A Florida Black Bear

This is Florida's state record of a black bear weighing in at 720 lbs. Picture taken from Outdoors International Facebook page site of hunting and fishing.  

Big Black Bear!

A Lion Named Will

Footage shared last week by the Rancho dos Gnomos Santuario in Brazil shows the thrilling moment a lion named Will experiences, for the first time, the feeling of soil and grass beneath his feet.  Prior to being rescued and taken to the sanctuary, Will had been forced to perform with a traveling circus.  For 13 long years, the lion had been confined to a cramped cage and denied any semblance of a normal existence.

Within seconds of his release, Will can be seen eagerly running his paws through the soft soil - - tragically, a foreign material for a creature who, up until then, had known only cold metal floors. Will's reaction to the grass that covers his sprawling new home is equally ecstatic. Despite his age, advanced for his species, the lion rolls around like a happy cub discovering life's simple pleasures. But perhaps the most touching part of Will's transition into his new sanctuary can be seen in this moment of repose, as if mot impressed not by the feeling of dirt or grass, but by a new found sense of peace.

A lion can live up to 14 years in the wild, or up to 26 in captivity.

Published on May 12, 2015.

Sounds Like A Song...

A funny on a rainy day!  

Foggy Morning

Hunting is...

Deer Swimming

Lot's Of Love & Kisses

Wild Boar Fever

How Great Thou Art

It would be easy if we could spend our lives just going downstream all the time.  Let the current push us along.  Don't exert as much effort. And get where we want to go faster.

All of us, without exception though, have a life of upstream travels. The problems and complexities of life are constantly pushing against us. We have to work harder and hard to make progress.

But there is good news!  For Christians, we have a bigger boat with a bigger motor!  It's Jesus Christ!

Those without Christ in their lives have to face all that life throws at them without that added support.  They have to depend on friends and family only to get through the tough times.  And, as you know my friends, that is simply not enough.

Jesus Christ is the secret ingredient.  But it should not be a secret. Use this analogy today to talk to others about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  You don't have to quote scriptures.  Just tell a  story of a tough time in which a bigger boat with a bigger motor helped you make it upstream. - - Marty Kittrell

Photo:  A towboat and barges makes it way upstream at the Mississippi River bridges in Vicksburg, MS, this past Saturday morning.

Doe With Piebald Fawns

Many piebalds usually display one, a combination of; or even all of the following conditions:

a.  Bowing of the nose (often called Roman nose)

b.  Short legs

c.  Arching spine (scoliosis)

d.  Short lower mandible

e.  Internal organ deformities

Though rare, piebald deer are more common then the white, albino, or the extremely rare melanistic deer.

Happy Mother's Day!

Photographer ~ Michel Soucy

Cajun Country

What is a Cajun?
By Bob Hamm

According to the history books, a Cajun is a descendant of a hardy group of Nova Scotian exiles who settled over 200 years ago along the bayous and marshes of South Louisiana. The name Cajun (they tell us) is a contraction of "Acadienne .. Acadian." So much for the textbook!

Little Cajun children are made of gumbo, boudin and sauce piquante ... crawfish stew and oreilles de cochon. The Cajun child is given bayous to fish in, marshes to trap in, room to grow in, and Catholic churches to worship in. (In other parts of the world, little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice; while little boys are made of snips and snails and puppydog tails.)

A Cajun likes fiddles and accordions in his music, plenty of pepper in his courtboullon, shrimp in his nets, speed in his horses, neighborliness in his neighbors, and love in his home. He dislikes people who don't laugh enough, fish enough, or enjoy enough of all the good things God has given to the Cajun country. Also, he dislikes being hurried when he's resting and distracted when he's working; seeing people unhappy, and he'll do all he can or give all he has to bring a smile to a face stricken with sadness.

A Cajun likes to dance and laugh and sing when his week of hard work has ended. And just as Saturday night at the fais-do-do replenishes his store of energy, Sunday at church refreshes his spiritual and moral values and keeps strong his always sustaining faith.

A Cajun is a link with a proud past. His is a glorious heritage! He is a man of tolerance who will let the world go its way if the world will let him go his. He is a man of great friendliness who will give you the crawfish off his table, the sac-a-lait off his hook, or the shirt off his back.

A Cajun is a complex person, with as many ingredients in his makeup as the gumbo Mama makes for special company. He has tolerance for those who earn it, charity for those who need it, a smile for those who will return it, and love for all who will share it.

If a Cajun likes you, he'll give you this whole wide, wonderful world; and if he doesn't, he'll give you a wide berth. When you cross a Cajun, he gives you the back of his hand and the toe of his boot, for he can be stubborn as a mule and ornery as an alligator. If he sets his head on something, he'll fight a circlesaw before he'll yield to your opinions -- you'd as well argue with a fence post as to try to convince a Cajun.

And, as fun-loving as he is, a Cajun can work as hard and as long as any living man. He carved out "Acadiana" by hand, from the swamp and marshes and uncultivated prairies. But when the work is done and argument is ended, a Cajun can sweep you right into a wonderful world of joie de vivre with an accordion chorus of "Jole Blone" and a handful of happy little words ... five little words to be exact: "Lessez le bon ton roulle!" -- Translated: "Let the good times roll!"

Tour @ 2200 Clinic

Yesterday at noon I toured the new 2200 Medical Office Building with other members of the Senior Circle at the Merit Health River Region Hospital north of town.  Next Friday twelve doctors will be moving into the new building and will began seeing patients on Monday, May 18th. The Doctors moving there are: Thomas Moore, Gordon Sluis, Timothy Kerut, Alfred Windham, Gloria Butler, Thomas Sligh, Feras Hamadeh, Walter Johnston, Dedri Ivory, Tulio Figarola, William Porter, John Fagan and the Outpatient Rehab Services. 

Touring the 2200 Clinic.

One of many exam rooms.

AquaFIT

The Aqua Fit Underwater Treadmill System by Hudson Aquatic Systems, LLC, is a newly redesigned stand alone system.  You can turn an hour workout into 20 minutes with the same healthy effect, but without the sore joints and muscles.  This allows for a low impact high resistant workout.  We were told that this is the only one in the State of Mississippi at this time.  

Picture of Merit Health River Region entrance at 2100 Highway 61 North. The new building is to the left of the hospital. 

Took some pictures of pretty petunias planted around the hospital.  

Cactus Country

Picture Published Yesterday

Picture Perfect:  Marian Love Phillips took this photo of the American Queen once again docked at our waterfront with its passengers to tour the historic City of Vicksburg  *  The Vicksburg Post will only accept for publication ViewPoint photos that are current and of interest to the public and submitted electronically. Submitted photos should be accompanied by complete caption information and include a phone number for the photographer.  Photos may be submitted to photos@vicksburgpost.com.

I took this picture first of the American Queen that was docked at our waterfront on Monday, May 4, 2015.  If you look above her smoke stakes you can see the outline of a big bird in the blue sky.  

Once again I am humbled to have another one my pictures posted in our hometown paper, The Vicksburg Post.  Thanks so much for accepting it for publication.   

Meals on Wheels?

A friend of mine posted this picture on Facebook today.  I sure hope this guy on a bicycle was able to out run the bear in our great wild and crazy outdoors. 

Two Deer One Shot

This 12-year-old got the deer hunting rush of a lifetime!

Here's a great hunting video of 12-year-old Dan Cooley on his first bow hunt.  He ends up killing 2 deer with one shot of his bow.  Dad later admitted that he shouldn't have let his son take this shot.  But, 12-year-old Dan did make a great shot and neither of the deer went to waste!

Father said: In hindsight, I shouldn't have let him shoot, but we did find both deer.  Both were taken to a conservation officer and checked in.  Both deer have been eaten and tasted really good. Everyone learned a lesson, Dan is hooked on bowhunting and we thank The Lord for his blessings.

Piebald Deer

Courtesy of Sportsmans Hub

Guest Post-The Rise of the Female Hunter

Stoned

Rabbits in Utah!

A Tribute

To the powers of observation!

Art Park @ Catfish Row & The Queen

I had to run to town today and while there I saw one of the buses that take the American Queen tourists around town to see the sites.  I decided to run down to the waterfront and take some pictures of her.  It is always a treat to take a picture of the American Queen docking at our waterfront especially on this beautiful cool Wednesday morning.  Above is a splash fountain for the youngsters to play at the Children's Art Park at Catfish Row. 

One of three American Queen buses that take tourists to the historical sites in and around Vicksburg.  

Took this picture from Catfish Row of the American Queen peeking up over the Vicksburg Riverfront Murals on the flood walls. 

The American Queen is so impressive and so regal at the same time. 

A fisherman coming in at the waterfront with his best buddy in tow.   

It's time to get out and load up!

Took a picture of a small towboat pushing a larger container in the Yazoo Diversion Canal to the Port of Vicksburg before leaving.  

Coming Around The Bend

Vicksburg Riverfront Park below and Diamond Jacks Casino to the far right while the M/V Andrew Cargill MacMillan makes it's way to turn in the bend of the MS River at Vicksburg.

A new flag just raised a week ago flies over the MS River at Vicksburg.

Zoomed in to see the M/V Andrew Cargill MacMillan turning in the bend of the MS River.

Towboat heading for the bridges at Vicksburg while a lone police car sits to protect the Vicksburg Riverfront Park.  

Passing by a huge tree at the park. 

A pulled-out view of the towboat with it's huge load of barges.

A close-up view of towboat.  

Pushing on...

 

M/V Andrew Cargill MacMillan passing under the bridges and heading to it's destination.

Tom Turkey With 10 Beards

The hunt unfolded just like a turkey hunter would like.  Rick Bay, Kooper's dad, Kooper and his brother-in-law, Kevin Sawyer, hit the woods just before sunrise and set up in a spot where they had heard turkeys. Rick said, "We had seven or eight turkeys gobbling and knew there were plenty of turkeys in the area.  We were close to some birds, but when they flew off the roost, they went in a different direction where another hunter was calling.  We then moved to another spot when we heard some birds right there.  We didn't have time to put the decoys where we wanted when two big gobblers appeared.  We got the decoys out and I cleared a spot for Kooper to sit.  After making a call, the toms came running.  After sitting there for about two or three minutes, they came around the corner and when they saw our decoys, they went back into the woods, but after more calling the gobblers started moving towards us.  I told Kooper to take the second bird because a lot of the time the larger bird is behind the first bird.  At about 30 yards out, Kooper fired his 20 gauge shotgun and dropped the big bird with a well-placed shot."

Sawyer said, "I saw the two birds heading our way and then go back into the woods.  I made several soft calls and they came back out, I was in a position to see all the action and watched Kooper make a good shot."

The Humansville fifth grader said he was very nervous when watching the toms headed his way, but was able to take advantage of the situation and get his first turkey on his third Youth Turkey Hunt.  He is looking forward to going after another turkey during the second week of the regular three-week season that started Monday.  Youths who take a turkey during the youth season may not take another bird until April 27.  This is because the bird taken during the youth season counts as the first bird for the first week of the regular season.  The Youth Season Limit is one male turkey or a turkey with a visible beard.

The young hunter also got a deer last year and is looking forward to going to South Dakota pheasant hunting this year now that he has completed the hunter-education requirement for that state.  He also likes to play baseball and basketball at school.

The thrill and excitement from Kooper's turkey hunt, the big smile on his face tells it all. After all, the future of the sport lies with today's youngsters.

My congrats to Kooper in getting his very first and special breaded turkey in our great outdoors!

Excerpts taken from Springfield News-Leader ~ Editor, Ken White

I Am A Hunter

A Flea Market Today

We had threatening rain storms during the night/early morning and I think it really hurt the flea market today which started at 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  It was not as many people there when I arrived around 12:30. Here are a few pictures I took walking around which did not take long at all. Their were booths of arts, crafts, antiques, plants and food.  Around 3:00 the blue skies appeared and hopefully more people decided to run by the flea market to shop which is a great fund raiser for the Old Court House Museum. 

On the grounds of the new court house.

Looks like the dogs were enjoying the flea market as well as the human beings.  

A very sparse crowd around 12:30.  Hopefully, more came earlier. 

Heading downhill at the boulevard on the north side of the Old Court House Museum.

Old Court House Museum on Facebook

Savannah's First Turkey

What a beautiful picture of a young hunter with her very first turkey in our great wild outdoors.

Picture Published ~ First Time

Marian Love Phillips shot this photo of the American Eagle passing under the bridges heading south after docking at the Vicksburg waterfront for the very first time recently.  The Vicksburg Post will only accept for publication ViewPoint photos that are current and of interest to the public and submitted electronically. Submitted photos should be accompanied by complete caption information and include a phone number for the photographer. Photos may be submitted to photos@vicksburgpost.com.

Once again I was so happy and humbled to see my picture published on the second page of our hometown paper, The Vicksburg Post, yesterday.  Thanks so much!  

Day In The Woods

Where the animals and birds live!