The Naked Hunter

Every Thursday I will be sharing a hunting story by Tim Elsey from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  He is going back in time and putting his hunting memories down on paper.  I will be posting them here on my site until he runs out of paper or memories, whichever comes first.  Enjoy, in his own words! 


It was the third week of goose season and one of my best friends, Adam (aka Ogre), were in our favorite hunting spots. A huge marshland we have hunted for years and was always fun when we hunted together. Because of the great humor and bantering back and fourth, on who missed and who did not. Unfortunately, for Adam the season wasn’t going to well for him and he kept missing or he would say," I hit that one, did you see it fall?" And we would tease him and laugh! Sure you did Ogre your shooting invisible that's geese because we did not see any geese go by him!  LOL!  I was too busy shooting at my geese.  Wave after wave of geese would fly by and the shells would pumped out of his gun with no geese falling from the skies, he yelled," I AM CURSED! I AM CURSED! WHY CAN'T I HIT ANY OF THESE GEESE!" I would laugh and say maybe they are wearing Kevlar and cried out with laughter.  Getting suspicious he said, "HEY, DID YOU SWITCH MY SHELLS WITH BLANKS AND PUT THEM IN MY BOX!" I started to laugh with tears coming out of my eyes..no, but that would have been a great idea.

It was almost 9 AM and a few geese were coming our way again.  I looked at Adam and said, here they come they are low get ready!  He fired BANG! BANG! BANG! HE YELLED," I HIT THAT ONE, IT'S COMING DOWN!" Then suddenly it started to turn back to the open water and landed 300 yards away.  Adam said there is no way I am letting that goose get away!

We had my golden retriever Angus but he didn’t see it fall and was to far for him to see where the the goose was.  Adam then yells out to Angus and they both plunged into the icy swampy water and I yelled "hey you forgot your gun," but he just kept going. Laughing, watching him and Angus dredge through the swamp. As they got closer to the goose, Adam would throw shells at the goose so Angus could see where it was. But the goose was a lot faster then the two of them "ha ha ha."  Finally, Adam catches up to the goose grabbing its neck and twisting around and around then throws it to Angus. Throwing his arms up in the air yelling, "NOT AN INVISIBLE GOOSE,"  WITH LOUD LAUGHTER!  

When Adam got back to the blind he was soaked to the bone and was shivering. I said, "I have a towel in my backpack." So he took all his clothes off and dried himself and hung his clothes on a tree to dry.  

Three more geese flew over and he fired,  BANG! BANG! BANG!  And shot all

three geese down. :)  I said, "you shoot better naked than with clothes on."  And he said, just call me the naked hunter!"  Well, his bad luck streak was over "ha ha ha!"

The rest of the season was good for him :) and I always wondered if the game wardens had come along what they would have said when he was hunting naked! LOL!

Tim

Adam (aka Ogre)

Gas Pumping Tips!

I had a friend to recently send me some gas pumping tips and with the prices of gasoline going up, up and up, I thought you might want to save a little extra cash by checking this out.   

FOR THE VERY CAUTIOUS WITH THE BUDGET: 

        I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... but here in California we are paying up to $3.95 to $4.18 per gallon. My line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon: 

       Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons. 

       Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. 

      A one degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps. 

       When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money. 

       One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount. 

       Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up; most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

  

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Playmates!

This is sooooo cute!

It's Miss Mississippi Pageant Week!

Sarah Beth James ~ Miss Mississippi 2010

This week my hometown of Vicksburg is all abuzz with pretty girls vying for the crown of Miss Mississippi 2011.  She will represent Mississippi in the Miss American Pageant in January 2012 in Las Vegas, NV.

Forty-five contestants are racing for the 2011 crown and a shot at the national title!  

It all begins today with the annual downtown parade and on Wednesday the contestants will kick off three nights of preliminary competition, leading up to Saturday night's live, televised pageant, during which the top 10 will be named and a winner crowned.  

The theme will be Flicks, and the pageant will be a celebration of movies.  It will be held at the Vicksburg Convention Center.  

The first Miss Mississippi was crowned in 1934 in Biloxi.  The pageant was moved to Vicksburg, and the first queen crowned in the River City was in 1958.  Four women from Mississippi have been crowned Miss America - Mary Ann Mobley of Brandon in 1959, Lynda Lee Mead of Natchez, in 1960, Cheryl Prewitt of Ackerman in 1980 and Susan Akin of Meridian in 1986.  Not bad for Mississippi!  

Our reigning Miss American, Sarah Beth, has a blog if you would like to read it and she only post once a month.  

It will be an exciting week here and I look forward to seeing who will be our next Miss Mississippi!

Picture Published Again, Plus!

Marian Love Phillips was in the historic observation structure at the Vicksburg National Cemetery when she snapped this photo of American flags standing near tombstones.

This is a very first for Bob and I to have our pictures published in The Vicksburg Post at the same time and the very first for Bob.  How cool it that!  Above is my picture and below is his, that was published today in the Classified Section of our hometown paper.  Photos are sent in by readers and if it's worthy of being published it will be in this section.  They specify that photos should be current, either because of their subject matter or their oddity, or the photographic skill shown.  It's truly an honor to have someone recognize your photos and to have both our pictures in at the same time, side by side, is really a special Sunday treat!

Bob Phillips was walking his dog near his Vicksburg home when he looked up and saw this sight in the sky.

Towboat River Traffic

I love to go to the overlook and catch the towboats going up and down the Mississippi River.  Usually, the containers are full going down but empty come back up.  I just caught it at a good time yesterday evening around 7:00 as it was really bustling with traffic.  As I drove around the loop of the overlook to park, one had just past by and another one was coming around the bend.  Got a picture of the Lloyd Murphy towboat heading back up north with it's empty containers.  You could see another towboat, O. H. Ingram, of the Ingram Barge Co., making it's turn in the river. I don't know why I am so fascinated by these towboats and really enjoy taking pictures as they pass my hometown of Vicksburg.  At night, while laying in bed, I can hear the hum of the engines of these mighty towboats going up and down the river. A few years ago, my husband and I belonged to a deer camp north of Vicksburg called, Brown's Point and you had to take a ferry boat to get on Kings Point Island where it was located.  As I deer hunted, I could hear the river traffic. One stand I really enjoyed hunting out of was a tripod stand and could see the river traffic going by.  The best of both worlds!

Loyd Murphy passing through Vicksburg getting ready to make a turn in the bend.

Lloyd Murphy towboat on the left headed north and O.H. Ingram on the right pushing southward after the turn in the river bend.

O.H. Ingram giving it all it's got to get the turn in while loaded down with coal.

O. H. Ingram passing by the overlook.  Note:  Two men sitting at the front door of the towboat.

Getting ready to pass under the bridges as another barge to the far right is headed north.  Ameristar Casino parking lot is on the left.

A very wide load!

Hey, wait for me!

Just as it cleared the bridges a small boat appeared and I could hear the engines shutting back. The small boat most likely will have groceries items, etc., for the towboat that called ahead to have it delivered. Years ago, my brother used to work for ERGON as manager of the store that supplied towboats as they approach the city.

Back Yard Bears!

Bears in the back yard near The Hood Canal on Saturday June 18 about 1 pm. 

Credit: Greg Mueller

It’s bear season in the Northwest – they are raising their young and are on the prowl for anything they can eat.

Photo, taken on Friday in Sammamish, shows a large bear ambling along a road and a deer running right in front of it.

 “The bear didn't even bat an eye!” the photographer wrote.

Credit: Perchpaperco

Snoqualmie

Credit: kkingrey41644421

More photos sent in by a Snoqualmie viewer show a bear wandering a back yard on Saturday.

“This big guy found his way into our back yard this afternoon I'm not sure if he was wanting to jump on the trampoline or not,” the photographer wrote.

Fort Ludlow

Credit: wiesrm 

The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife says the number one reason for confrontations between bears and humans, (95 percent of the calls to offices) is irresponsibility on the part of people: Access to trash, pet food, bird feeders, and improper storage of food while camping make up the majority of the calls.

Bears will spend a lot of time and energy digging under, breaking down, or crawling over barriers to get food, including garbage. If you have a pickup service, put garbage out shortly before the truck arrives - not the night before. If you’re leaving several days before pickup, haul your garbage to a dump. If necessary, frequently haul your garbage to a dumpsite to avoid odors.

Keep garbage cans with tight-fitting lids in a shed, garage, or fenced area. Spray garbage cans and dumpsters regularly with disinfectants to reduce odors. Keep fish parts and meat waste in your freezer until they can be disposed of properly.

If you come in close contact with a bear:

• Stay calm and avoid direct eye contact, which could elicit a charge. Try to stay upwind and identify yourself as a human by standing up, talking and waving your hands above your head.
• Do not approach the bear, particularly if cubs are present. Give the bear plenty of room.
• If you cannot safely move away from the bear, and the animal does not flee, try to scare it away by clapping your hands or yelling.
• If the bear attacks, fight back aggressively. As a last resort, should the attack continue, protect yourself by curling into a ball or lying on the ground on your stomach and playing dead.

Taken from King5.com news - Seattle, WA

Prairie Boy's First Hunting Memories

Every Thursday I will be sharing a hunting story by Tim Elsey from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  He is going back in time and putting his childhood memories down on paper.  I will be posting them here on my site until he runs out of paper or memories, whichever comes first.  Enjoy, in his own words!

We lived in a small town called Souris in Manitoba i was about three years old and the first thing i remember is my father and his friend Mr. Trights coming through the kitchen door from the garage saying to all the kids,come look come see what we got.I rush to the door in excitement and saw a cardboard box filled with all kinds of ducks,i was in awe.

My father then saying to me someday Timmy i will take you hunting and i smiled from ear to ear.

I watched my father and his friend pluck the ducks seeing the feathers floating in the air i was trying to catch them,it was so much fun i giggled and then my father chuckled and said lot of fun eh!.

My parents didn't make  a lot of money,my mother worked administrative jobs and my father a local baptist preacher,sometimes whatever was left in the collection plate that would be his pay and my mothers pay would go towards the house and to the five kids so i was used to eating a lot of wild foods in my diet and what my mother grew in her huge garden, good old fashion homemade meals.

I remember going to a church function in the fall with my family and my father pulling over the car and saying look there are some geese in that field ,my father got out of the car and put on some coveralls and crawled on his belly in this field,and my face squished up against the window watching to see,then BANG ! BANG ! two shots rang out and my mother saying to us i think he has some.

My father i could see him walking back to the car with a smile on his face,then holding up his arm with two geese in his hand,throwing them in the trunk of the car,well he said we better hurry or we will be late.

After the church meeting people where coming out of the church watching the whole family plucking these birds,it was quite the site.

I think a few days later the door bell rang and when we got to the door no one was there and at the foot of the door was a couple boxes of food,i guess someone from the church felt we did not have food at home and left the boxes there for us.Well we may not have been rich but we never went hungry :).

In 1974 my father shot his first whitetailed deer,i remember it hanging in the garage,my father was so happy it was a good size deer body and rack ,he went with his friend Mr Trights and they went into the Souris Hills my father went in one way and Mr Trights in the other way,five minutes goes by my father hears a shot so he stays put just in case something gets pushed his way.

Sure enough he sees this buck coming through the willows so he leans up against the tree and waits for it to go to this opening, it stops he squeezed the trigger BANG! the deer drops .

He meets up with his friend and the first shot he heard earlier was Mr Trights so they both have deer now,they put them on the car  and drove back home watching the other deer hunters looking at them with envy.

My father was so proud of the rack that he entered them in a contest and at the contest he left the rack for a few minutes and when he came back someone had stolen his rack, my father was not a happy hunter,and when he went to pick up his hide the deer hide they gave him was someone else,s hide it was riddled with holes,his hide had only one hole.so my father did not go deer hunting for a very longtime .

The fist time my father ever took me duck hunting i was in kinder garden ,i told my teachers all about my father going to take me hunting all week so they let me draw pictures of ducks and shotguns:).

It was early in the morning the sun was not even out yet,we drove for awhile then came to a marsh.

It was cold my father saying are you warm,my teeth chattering my body shaking yep i am ok.

It was great watching the sun rise seeing all the birds jumping back and forth pond to pond,the smell of the coffee and the sounds of the birds,watching my father load the shotgun and saying keep your head down if you see them coming and let me know.

Filled with excitement my heart pounding i said look here comes some, my father raises the shotgun BANG! BANG ! but no ducks came down,that,s ok he says more will come :)Sure enough more came my eyes wide open look here they come BANG ! BANG ! one mallard fell out of the sky,YOU GOT ONE ! YOU GOT ONE ! i cried out .my father then said did you see where he fell i said yep i will get him.

my father with a big smile on his face be  careful grab it by its neck he might be still alive.

Walking through the and cattails smelling the swampy air i said i see the duck i put my hand out to grab the bird and it moved so i did what my father told me grabbed it by the neck and took it back to my father, he said good boy you found it,yep i replied but it is still alive.

1. Well he says give it to me and i will show you what to do next time this happens,he took the bird around his neck and with a swift flick of his wrist he snapped the ducks neck with my eyes wide open i said HOLY MOLY!
2. My father said don,t worry he did not feel anything.we sat the rest of the day there my father shooting a few more ducks eating sandwiches and chocolate bars i will never forget my first time duck hunting
3. thanks fore letting me share my memories and please forgive my writing skills and spelling mistakes hahaha
4. TIM ELSEY

Deer Angel, Gabriel and Michael

In this Wednesday, June 15, 2011 photo, a black-tailed doe lies with its fawns near Ashland Community Hospital in Ashland, Ore. Some ACH staffers named the babies Angel, Gabriel and Michael. (AP Photo/Medford Mail Tribune, Julia Moore)

Deer Triplets Born Near Hospital Last Wednesday:

This story was shared with me by Robert in Port Townsend, WA, of a nurse by the name of Nancy Nowlin, who sat down in the Ashland Community Hospital break room to enjoy her salad.  She ended up having a wild show to watch.  

Outside a picture window, near a bird feeder and the statue of an angel, a black-tailed doe gave birth to thee fawns - not the normal two and not six feet away from her chair.  

She said, "I looked out and there she was giving birth, right now."  It was like "Wild Kingdom" and right there and very surprised.

The first birth came at about 12:15 p.m., the last about an hour later. And for the remainder of day, the doe and her three fawns drew quite an audience.

After each birth, hospital employees played a lullaby over the intercom like they do for every baby born in the hospital's birthing center, Nowlin says.

"When I head it the third time, I thought, 'Did she have another baby? Triplets?' " Nowlin says.

A doe having three fawns is somewhat uncommon but definitely not rare, says Mark Vargas, the Rogue District wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"Some does will pull off raising three fawns," Vargas says. "They could have a higher survival rate there than elsewhere. They're protected from predators, except vehicles."

Does are in their annual spring birthing period and the ODFW has been overrun with calls from people concerned about potentially orphaned fawns.

People who come across fawns — as well as bear cubs and other young-of-the-year — should leave them alone because the does are usually just off feeding and they will return, Vargas says.

The only reason to move them would be if they were in direct harm's way, and then only move them off to the side, Vargas says. Does will not reject fawns because of human contact, he says.  Partially taken from the Mail Tribune.

Heading Back To Virginia Today!

For the last two weeks my youngest daughter, Suzi and family have been visiting here in Vicksburg and also across the MS River into Louisiana.  We have had a fun two weeks and it's sad to see them leave heading back to Virginia.  My daughter is a stay-at-home Mom tending to my, soon-to-be-next-month, four year old granddaughter, Emma.  My son-in-law, Dennis, works for the FAA in Washington, D.C.  Here are a few photos  I took while they were here.  

Suzi, Emma and myself at Granddaddy's house in Delta, Louisiana.

Emma in the kiddy pool at her Paw Paw's apartment complex.

Her cousin, Lucy, in the big pool...

...and cousin, Ethan!

My daughters, Suzi, Debi and Teri at their Dad's apartment.

Daughters, Suzi, Kathy and Teri.

Suzi, Jesse, (their Dad), myself, Teri and Kathy.  (Debi had to go back to work).  At least I had them all together which can be hard to accomplished with two living in town, one out-of-town and one out-of-state.

Carl's 21 Today!

My grandson, Carlton Thomas, is 21 years old today.  This picture was taken this past weekend while on vacation in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  He had a wonderful time and somehow a big wave came along and washed away his glasses.  It's a good thing he had an old pair back home in Vicksburg!  Even at that, he had a wonderful time and was with his sister and family as a surprise trip for an early birthday celebration. Wishing Carl a very Happy Birthday and I love you so much!  Gran Gran 

Sharing Mike's Beautiful Flowers

Mike Johnson, aka, mrjbigfoot, a friend of mine on Facebook, put this together for a Father's Day tribute.  I appreciate him letting me share this with you guys!  Enjoy!

Sonya's Birthday!

Today is my oldest granddaughter, Sonya's, birthday and she is 27 years old.  She is shown here on November 25, 2010 with her cousin's dog, Fenrir, while visiting her Aunt for Thanksgiving here in Vicksburg.  She loves all animals and also has a dog, cats and two horses that she tends to down on the farm in Magee, MS.  Want to wish her a very Happy Birthday and  I love her so much!

Remembering My Dad on Father's Day

My Dad, Marion Edward Love, Sr., is not with me today...but lives deep in my heart. I truly miss him everyday of my life.  He only lived about two weeks after my husband-to-be, Bob, took this picture of us at the house I was raised in.  I will be forever thankful for this last photo of us together before he went to his heavenly reward!  He was born June 12, 1916, in New Orleans, Louisiana and met Our Dear Lord on November 6, 1987, after suffering a heart attack while hitting a bridge abutment over I-20, at Wisconsin Avenue.  I will never forget that terrible day when I received a call from my brother-in-law, Chris, telling me the shocking news.  I miss and love you so much Daddy!  We will meet again one day and be together forever!

A Baaaaad Goat!

Jim Decker of Shelton managed to get this photo of the mountain goat that he said threatened him while he hiked in the Olympic National Forest near Lake Cushman earlier this week.

I received an email from a friend in Washington State who sent me an article about a man who encountered an aggressive goat while hiking with his wife in the Olympic National Forest this past Tuesday.  

Jim Decker became separated from his wife and came face to face with a goat who stalked him.  

Another hiker last October was gored by a goats horns to his leg that hit an artery and he bled to death.  The goat was shot by rangers soon afterwards.

Decker said that he had seen them a 100 times before but this one acted differently than the others had, so he decided to get off the trail.  After he cut a series of switchbacks to avoid the growling animal he appeared in front of him!  At one point the goat missed him by 6-inches.  He tried hiding behind trees and throwing rocks at him.  

He had come prepared with pepper spray and a handgun but left both with his wife. He had in his backpack a 6-inch knife and pulled it out and was ready for the fight of his life!  

Soon the mountain goat backed off when he must have scented another hiker.  His wife had sent in two hikers to look for him.  The goat lost interest when he met up with the hikers.  

The incidence was reported to the Olympic National Forest Service.  

Experts advise hikers to leave mountain goats alone, saying it is rare for the animals to come near a human.  

This was truly a baaaaaaad goat with an attitude! 

Deer - J. C. Gimpy

My friend Dave, who lives in Indiana, went out early yesterday morning to check on his cameras.  Looks like both deer are doing fine, but J.C. Gimpy (he named) still looks pretty stove up, he said.  He also told me that J. C. Gimpy was born last spring and is just now one year old.  That is his brother with him in the picture...he said he was going to try and find his baby picture to show me but thinks he was born with a birth defect because he noticed the shape early on.  It was possible he was injured, but really don't know which, Dave said.

D. Robert (Dave) Quick
I want to Finish Well
I want to end this race
Still leaning on His Amazing Grace

Member: Community Christian Church
Member: Pilots 4 Christ
Member: Christian Outdoor Fellowship of America
MY WEBSITE:
HANDLOADING FOR HUNTING
MY DISCUSSION FORUM:
HFH DISCUSSION FORUMS

 

Tim's Childhood Hunting Memories

Today, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine on Facebook who is a hunter.  His name is Tim Elsey.  My blog is about hunting and hunting stories and I'm pleased to share his first deer hunt with you.  Tim just started to write about his childhood hunting memories and sent me his story recently to read over and to tell him what I thought.   I hope he will continue to write them because every hunt has it's very own story.  Of course, I will be more than happy to post his exciting adventures here as he tells them.  Tim's hunting story in his own words...

My First Deer Hunt

It was more than twenty years ago when I shot my first deer but I remember it like it was yesterday :)

I had taken time off work to go I was very excited to go because up until then I had only hunted waterfowl and bush chickens and rabbits with my father.I was very inexperienced about how to hunt deer but I was very skilled in bush from what my father and grandfather taught me as a young boy.I arrived out at the cottage on a Friday night unpacked my things it was very cold -22c  got the fire going so I didn't freeze to death haha .I woke up in the morning and headed out to the back bush to scout the areas and to shoot the gun because the season didn't open until Monday.I put a tin can about a hundred yards away shot the gun hit the can :)I had an old 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser with no scope but it shot straight and true .I walked around looking for a good deer trail to sit by for Monday but there was tracks every where in the snow I was confused on where to sit but very happy to see all the deer activity .Sunday came and it started to snow and as the day went on the snow was falling heavier and heavier and the wind was picking up It now was a BLIZZARD !, I gathered all the wood I could and stacked it in the cottage knowing well this was not good. Morning came and it was still a blizzard my hopes of deer hunting today were not going to happen :(  I listened to the radio to hear the weather forecast but the news wasn't good :( Wednesday morning came and it was blue skies and super cold and I was snowed in but I was determined to get out there because I knew if I couldn't hunt for those days no one else could either :)  .There was a lot of snow at least two and a half feet and the drifts were four feet in some places and the plows haven't come yet. So I put on the snow shoes and headed out :) It was so nice seeing all the snow on the trees it was beautiful i felt like I was back in time when people had to hunt to survive .I hunted for two days without seeing a fresh deer track or people but i didn't care it was amazing just to be  in the great outdoors :) It was 5 AM  Friday morning and I could hear the snow plows outside coming down the road I figured i better get out there to go hunting and maybe other hunters will be out and  get the deer moving :)I sat for 4 hours and was getting pretty cold and deiced to go for a walk to warm up when i heard 2 shots BANG ! BANG ! It wasn't very far down the trail where i met 2 people a husband and wife  in their late 60s and they had just shot a buck and a doe :) They were very nice and offered me some tea from their thermos :) I tell you it was just the thing  I needed to warm up :) I helped them drag their deer out and put in the truck for them and said our good buys and they wish me luck :) With my new energy level up  I went back down the the trail.SUDDENLY 2 DEER JUMPED ACROSS THE TRAIL MY HEART POUNDING LIKE i WAS GOING TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK! I quickly ran to the spot where I saw them last and there they WHERE ! I RAISED MY GUN AND STARTED SHAKE LIKE CRAZY ! AND I COULDN'T CONTROL MY BREATHING THEN FIRED A SHOT AT THE BUCK BUT MISSED! i WAS LIKE NOOOO ! They both bolted but to my surprise the doe started running back to the trail and crossed and stopped a few yards on the other side ,My heart still POUNDING ! then I remembered what my dad did when he shot his deer so I leaned up against a tree took a HUGE BREATH AND STILL A BIT SHAKING I FIRED THE GUN BANG! THE DOE JUMPED AND FELL TO THE GROUND ! YES YES I CRIED OUT WITH MUCH JOY ! I walked over to the deer and fell to my knees and thanked God and the deer and for giving its life to me:).

Thank you for letting me share my first deer hunt with you :)

Tim's First Deer

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WIN $100 – 2nd Annual I Can’t Come Up With A Blog Post Day! | The Ad Master - Advertise Everywhere

We're Having A Heat Wave!

A tropical heat wave!  The temperature's rising, it isn't surprising...for Miss Piggy and her penguins to sing for us "Tropical Heatwave," followed by a clip of Kermit's Fred Astaire tribute in "The Great Muppet Caper."  It's from the 1981 TV special "The Muppets Go to the Movies!  Enjoy and try to stay cool during this heat wave here in HOT Mississippi!

Flood Wall Water Marks

 

The bench and garbage can must have been bolted down...

Grand Station Casino boat in its cofferdam.

Vicksburg Riverfront Murals

This past Sunday I drove downtown to take pictures of the flood wall water marks beyond the flood walls.  The entrance and exit is open but still blocked off for vehicular traffic.  I parked at the Catfish Row Art Park across from the murals and walked over to take pictures.  You can see how high the water rose and it was a blessing that it held the flood waters back for over a month.  The MS River is down to 45.7 feet and will drop below flood stage (43 feet) in the city in about two weeks. FEMA inspectors are here clearing the way for some residents to get back into their homes to start the cleanup.  I'm sure there will be some buyouts.  As the flood waters recedes, animal are plentiful. The Vicksburg Post yesterday showed a picture of a 5-foot-long poisonous cottonmouth that was seen swimming off of Chickasaw Road and was shot.  Also, another picture of a fish caught in a chain-link fence.  In Warren County, 1,340 structures have been evacuated, 707 of them primary dwellings. More than 3,200 people have been displaced.  Individual assistance payouts total $4.2 million in 14 counties declared federal disasters areas due to flooding, with $682,141.12 in Warren County, FEMA has said.