Rats...no pictures

Dave said that he was really disappointed this morning when he rescued his "fox cam"... You can see the fresh dug hole by Bigfoot's left hand, and he had placed this camera there ahead of the snow thinking he could get some good close-ups of the red fox...He knew the batteries were getting a bit low, but thought it would have enough left to get a few pictures... it took just one... OF AN UGLY OLD COOT WHAT GOT LOOSE IN THE WOODS! YIKES!

PRESS RELEASE - Pass It Own

WICHITA, KS (February 11, 2009). Many children express an interest in outdoor activities, but don’t have the support to help them realize those adventures.

Field Dress LLC has stepped up to help these kids. A portion of the price of every item sold on Field Dress’s website (http://www.fielddressed.com/) will go directly to Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors Program. Field Dress will also be supplying packs for specific Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors Program events. Chad Rodvold of Field Dress stated, "Pass It On- Outdoor Mentors is the ideal platform for Field Dress to continue its’ design ideals of respect and passion for the outdoors. I feel extremely privileged to be a part of such a worthy organization.

"The Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors program recruits mentors who will share their love of the outdoors with children who lack opportunities to get outdoors without a mentor showing them the way. Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors was recently endorsed by the National Forum on Children and Nature as one of 30 projects that creatively reconnect kids with nature, benefiting their overall health and appreciation for the great outdoors. “Too many children are spending too little time outdoors,” commented Mike Christensen, President of Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors, Inc. “The generosity shown by Field Dress reflects their commitment to the outdoors…providing not only quality products for those who love the outdoors, but working to make the outdoors accessible for our youth as well. Their assistance through this effort will make it possible for more of our youth to experience the outdoors cherished by Chad and all of his customers.”

For more information about Field Dress, please visit http://www.fielddressed.com/. For more information about Pass It On -- Outdoor Mentors, Inc., please http://www.outdoormentors.org/

Contact:

Mike Christensen

Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors, Inc.

310 E 2nd

Wichita, KS 67202

316-290-8883

mchristensen@outdoormentors.org

Pass It On is also doing a gun-a-week raffle giveaway. You can email Mike Christensen at mchristensen@outdoormentors.org and see if there is something happening in your area and wish him well...a supportive word goes a long way.

Raspberry

Dear Heavenly Father,
Please help me to be the man
my dog thinks I am...Amen

D. Robert (Dave)
QuickMember: Christian Outdoor Fellowship of America
Member: Pilots 4 Christ
MY WEBSITE:HANDLOADING FOR HUNTING
MY DISCUSSION FORUM:HFH DISCUSSION FORUMS
Don't tell GOD how big your storm is.
Tell the storm how Big your GOD is!

Received this note with more cam pics from Dave this morning....

Winnie and I went in the woods early this morning, You should have seen her. She was going NUTS trying to follow all the trails. Here are a couple of pictures that were on my camera. Notice that these were all taken just this morning early and it's Raspberry as usual...you can tell because of the double white throat patch.

In the last picture the deer on the left is standing exactly over the salt and mineral blocks I put out early this week, but they have already melted which is PERFECT!!! That will keep the deer coming there for months and months. The pictures are becoming redundant now and I probably will back off taking any more until perhaps late May or so. By that time fawns will be on the ground and the bucks will be in velvet. The top picture is a good example of the deer being used to the camera. They often stand as you see here knowing it will flash. Once used to it they don't mind it one bit...Dave

Now In Full Bloom

One last picture while in full bloom before the thunderstorms come in this afternoon. Usually, a heavy rain will knocked most the the petals off of our Japanese Magnolia bush. The petals are beginning to fall off now and most likely be completely gone by next week. (Click pic to enlarge)

Star Students & Teachers

St. Aloysius High School - Student: Rachel C. Clarke - Teacher: Eleanor Phillips

Rachel, the daughter of Douglas and Joan Clarke, is a National merit Semi-Finalist and the captain and MVP of the swim team. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and St. Michael Catholic Church's CYO retreat team. She received the National Scholar/Athlete Award, President's Award for Educational Excellence and Bronze Service Award.

She plans to study biological sciences and pre-physical therapy at Mississippi State University.

Rachel's STAR Teacher is St. Aloysius math instructor Eleanor Phillips. She has a bachelor's degree in math education and was St. Al's Teacher of the Year for the 2004-2005 and 2007-2008 school years.

Eleanor is our daughter-in-law and we are so proud of her accomplishments. Congrats to Eleanor and Star student Rachel!

Australian Christmas Wreath

Wanted to share this beautiful picture of God's creatures with you. This delightful circle was taken at Lamington National Park, west of the Gold Coast. These are native Australian mountain parrots, the red and blue kind are crimson rosella and the red and green are King Parrots. They are feasting on sunflower seed which Matthew Watt had left for them, but did not expect them to form such a perfect ring. This guy on the bottom is about to jump into the center, to the discontent of the other birds in the great wild outdoors!

Love is in the air...

Our Pi Alpha Kappa's 3rd annual Valentine-themed musical event, To Vicksburg with Love, will be at noon today at the Southern Cultural Heritage Center, formally St. Francis Xavier Academy, the school I graduated from in the Class of 1959. Our chapter, Omega, will serve as hostesses. The lunchtime concert theme is Melodies and Memories and will feature the music of Vicksburg natives, Norman and Jane Joseph of Clinton, MS. The pair will entertain while guest eat food prepared by our sorority.

As an addition to this year's festivities, Regina Gailani, owner of Art & Soul on Washington Street, designed a necklace, made of Swarovski crystal and nuggets of carnelian stone, that will be raffled at the event. Proceeds will benefit our PAK's scholarship fun.

Gailani designed jewelry worn by Miss Mississippi Christine Kozlowski during the Miss American pageant last month.

Blooming

After three days of mid-70 temps here in Vicksburg it has our Japanese Magnolia bush in full bloom now. After the flowers fall off the leaves will come out and stay on though the summer and fall. The bush looks scraggly but has such pretty flowers. While looking out our living room window one day, I witness a lady drive up to our curve, got out and picked one of the flowers. I guess she couldn't resist!

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 hunt for all of us in the great wild outdoors! Charming, Just Charming!

Sports Arena

Picture of Laura that I took on our deck when she was younger.

My step-granddaughter, Laura Phillips, was recently in The GymSouth competition at the Blues and BBQ Meet in Memphis on January 10 and 11th. She and her gymnastic team did very well at the meet. Above she is pictured with her group. From left are Laura Phillips, third place in all around, second in floor and vault; Maggie Waites, fourth in vault and bars; Mary Kalusche, first in bars, third in beam and vault. Olivia Jennings, also on the team was fourth in all around. My congrats to Laura and all her team mates. Grandpa Bob and I are so proud of her!

How twins are made...

My daughter, Kathy, sent me this in my email the other day...thought is was so cute!

Our Japanese Magnolia

I took this picture yesterday of our Japanese Magnolia tree/bush that is in our front yard. After 3 days of mid-20's temps this past week, I'm surprise it is still trying to bloom out. Yesterday it was in the mid-70's and today is the same forecast. It looks like spring has sprung here in the Mississippi! Charming, Just Charming!

Now you see it-now you don't!

A huge 200 year old tree was cut down in the last couple of days up the street from where we live. Drummond Street above used to have a lot of old trees that lined the roadway. It was a beautiful drive down this street but now the trees are slowly being cut down. In fact we have three old trees next door and one is leaning over our home. I just love the old trees but they can be very destructive as well. One year when we had an ice storm, we had a limb to break and hit our home. It was really scary. I don't know what the reason for this tree to be cut down but could have been one of the limbs that reached mid-way across the street. It's sad to see these beautiful old trees cut down but more than likely it was a hazard to either the roadway or to the owners.

Blooming Magnolias?

Picture that was in yesterday's paper of sites around Vicksburg.

Even with temperatures in the mid-20s overnight, Japanese magnolias across town, are blooming out, a sure sign that spring is on the way. The variety is one of the earliest blooming of all flowering trees, especially in the South.

Photo by Katie Carter/The Vicksburg Post)

Change is good....right?

Brenda ~ An AR Lady Hunter

I have been hunting for almost 15 years. Most of those were with a muzzleloader or a rifle. I started hunting with a crossbow about 7 years ago, but had never had any success until I took a small 5-point buck with it in 2005.

On October 28th of 2006, I was about to take the biggest buck ever. The day started out like any other day of the bow season. I had missed a doe a week earlier. My husband David, my son Andy and daughter Stephanie and I got everything gathered up and headed out to Gene Rush WMA in Newton County, Arkansas, to an area where we had seen deer on almost every trip we had taken there. I had seen a nice 8-point buck during muzzleloader season just a few days before, but he would never come into range. I was hoping for a chance to take him. David and Andy went to an area that bordered the field where I had seen the buck. They were going to watch a ravine where the deer came through. Stephanie and I headed out for the field. As we were coming to the opening, we saw 3 does feeding at the far end of the field. We watched them until they fed off of the field before going to our spot to set up.

We sat there for a couple of hours and didn’t see anything else. After talking to David on the radio we decided to shift locations. After a few stops to check out some other areas we finally made it to another location that had a lot of buck sign. We opted to go ahead and have lunch and then we would trade hunting partners and go separate directions.

This time, Stephanie and David headed south while Andy and I went north. It was warm that day with sunshine and it was already noon. We had planned on sitting in the edge of the woods along the field where the deer come out to feed. The trail was a well worn one with scrapes and rubs everywhere. As luck would have it, we started down the hill and about 30 yards in front of us at the bottom a nice buck went across the road, never missing a beat. I told Andy, “Well, there went a nice buck.” I thought to myself that I would never see that one again. I made a decision to wait there and not go on to the field. I could hear the buck in the bushes and knew he was still there. The road was red clay that was dry and made for a quiet stalk. I told Andy to stay there and get down and not move. I finally made it down far enough that I could see the tips of the buck’s antlers when he raised his head. I got ready for a shot if it presented itself. He was working a scrape about 15 yards inside the brush line.

I was in the middle of the road with out any cover whatsoever. I waited patiently while the buck worked over his scrape. Finally he turned back towards the road. I asked the Lord to send him back out. My prayer was answered in just about another minute as the buck started walking out of the brush and back toward the road. I knew the exact spot he would come out at and was already for the shot. As he stepped out from behind the bush, he looked at me and I let the bolt fly. I knew that the shot was perfect. The buck jumped straight up and took off across the road. I got on the radio and told David that I just shot the biggest buck of my life. He told me to calm down and he and Stephanie would be right there. I went to the spot where the buck went into the brush and found my arrow. It was covered and he left a good blood trail. Andy and I tracked him for about thirty yards where we found him piled up at the bottom of the ravine.

Stephanie, Andy and I finally got him to the car after over an hour of dragging. We were only about one hundred yards from the car. The hardest pat of it all was getting him back out of the ravine. I wouldn’t let David help because he has a history of heart problems and we didn’t need him to have a heart attack He weighted 225 on the hoof. He had eight points with one broken. I never got him scored.
I think that this buck was sent to me because my dad was one of my hunting partners over the past few years and I moved away and had not been able to hunt with him for the past three years. I lost my dad in February 2007 from a heart attack. He will be with me each time I go out to hunt.

Ar_ladyhunter is a friend of mine at CamoSpace and she gave me permission to post her story. She was also fortunate to have her story published in Buckmasters Online in 2006. She resides in Harrison, Arkansas.

RobZ's Photos

Rob sent me these photos awhile back on my CamoSpace site and thought they were so nice that I wanted to share them. Rob served in the U.S. Coast Guard and has sailed the high seas from Alaska to South America and Maine to South America. He said that they fought massive storms offshore saving lives, busting drug runners (Pablo Escobar’s cocaine cowboys) and exercising enforcement of U.S. Fishery laws. He lived on all three U.S. coasts and in turn, he had the opportunity to hunt and fish the best the United States had to offer. He retired from military service as a Chief Warrant Officer after 20 years of service. He is now back home in Kerrville, Texas. Actually, I have featured Rob several times here with his outdoor hunts. I would suffice to say that he is an excellent photographer as well!

My Grandson Ethan

My daughter sent me this picture of my grandson, Michael, 'Ethan', in my birthday card. I have not seen him in his uniform yet and was so happy to received this photo. Ethan is in the 9th grade at Raymond High School, in Raymond, MS, and in the Air Force ROTC. He is 14 years old and will be 15 in June. He told me that he plans to make the Air Force his career. I am so proud of him.

Ethan is also an avid deer hunter and we plan to hunt together again next deer season. He has also been invited by Rex to their annual Youth Hunt at the famous Christmas Place Plantation and Hunting Club in November. He is looking forward to that. He was invited this past season to hunt but circumstances kept him from going.

Fox, Deer on Dave's Cam

Dave sent me these pictures a week ago today and wanted to share them with you. He said...I was trying to get better pictures of the red fox at the den I found. I'm sending along some pictures I brought in from the woods two days ago. Red fox with the black-tip tail variant, and two different bucks exactly one minute apart on the same camera...It's unusual for them to still have their antlers and dark stained tarsal glands this late in the year. Must be a secondary rut happening is all I can figure.

If we get that snow Monday night, I may have to go out to rescue this particular camera...It's only mounted about a foot off the ground, screwed to the base of a tree...Don't much want it in a snow drift...Hope you enjoy...Dave

Dear Heavenly Father, Please

help me to be the man my dog

thinks I am...Amen
D. Robert (Dave) Quick

Member: Christian Outdoor Fellowship of America

Member: Pilots 4 Christ
MY WEBSITE:HANDLOADING FOR HUNTING

MY DISCUSSION FORUM:HFH DISCUSSION FORUMS

Don't tell GOD how big your storm is.

Tell the storm how Big your GOD is!

Still Celebrating Birthdays

This morning, my brother, Marion "Buster," took my sister, Laura, and I to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. My sister celebrated her birthday on December 8 and mine was on January 27. My brother's birthday was January 14, so I guess you might say we are all celebrating our birthdays together. It's always a treat to get together and visit especially on our birthdays! This is a sweetthing!

Vicksburg On The Hunt

Nine-year-old Kate Shelton, above, killed her first deer while hunting with her father, Tim, at Warren County Hunting and Fishing Club on December 29, 2008. The 115 pound spike was shot with a .43 Winchester rifle from 50 yards. And below....

Kate's brother, Jack, bagged a 150-pound 8-pointer on January 18 with the same gun and at the same camp. Jack and Kate are the children of Tim and Torri Shelton.

Ernie Barlow shot this hugh 8-point buck on December 30 while hunting at the Mill Pond Hunting Club in Claiborne County. The deer weighted 200 pounds, had an 18-1/4 inch wide rack with a 23-inch beam, and scored 150 Boone & Crockett points. Barlow made the 90-yard shot with a 30.06. (My camp borders this camp and my stand is very close to the borderline and some of the hunters have been seeing a monster buck in the vicinity of the top field where my stand is...I wonder if this was the buck they saw!!)

Morgan rest, 11, shot her first deer on January 8 while hunting with her grandfather, Jessie Anderson, at Choctaw Hunting Club. The 7-pointer had a 16-1/2 inch main beam. Morgan made this 155-yard shot with a 7mm-08 rifle.

Eight-year-old Chelsea Myers killed this deer, her first, on January 11. She made the shot with a 7mm-08 while hunting on private land with her grandmother Brenda Shiers.

Ashton Allen, 10, shot this deer while hunting near Redwood with his uncle, Steve Bounds, Jr. Allen is the son of Nichole Allen and Clifton Smith. My congrats to all who hunted in our great wild outdoors!

A Picture of Love

Can birds have "feelings" of love and compassion?

Here his wife is injured and the conditions are very appalling.

Here he brings her food and attends to her with love and compassion.

He brings her food but realize that she has died after he tries to move her.

He cries with adoring love.

He stands beside her and screams, saddened of her death.

Finally he becomes aware that she will not return to him and stands beside her body in deep sorrow.

These photographs, taken in the Ukraine, shows how a bird tries desperately to save his partner. When these pictures were printed in a newspaper, millions were touched. The photographer sold these pictures for a nominal price to a popular newspaper in France and all copies were sold out. Love is not finding someone to live with; it's finding someone you can't live without ~ Rafael Ortiz

New Site - TrickemNstickem

I found a new site today of Adam's over at TrickemNstickem on bow hunting for trophy whitetail deer in our great outdoors. He also tells the story of his first harvest, a 10 pt. buck taken in Illinois recently, his first hunt outside of his home state of Georgia. Go over and give him a big welcome and congratulate him on his fine deer harvest and check out his great tips on bow hunting.

Jasper Bottom Swamp

This is for you Al of My Dismal Swamp! I took this picture years ago in the area where I deer hunted at Jasper Bottom Deer Camp in Claiborne County. I'm also using this picture as my background on my CamoSpace site. There's always something eerie, intriguing and beautiful about a swamp in the great outdoors. Charming, Just Charming!

Happy Birthday!

Happy
Birthday
to
me
today!