Lucy and Whiskey Brown Having Fun!

Dog and horse play in East Texas. Lucy and Whiskey Brown getting frisky in the back pasture. Lucy is a 2 year old mixed Portuguese Water Dog. Very special. The horse is one of a kind. He is a 4 year old Quarter Horse stallion. This is what happens when two animals are raised together with unconditional love and kindness. Whiskey Brown and Lucy are quite a pair to watch. Thank you all for the attention you are giving my animals and posting such wonderful comments. I live alone and these animals are my pets. They are very important to me. My horse is like a giant dog. He thinks all of the other animals are his pets. Sometimes he thinks I'm his pet. I have other videos posted so please enjoy them. If you would like to meet Whiskey Brown, you are welcome to visit.

Live Deer Cam

Maryland Monster caught on LIVE CAM at Hunting and Fishing America!

Dave's Wildlife Photos

My Facebook friend, Dave Quick, put this video together of some wildlife photos that he has taken with his camera/cam.  Sit back an enjoy the video of some pretty good footage.    

LA Rest Area

My Facebook friends, Southern Boyz Outdoors, of Hammond, Louisiana, posted this Louisiana Rest Area recently.  Don't think I would want to stay or sit at this rest area. Imagine the skeeters would haul me off!  

Oh Deer...

Amazing Long Shots

The Best of The West

So God Made A Hunter

As hunters and outdoors-men, there isn't a more important message we can stand behind.  Help us spread the word about protecting conservation and the 2nd Amendment!  Calling all hunters!

Great Vitals Chart

Deer season is fast approaching and I came across this great vitals chart for you to see.  I'm looking forward to hunting season since my last season was shot out.  My right shoulder has healed up and I'm ready to get in the woods and deer hunt. It can't get here fast enough for me.  While on the subject, I want to wish all my blogging hunters a very successful hunting season in our great wild outdoors!

Hobby vs. Passion

Navy Circle Pix Today

After having lunch with a girlfriend at Ameristar Casino today, I went by the Navy Circle to see if I could catch a towboat on the MS River.  As I made it to the top of the circle I saw a small supply boat making it's way towards the bridges. It's a pretty hot summer day in my hometown of Vicksburg and you could feel the heat!  Below are several pictures I took before I left for home.  

Supply towboat making it's way toward the bridges.

A pulled out picture.

Looks like the supply boat slowed down some.

An Ergon towboat oil container coming under the bridges.

Close-up of Ergon's towboat/pushboat.

The sandbar is way out.  

 

Pulled out picture of the scope of the Mighty MS and the bend in the river at Vicksburg.

Hi-Tech Hog Corral

Time-Out

Sometimes you just have to take time-out for a vacation!

Britny's First Hog Kill

My Facebook friend,Toby Benoit, called his buddy, that his friend Britny Miller was all sighted in with an old Winchester 30-30, but didn't have a thing to hunt. So he told him to bring her up to his place in Raleigh, Florida to see if they could get a hog in front of her.

They saw six altogether when this fat young boar came in and she wanted him! Toby was proud of her restraint as she waited a long time for him to step right and offer her a broadside shot. She let that old rifle bark and that boar dropped in his tracks; perfect shot placement and the celebrating began! Her adrenaline was in overdrive and never seen her more excited!

Toby was so proud of her hunt and so honored to have been a part of her first successful hunt and even further honored to be the one to "blood" her on her first big game kill!

According to Toby, one of the greatest honors, is to "blood" a new hunter and welcome them into the brotherhood.  A tradition that reaches back through the centuries and stems from the Native American tradition of showing respect to the spirit of the animal and asking its blessing upon all of the new hunter's future hunts.

My congrats to Britny in our great wild and awesome outdoors!  What a great day for both of them!

A Mess Of Hogs

Got this picture from a Facebook page called, Hog Trapping.  This is unbelievable!  I'm definitely looking forward to getting a hog.  It's on my bucket list!

Deer Season Almost Here

4 Letters...

Women's Rights!

A Deer Lick!

Corn For The Deer!

A Morning Stroll

Have a nice day!

Another Time, Another Place

Feeling sentimental!

The Saluting Boy On Omaha Beach

On June 6th, 2014, an 11 year old wanted to say think you to the soldiers who fought and died on Omaha beach on D-Day morning 70 years earlier.  This is how he did it.  

Published on July 21, 2014.  

Street Art & Nature

A Burned Bear Cub Named Cinder

WENATCHEE, Wash. -- The newest victim from the Carlton Complex Fire is a black bear cub. Methow Valley homeowner Steve Love says his dog was barking and horse was prancing and snorting to sound an alarm. That's when he first spotted the 6-month old cub hobbling up his driveway.

He could tell the cub was seriously injured but when he first approached, she made menacing sounds and he backed away. He was eventually able to toss her apricots from a tree and get her some water. 

"Later in the evening, she was lying down making pitiful whimpering noises," Love said. "I got about six feet away, sat down and talked to it in a soothing way, telling it things would be okay. It seemed to make it feel better. It stopped making the noises."

The next day, a Fish and Wildlife Police Officer was able to capture the cub and transport her to Wenatchee. That's where state biologist Rich Beausoleil picked up her care.

"They're severe," Beausoleil said of her wounds. "All four paws were 3rd degree burns. She has some burns to her face and arms and chest. Those were relatively minor and I think that will grow back. It's the four feet we're worried about."

Dr. Randy Hein, an East Wenatchee veterinarian donated time and medicine. Beausoleil fed her a concoction of yogurt and dog food while seeking out long term help. He says he started with Sally Maughan of Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation who pointed him towards Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care. 

In 2008, the center rehabilitated a cub nicknamed "Lil Smokey" who suffered burns in a California wildfire. They agreed to take cub, which they've named Cinder, but there was the challenge of getting her there.

Beausoleil said they could have put her on a cargo flight, but at a taxpayer cost of $500, it wasn't a sure thing. He reached out to a group called Pilots for Paws, and a Seattle pilot volunteered to pick Cinder up in Wenatchee and deliver her to Tahoe.

It was much better than going cargo which "certainly would have had layovers and just a lot of sitting around which is very stressful on an animal," Beausoleil said. "And this guy just made it all disappear with his generosity. It was really kind of nice."

Cinder is now safely in Tahoe and receiving care. "She was in good spirits, not crying and eating and drinking very normally and that's a great sign so we're optimistic that she'll make a recovery," Beausoleil said.

Story of Trooper

Trooper lost his leg at only a few days old.  He had so much will to live for and this family gave him that chance.  Go to their Facebook page and read all about Trooper in our great wild outdoors!

When It's Time

Want be long now...dreaming!

Ingram Barge Co. Towboat

Yesterday, I was lucky to get a shot of a towboat loaded down hauling coal by the Ingram Barge Company.  I could not get the name of the vessel but it was making it's way south for a delivery on the Mighty Mississippi.  

Making it's way under the bridges (I-20 & Hwy 80) at Vicksburg, MS, on a very hot and humid day with a very wide load.  

Kareen Did It Again!

My Facebook friend, Kareen Beinhauer, got her another big ole fat pig over the weekend and weighed in at 228 lbs.  Kareen lives in Alpine, TX, and uses an AR-15 .300 Blackout.  Said she still has faith in her little .223 though and has killed a lot of pigs with it.  My congrats again to Kareen for getting another wild boar in our great outdoors!  You gotta love the T-shirt!

Game Hunting Dates Set By MS Wildlife Agency

Mississippi wildlife officials have approved dates for the 2014-2015 early hunting seasons for migratory game birds.

The early migratory game bird hunting seasons include resident Canada geese, early teal, snipe, woodcock, dove, and rails.  This year, early seasons will be similar to recent years with a few minor changes.

The most significant change is the addition of 20 days to the dove season.  This year Mississippi hunters will enjoy a 90-day, 15-bird daily bag limit for mourning and white-winged doves.  The possession limit is 45 birds.

Mississippi is divided into two zones to maximize hunting opportunities throughout the state.

The North Dove Zone is defined as areas north of U.S. Highway 84 plus areas south of U. S. Highway 84 and west of Mississippi Highway 35.

Season dates for the North Zone are Sept. 1-21; Oct. 4-Nov 9; and Dec. 15-Jan 15, 2015. Season dates for dove in the South Zones are Sept. 13-21; Oct. 4-Nov. 9; and Dec. 3-Jan. 15, 2015.

The early teal season is Sept. 13-28.  The bag limit for September teal is six per day with no more than 18 in possession.

The hunting season for resident Canada geese is Sept. 1-15.  The daily bag limit is five Canada geese with a possession limit of 15.

The hunting season for rails and gallinules is Sept. 13-Nov. 21.  The daily bag limit for clapper rails and king rails is 15 singly or in aggregate and possession limit is 45 singly or in aggregate.

Belly Rub

Guest Post - How to Get Youth Involved in Hunting

How to Get Youth Involved in Hunting

               It is my ardent belief that the more fishermen and hunters we have, the more potential conservationists we have. Thus, if you provide someone with a proper introduction to the outdoors in such a way that they have a positive experience, then it's very likely that they will want to experience it again and this is especially true when introducing youth to the sport of hunting.

     In fact, when I recall my earliest hunting experiences hunting Mourning Doves with my father and his Forest Service buddies, the main thing that I remember about it is that that it was fun! Fortunately, my father was wise enough to take my restless nature into account and thus, he chose afternoon dove hunts to introduce me to the sport of hunting because they did not require that we remain absolutely silent and still for hours on end and, we were only there for a few, short, hours the afternoon. Also, because I was too young to use a shotgun on those early hunts, my father encouraged me to bring my BB gun along which was a nearly constant companion when I was at home. That way, I felt like one of the fellows because I had a gun too and, when the shooting got slow and I got restless, dad would encourage me to go explore on m own to see if I could spook resting birds out to over the field. Another way to make hunting fun for kids is to purchase them an inexpensive, digital, point-and-shoot, camera so that they can create and relive their own memories of the hunt whenever they wish. However, if you decide to take them deer hunting or turkey hunting with you instead, and then try using a ground blind instead of a tree stand because a ground blind will enable children to play games if they get bored or lay down and take a nap if they get tired. Last, don't stay too long! In fact, if you stay much beyond the point where the child starts to get bored, then you detract from the positive experience you are trying to create. On the other hand, if you are trying to introduce a teenager to the sport of hunting, then I am afraid that the only solution is to confiscate their smart phone and video games and then attempt to convince that watching nature is like watching television and that hunting is like a live action video game.

     Next, you absolutely must learn to have the patience of Jobe! Even though you may be anxious to get to your stand, remember that kids and teenagers are smaller than adults and thus, they don't walk as fast. So, have some patience, slow down, and pay attention to the terrain so that you can find the easiest path for those who are smaller than you. In fact, I clearly recall just how difficult it was for me as an eight year old to walk across those freshly furrowed corn fields with the stubble sticking up that seemed to somehow magically catch my boots and trip me every single time while my father negotiated them without a problem. Also, instead of being a disciplinarian, you must learn to become a teacher. Thus, you must not scold them when they miss. Instead, try working with them to recall and visualize the shot and then identify why they missed so that they can learn from the experience and recall your patience and kindly help at the same time instead of recalling begin denigrated.

     In addition to making hunting fun and learning to have the patience of Jobe, hunter education classes are a prerequisite to purchasing a hunting license in most states. But, by successfully completing one of these classes, you child is taught firearms safety and safe hunting practices as well as conservation practices and is issued a Hunter Education Certificate (usually just a sticker) which in turn, opens the door to the hunting world for them. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, a Hunter Education Certificate issue in one state is valid in all 50 states which enable you to purchase non-resident licenses for them as well. Of course, an even more important reason for your children to take the course is, if they have never hunted before, did not grow up around guns, and are not familiar with basic woodcraft, this course will provide them with a lot of valuable information. In fact, there is an online course offered by the International Hunter's Education Association which will get them most of the way toward being certified and it only takes about an hour to complete.

     Last, another way to get youth interested in hunting is to take them shooting during the off season. However, let's face it; kids like to destroy things and thus, if you take them out and let them have some fun destroying reactive targets instead of forcing them to punch paper, they will have far more fun and thus, remember it as a positive experience. In fact, a BB gun or pellet gun is an excellent place to start since they are relatively quiet and have little to no recoil. That way, your child can enjoy the elation of successful marksmanship without having to deal with the noise and recoil a real gun produces. Plus, they can practice with a BB gun in the back yard. Then, once they gain some proficiency with the air rifle, then you can upgrade to a .22 LR and from there, to whatever gun they will be hunting with. In fact, that is exactly what my father did for me when he gave me my first BB gun at around age four, a .22 LR at age eight, a single shot 20 gauge shotgun at age ten, and a .30-06 when I was fourteen. Fortunately for me, he was also a reloader and thus, he was able to download my .30-06 ammo until I got older and could handle full power loads.

     So, as I mentioned, the number one goal when attempting to get youth interested in the sport of hunting is to make if fun. Then, you must have mountains of patience and be willing to give up at least a bit of your precious hunting time for the sake of your children. Last, take them shooting and let them destroy a few targets such as clay disks, bottles of water, or air balloons: in fact, the more sensational the reaction, the better. When encouraging the younger generation towards the outdoors lifestyle, I find that it is of the utmost importance to make sure that the introduction is as pleasant and interactive as possible. That being said, there are tons of hunting operations and outfitters who cater to family-oriented hunts for beginners found at places such as HuntingLocator.com. Oh yeah, don't forget those Hunter Education courses too!

Written by,

Bill Bernhardt and 

The Hunting Locator Team

Outdoor Professionals

Photo Credit:  Michael "Ethan" Kelly, my grandson, who is now serving our country in the Air Force and will be deployed to Kuwait in January.  I took my three grandsons to get their Hunter Education courses together and hunting in our great wild outdoors.  I'm a proud grandmother with a lot of great memories that will last a lifetime for them and for me.