I'm being taunted by Turkeys this morning

As I sit here in my office getting ready for the first meeting of many today the taunting starts.  No not from my coworkers but from the Turkeys outside my office window.  It doesn't take long for my coworkers to start on me either.  Oh well it was a nice way to loose myself in the outdoors for a few minutes.

Welcome to the Outdoor Blogger Network

It's an exciting time for those of us who blog about the outdoors and for those that love to read about the outdoors thanks to the recent launch of the Outdoor Blogger Network. 




The idea for the Outdoor Blogger Network was born, appropriately enough, on a riverbank, via a conversation between two Outdoor bloggers with a simple vision that there was a need for a centralized place on the web for  people to find the best Outdoor related blogs.

So stop by the OBN and share a hand in making Outdoor Blogger Network THE place for everyone to come, find the best Outdoor blogs, and enjoy our great outdoors just a little more!

Spread the word and remember to share the passion!

CT waterfowl Opener report

This past Friday was the early season waterfowl opener here in CT and seeing the first season is only open for 10 days in the north zone we had to get out no matter what the weather had in store for us.  Thursday evening Busch Pilot, myself and my daughter took a quick scouting trip to a puddle we decided would be our opening day spot and we watched the ducks pour into our puddle as dusk set in.  As we were heading back to the truck with smiles on our faces there was no chance this Nor'easter was going to keep us from setting up on this puddle for the opener.  It was a sleepless night for me and not because of the thoughts of all those ducks but it was the pouring rain and high winds pounding the outside of the house that kept me up.  It was an early wake up and off to meet Busch Pilot where we would load up the pickle with all our gear and head out in the pouring rain and steady 20mph winds.  With the ducks already in the puddle we were doing our best to keep the noise down to a minimum but when you are pulling a canoe loaded with decoys, guns, paddles, vests and other miscellaneous gear down a railroad bed with no lights, it's hard to be quiet and it wasn't long before the ducks started stirring and doing a little quacking.

A view from the blind between the rain drops

We got the pickle in the water and paddled out to an island that would host our blind setup this morning and set out our decoys.  When legal shooting time arrive the weather made it impossible to ID the ducks so we waited for more light. The weather didn't keep the ducks down as we had some woodies buzzing the puddle with a some landing amongst the other ducks. It wasn't easy to keep still knowing we had ducks out in front of us just loafing on the water, but we did our best.  25 minutes into legal shooting with all those ducks still on the water 4 wood ducks buzzed our setup and made a circle around the pond and then locked up and setup for a landing and as they did I got so excited and forgot about the 20+ ducks already on the pond and called the shot only to miss.  With the first shot fired the pond exploded with ducks trying to get out and they were successful as they flew out on the only side we didn't have a open shot.  I was NOT happy with myself  but it sure was a site to see.   We got calmed back down and the birds started working back in.  We had a pair of Mallards land about 20 yards out and as they landed BP called the shot and up they went and down went a beautiful hen mallard while the drake escaped unscathed.  About 15 minutes later 2 more mallards came in and landed at the back of the puddle where they loafed around for 15 minutes before heading out and offering up a shot that I promptly missed but ol' Busch Pilot was there to back me up and drop another hen mallard.  By 8am the ducks seemed to stop moving and the weather had really picked up with some serious guests as well.   It was 9am before we had another flight of ducks look over the puddle but they never committed.    We packed it up at 10am and headed back to the truck to get dry and warm.   Although I shot terrible and we only had 2 mallard hens to show for our morning setup, we learned a ton this morning and in only our second season of duck hunting we still have plenty or learning to do.  I had other commitments for the afternoon so I wasn't able to get out but Bush Pilot and Bubba headed out and put 3 wood ducks and 2 geese on the table which was a treat.

Busch Pilot with his opening morning Mallard hens

Saturday's forecast was clouds and high winds but no rain so we decided to hit the fields for a goose hunt for the last day of early goose.  We got the fields at 5:45am and checked in with the landowner who was already getting ready to work the farm to make sure we wouldn't be in his way and then out to the field to setup.  The decoys were in place and we were all snuggled up in the brush and started the tedious wait for the first flight of geese.  About 7:20am we could hear the sounds of gees in the air and heading our way.  It didn't take long before we got a flock of ten geese to commit to our decoys and as they were cupped and locked in Busch Pilot called the shot and I dropped a goose with my first shot as did Busch Pilot.  I was so excited that I finally connected that I forgot to shoot again but Busch pilot didn't and dropped a second one.  I heard him say "my two are down, I'm done." as he ejected the spent shell and by then the geese were out of my range for a second shot.  The daily bag limit for geese in our zone is 2 per person so I figured we would be eating breakfast by 8:30am but it just wasn't so.  We continued to work birds all morning but we just couldn't get them to commit to joining us.  The wind had really picked up with some serious gusts and it was enough to keep the birds up in the air giving them a good look at the spread and they just wouldn't finish.  At 10am I called it and went for the truck.  As we were picking up 4 more flocks came in they looked like they wanted in but the gun was already packed in the truck as I watched them land in an adjoining field.  We had to see at least 800 geese in 3 hours with only 3 geese to show for our efforts.  It doesn't matter because it was still a great morning and we learned a lot.  I got plenty of practice with my goose call and redeemed my self with my shooting so it was a plus in my book.

The Farm

BP showing his support for my quest

One bird short of a limit

Saturday afternoon I was on my own so I decided to hit the puddles for some ducks and while doing so I ran into another hunter out solo doing the same thing I was.  We stopped and chatted for a bit and decided to setup and hunt together.  Nick has only been in CT for a few years  but has many years experience hunting and his passion was waterfowl.  We setup in some brush on the edge of some water and while waiting for the ducks to fly we chatted away about hunting, fishing and family.  We did see some ducks but it was after legal light as we were heading back to the trucks.  It was nice to meet someone new that shares the passion for the outdoors.  Thanks for sharing Nick.

So what is a curtism anyway

Archery camp is only a week away and there is nothing like spending a week with the boys at Archery camp, not so much for the hunting and friendships but for what we all know is coming...new CURTISMS.

So what is a Curtism you ask, well is simple terms a curtism is something that my dad said that doesn't make any sense but we all understood it anyway.  For example, "Wiggy Womps"!  Any idea what wiggy womps are?  I didn't think so, but just so that little area of your brain that has been set aside for the storage of useless knowledge doesn't explode, wiggy womps are your nice and comfy wool hunting socks.  I know what you are thinking and trust me we've all asked our self the same question..."Why doesn't he just say hunting socks?", well because that is not how my dad operates.  See he was born and raised in Northeast PA and if you know anyone that was born and raised in that area then you already know that they have their own unique language like saying CRICK when they mean CREEK.

Now being a direct descendant of my father, you would expect me to understand these Curtisms and of course I do, but the scary part is not only do I understand them but I actually have said many myself just as my brother has.  Now what makes this even more interesting is that many of my friends that hunt with us have learned to understand what is being said and have also said many themselves even though they have no bloodline relationship to my father and no relationship to Northeast PA. Now I'm not sure if this qualifies as a communicable disease or not but I have been in contact with the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) just to be safe.

I don't remember how it all started but many hunting seasons ago we just couldn't keep up with all the Curtisms that my dad was spitting out so we started a log book and would record them so we could document them and define their true meanings and origins.  Keeping track of them started out as an easy task, but as the years have gone by and Curtisms became common place we found out we were losing some of the best ones.  We decided to ensure that no more Curtisms slipped through the cracks we had to resort to issuing every person that hunts with us a pocket sized notepad and some No. 2 pencils along with a mandatory training class on how to detect a Curtism and how to properly record it. Even with this intense training a few Curtism seem to slip by only to be caught and recorded minutes and sometimes hours later.

The good news is I really don't think this is contagious unless you come in direct contact with my father for an extended period of time.  So in the meantime we will do our best to record and document all new Curtisms while trying to enjoy our hunts.

Here are few additional Curtisms to make you go hmmmmm!

Curtism:  Store buy
Used in a sentence:  did you store buy that sandwich?
Translation:  Did you purchase that sandwich at a store.

Curtism: Straight as a dot
Used in a sentence: That tree is straight as a dot
Translation: Not really sure here, but we do know the tree was really straight.

Curtism: Frozy
Used in a sentence: It's not frosty out, only a little frozy
Translation: Not cold enough to create frost on the ground, but still cold

Curtism: Scrub
Used in a sentence: Did you see that scrub?
Translation: A scrub is a cross between a scrape and a rub.

Curtism: Wearin socks
Used in a sentence: Those aren't wearin socks
Translation:  Those socks are not for wearing with shoes, but instead used for lounging around the house

Okay, the last one was said by me when my daughter was trying to put her sneakers on over a pair of those fluffy socks.....It made sense at the time.

Lose yourself in the outdoors

I was reading an article in the user submitted section of our local paper's online website tilled "Getting Lost Never Turned Out So Well" by Erin Barrett where she writes about getting lost on a hike that she and her parents were taking.  Erin wrote, "I took nothing but pleasure from our wanderings in the forest that day" and that got be thinking about all those times I have lost myself in the outdoors.   

Losing yourself in the outdoors doesn't mean actually getting lost and requiring a search party to find you, but instead that you forget about the day to day hustle and bustle and immerse yourself in everything great the outdoors has to offer.  To do this the right way you can't be under a time constraint, it's not like scheduling a meeting with a start and end time, it has to just happen.


I can't remember how many times I've lost myself in the outdoors but I  know it happens on a regular basis and you don't have to be in the woods for it to happen as can be seen in my "Weekend of Survival" post. My getting lost in the outdoors has occurred while driving home, while working in my yard and even sitting at my desk when the turkeys frequent the grounds of our office building.   No matter when and for what, something has caused me to stop what I was doing and immerse myself in something going on outside.  I'm sure this sounds like a good case of Attention Deficit Disorder and I guess it kind of is but I feel better knowing that it's caused by the pleasure that I have received from all those times I was lost in the outdoors.
 
One of the reasons I enjoy hunting so much is it allows me to lose myself for hours on end with nothing to do but soak it all in.  Now don't get me wrong, I usually have a game plan in hand but many times I find myself throwing that out and just going with the flow.  I can't remember how many times I came across something that caused me to deviate from my plan and drew me over the next ridge or into a swamp. It could be something as simple as a noise, a track or even a sighting of an animal but most of the time it's just plain curiosity and desire to see more.


As I read Erin's article and her comments about the view and the eagle they had seen,  my first thought was "big deal, I've seen that", but then I realized what is so common place for me is really something special and I am thankful for all those times that I have been lost as well.  Thanks for the reminder Erin. 

I encourage you all  to share the last time your were lost in the outdoors and if you can't remember then I think it's time for you to get lost! :)  Enjoy it.