little longer and another 4pt. and doe came up, and we could see about 6 does on the hillside but they were not coming our way. Then a little while later a doe came out about 50 yards and I shot it. We waited for it to die. While waiting several deers came out but, then this buck came out facing us and I saw it horns but did not know exactly how many it was. It almost started walking away but finally turned broad sided, and I shot it, and it fell right there where I shot it. When we got down to the buck, it had its sticker pts. in the ground I couldn't see it so we thought it was a typical 8pt. Then we lifted the head up. Then I could see it was a non typical 13pt. He weighed 113 lbs. field dressed. This was the best hunt yet for me cause I killed a doe and buck opening morning. Bret S.

My congrats to Bret in harvesting his 13 pt. buck and a doe in our great wild outdoors! Bret also shot a 8 pt. buck and doe last year on opening day! He loves to duck hunt more than anything. Looks like he is a natural born hunter and opening day is his lucky day! You go Bret!

New Site - Foggy Bottom Outdoors

My good friend Adam over at Deer Hunting Big Bucks has announced that he has a new website called, Foggy Bottom Outdoors. It is definitely a site for everyone who loves the great outdoors. He said it will have lots of outdoor information, tips, videos, pictures, stories...not only for deer hunting but also for fishing, camping, hiking or just grilling outdoors. He is so excited about his new adventure. Be sure and go over and congratulate Adam and check out his new site. I will most definitely add his newest site to my blogroll. Congrats Adam and good hunting my friend in the great outdoors.

(Photograph taken in the FoggyBottomOutdoors)

Louisiana SNOW a Week Ago!

Emma's Christmas!

This is my favorite postcard Christmas card with two pictures of my granddaughter, Emma, on it. She lives in Fredricksburg, VA, and I wish I could be with her. She is growing up so fast. She is 15 months here. Have a Merry Christmas little Emma. Gran Gran loves you very much!

Santa Deer???

A friend in Mount Vernon, Maine sent me this cute Christmas card and wanted to share it with you! She and her hubby love to hunt and he picked out the Christmas cards this year. Charming, Just Charming!

Prescribe The Nation: Vaseline Clinical Therapy 1

I was contacted to let you know about Vaseline’s newest product, Clinical Therapy, a prescription-strength lotion that is available without a prescription. Above is a video to show you how their new product works.

It started in Kodiak; one of Alaska’s many small towns, with a population of 6,000. Due to the location, Kodiak endures an extremely icy climate leaving many of its residents with dull, dry and cracking skin. This very reason is why Vaseline thought the demographic would be perfect to demonstrate the effectiveness of Clinical Therapy Lotion.

Clinical Therapy Lotion provides 60% more moisture than a prescription lotion, and the best part is that it’s not greasy, watered down or too thick and is available lightly fragranced. They have an unfragranced lotion also making Clinical Therapy great for the entire family.

I plan to use this product myself because my fingers crack and bleed during the winter months. Will post again to let you know the results of trying it. In the meantime go out and buy this lotion and see how it works for you!

Mrs Obama's Warning!

“It appears that our new first lady has, at least, a few smarts.” Go Michele...!

Human "Statue Of Liberty"

I find it amazing that this photo, taken so many years ago, actually still exists! And now, someone has put it online for all of us to see. This INCREDIBLE picture was taken in 1918.

It is 18,000 men preparing for war in a training camp at Camp Dodge, in Iowa EIGHTEEN THOUSAND MEN!!!!!

What a priceless gift from our grandfathers!

FACTS: Base to Shoulder: 150 feet Right Arm: 340 feet Widest part of arm holding torch: 12 1/2 feet Right thumb: 35 feet Thickest part of body: 29 feet Left hand length: 30 feet Face: 60 feet Nose: 21 feet Longest spike of head piece: 70 feet Torch and flame combined: 980 feet Number of men in flame of torch: 12,000 Number of men in torch: 2,800 Number of men in right arm: 1,200 Number of men in body, head and balance of figure only: 2,000 Total men: 18,000

Weather and rutting

make conditions good for deer....according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. Favorable weather conditions and the onset of the rut are giving Mississippi's deer hunters good chances for success as the season passed the halfway mark.

"We are seeing an increase in deer movement statewide," MDWFP Deer Program Coordinator Chad Dacus said, "The cooler weather and the rut should have the bucks on the move."

Resident and non-resident hunters need to make sure their license is current. If you're planning on hunting one of the state's Wildlife Management Areas, you'll also need a WMA permit. Licenses may be purchased from a local sports retailer, online at http://www.mdwfp.com/ or by calling 1-800-546-4868. The second youth season and primitive weapon season both conclude Monday, while the gun without dogs season will wrap up December 23.

Bag limits for all season are one buck per day - four points or more - not to exceed three per license year. The bag limit on anterless deer is the same as bucks, except two additional does may be taken with a bow per license year. (Taken from The Vicksburg Post ~ Outdoors)

Youth On The Hunt

Nine-year-old Abby Grant killed this six-point, 160 pound buck on November 22 while hunting on private land in Issaquena County. Grant was hunting with her father, Thomas, when she got the deer with a .22-250 rifle from 50 yards away. It was her first deer. Abby is the daughter of Thomas Grand and Rosemary Haggard.

Austin Holman, 7, killed this three-point buck, his first, on November 16. Austin is the son of Lisa and Ed Holman of Vicksburg.

Josh Collins shot his first deer, a 125-pound doe, while hunting with his father at St. Albans Hunting and Fishing Club on November 15. Josh is the son of Jay and Sheri Ghrigsby of Vicksburg. Congratulations to all our young hunters in our great wild outdoors! Charming, Just Charming!

Views of the Past

A friend of mine, Steve, sent me this site today that is really awesome. It's called Superior View and is a collection of old pictures by photographer Jack Deo of Marquette, MI. He had assembled some 50,000 historic photos and cataloged well over 10,000. It all started in the 1970s when Jack found and bought collections of negatives of Upper Peninsula photographers from the late 1800s. Often he prints from the original glass-plate negative. You could look for hours at all the photos of fishing, hunting, sports, people, towns, transportation, maritime and occupations. Of course back then there was no camouflage and mostly lever action. Today it is amazing what you can spend now on hunting. It's a nice bunch old pictures of when life was a lot simpler in our great outdoors. Enjoy!

A Christmas Poem

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
'SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY! COUNTRY, MY CORPS.'

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,!
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.'

This poem was written by a Marine and he requested to let everyone see it because Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for us being able to celebrate these festivities. We need to stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

Winters of Long Ago

This is beautiful - Enjoy the presentation!

Life seemed so much more simple then...if only...

Click Here

Taking Their Stand

Katie Carter ~ The Vicksburg Post

Steve Sanoski wrote and interesting article in yesterday’s Vicksburg Post about women and girls showing an increase desire to go to the woods to hunt......

It’s about Tanya Anderson, her husband and daughters on hunting in our great outdoors.

Tanya Anderson didn’t grow up in a hunting family, but she took to it after marrying Bill Anderson.

"At first it was just a way to spend some time with him,” she said. “I didn’t come from that kind of background, but I would go along and just sit on the stand with him.”

Her first year tagging along, Tanya Anderson spotted a “massive buck” while sitting just below her husband on a stand. She tried to point him out to her husband, but he couldn’t spot the deer from where he was sitting.

“I had never really wanted to kill a deer before, but I said ‘hand me the gun,’” recalled Tanya, who harvested her first deer last season with a muzzleloader.

She didn’t get a shot off at that first deer, but she got that first shot of adrenalin that turns many first-time hunters into lifelong enthusiasts. Since then she has gone hunting with her husband year after year, and the couple’s three daughters have followed her footsteps into the woods.

Tanya Anderson and her daughters are a part of a growing number of girl and women hunters in Mississippi and across the nation.

Because the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks does not require gender information when a license is bought, spokesman Jim Walker said the department does not have any statistical record of an increase in women hunters in the state. However, based upon his experience in the field, Walker said there is definitely an increase in women taking to outdoors sports.

“Go to your local sporting goods store; go to a wildlife trade show; go to a hunting camp and you will see lots more women than you ever have before,” he said. “I have noticed a large increase in women, and that’s great.”

According to the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation — the latest census the department has released — the number of female hunters has held steady since 1996, while the total number of hunters has dropped slightly. An estimated 1.2 million women hunt in the United States each year, compared to 11.4 million men.

“I love getting up in the stand. When you shoot, your stomach drops and it’s the best feeling in the world — it’s the greatest,” said the Anderson’s 13-year-old daughter, Anna, who harvested her first deer, a doe, last season.

Anna’s twin sister, Sara, said she became interested in hunting after spending time target-shooting with her father and sitting with him on the stand.

"After shooting on a target range for a while I really wanted to go hunting,” she said. “But shooting at a target is totally different from shooting at a deer. You’re so nervous in the stand, but it’s awesome.”

She has killed three does in her three years on the stand. “I’m really excited to shoot my first buck,” she said.

Bill Anderson credits the MDWFP that introduced the youth hunts years ago with helping him get all his girls — including his eldest, 20-year-old Jessica — interested in hunting.

“The traditional deer camp can be kind of intimidating for the girls, but the youth hunts give me a chance to go out with just the girls and have a good time,” he said. “You have to make it fun for them or they’ll never learn to love it.”

Amanda Mills, host of MDWFP’s Mississippi Outdoors TV show and outreach coordinator for women and children, said many women and girls are taking to hunting through the same family-orientated process the Andersons have.

“It’s quality time spent outdoors with their family members, and that alone is a huge draw for females,” said Mills. “The numbers are increasing not only in Mississippi, but nationwide. We’re making it easier for women to learn to hunt, and they’re finding it less intimidating to go out and do it.”

One way the MDWFP is trying to introduce more girls and women to the outdoors is a weekend event called Women In The Outdoors, which it will co-sponsor with the National Wild Turkey Federation in May at Roosevelt State Park in Morton. The Women In The Outdoors weekend will feature clinics on sporting clays, archery, hiking, fishing, disc golf and Dutch oven cooking. The event — a first of its kind in Mississippi — was originally scheduled to take place in September, but was cancelled and rescheduled because of Hurricane Gustav.

Mills said an increasing number of young hunters are participating in the youth hunts each year and are acquiring a special first-kill certificate through the department’s Mississippi Outdoors for Kids program. Among those getting the certificates, which are available through the MDWFP Web site at http://www.mdwfp.com/, there appears to be an equal number of boys and girls.

“This generation is different, and it’s really a new age in hunting,” she said. “There are a lot of girls who have been given an opportunity to hunt and they’re really taking an interest in it.”

Christmas Decorations!

Her Lucky Hat!!

Got this one from Dennis and he says....

“And this one is a “food for thought” offering for all you wonderful and loving wives and sweethearts whose ‘Hubby’s’ have been so understanding and grateful that you insisted on taking part in everything he does.”

A Lucky Hat.....

“My considerate, loving husband invited me to go hunting with him, and being the generous, thoughtful man that he is, he even gave me an 'opening day' present.” “I'm so lucky to be married to him --- I never thought I would find a husband so unselfish and willing to share his ‘guy time’ with me.”