Dad went to the Double WhiteOak Field and took this fine 9 and 3/4 inch beard and 19 pound gobbler on Saturday morning.
Dad would much rather get a big gobbler than shoot one of those pesky old deer.
Monday, March 31, 2008
A Turkey For Dad
Dad went to the Double WhiteOak Field and took this fine 9 and 3/4 inch beard and 19 pound gobbler on Saturday morning.
Dad would much rather get a big gobbler than shoot one of those pesky old deer.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Bring Your Kids
Toyland, MS> As I have grown older, I have realized that hunting is really about the kids. (shhhh.. don't tell Trent) When you come visit us we expect you to bring your kids. We have adventure and excitement for all young explorers.
They can ride 4-wheelers, fish, hike, run, and play over 2300 acres. We have almost 30 miles of roads cut through the place and lots of the land has never been explored.
Plus, there is always the chance that that damn Thunderhoof might jump across the road at any second. Here are some Christmas pics with the kids.
They can ride 4-wheelers, fish, hike, run, and play over 2300 acres. We have almost 30 miles of roads cut through the place and lots of the land has never been explored.
Plus, there is always the chance that that damn Thunderhoof might jump across the road at any second. Here are some Christmas pics with the kids.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Spring Fling
First of all, a certain Jr. Blogger stole my post for today. I think most of us find it difficult to post everyday after the hunting seasons end and even though turkey season is wide open here it is hard to post everyday. We are having a big crawfish boil this weekend and hope it will be lots of fun. Mark and I have a few secret plans to take care of in matters of deer hunting.
Come to think of it, there are hogs to hunt, crappie are spawning, turkeys are gobbling, shed antlers are dropping and it is a great time to wander and explore the camp. Wow! I'm fired up again! Let's go!PS.. I have "discovered" a secret Civil War era diary. Would you like to read parts of it every now and then?
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
An Antique Evil
It was a beautiful spring morning and I was turkey hunting in the big hollow below the Dove Field. I had started at the top of the hollow above the outcrop that had the strange rock carvings and had slowly followed that hollow down to a tee as I called and listened for turkeys. At ten o’clock I gave up after having no luck and not even hearing a gobbler and headed east to connect with another big hollow below the Secret Field and then around to the road.
It was a long walk but I moved lightly through the crisp leaves, checking the creek for deer tracks and anything that might be interesting. It just felt good to do some strenuous exercise and be in the woods.
Turning South at the fork, I moved into a wide sand ditch that had fresh deer tracks everywhere. I had not been to this spot in a couple of years but remembered how the overhanging White Oak trees were dropping acorns and the thick brush along the sides was covered in muscadine vines so that it looked like the deer were having a feast here. I had not been able to figure out a stand location and had put the area on the back burner and promptly forgot about it after awhile.
I stopped and examined fresh turkey tracks and droppings in the sandy creek for a minute, but as I turned to go, a small glint of blue-green caught my eye and I moved to the edge of the creek to check what it could be. I was always on the lookout for old bottles and I was surprised and happy to find the blue of an old fruit jar uncovered in a wash in the bank. I opened my pocketknife and carefully dug around the blue-green glass and realized it was whole. I started digging and in a few minutes, eased the antique jar out of its hiding place.
The old quart fruit jar seemed unusually cold as I examined the exterior. It was a very old Mason jar with lots of bubbles in the glass. The glass top was still held on with rusty wire. Bold script said Mason and underneath that was 1858. My knowledge of bottles was enough to know that it was worth several hundred dollars. I was shocked and amazed to find something this valuable washed out of a bank in the woods. I was about to be more shocked than I ever imagined I would be.
I had checked the glass and not paid any attention to what was inside. Most old bottles you find will be filled with dirt. This one was not. It was still tightly sealed after around 100 years. I looked deep into the jar. The interior of the glass was partly covered with a gray mold. This mold had welded the contents of the jar in place as solidly as glue. Inside the old fruit jar was a rotting and mummified hand.
It was some unknown persons left hand, cut off just above the wrist and was leathery looking with blackened fingernails and gray with mold. I imagine at one time the old jar had been full of alcohol that had preserved the gruesome thing but it had evaporated over the years. Still, the hand was open and stuck in a slightly spread position inside the green glass.
To make the sight even more macabre, the hand still had a ring on its finger.
It was a large insignia ring with the letter W on it.
Holding the jar seemed almost like holding a spider in your hand and I eased the jar down onto the sand and wiped my hands on my pants.
I sat on my knees studying the strange contents of the antique jar. The hand and the ring were as weird an object as anyone could fantasize about in a nightmare. It suddenly seemed way too quiet and remote where I was and I felt my heart beating way too rapidly. My mouth felt dried as I tried to imagine how this horrible thing could have found its way to me.
Where was it from? What would cause someone to do this? How did it get here?
What was the significance of the ring? Why was it here?
I have read and seen where some people believe that strange and unusual things are drawn to specific locations or people. I have found this to be true for the famous Christmas Place with its long, unusual and peculiar history. I was looking down at this hand and could feel a coldness emanating from the mummified remains that left no doubt that if the green jar was opened, the results to my family and myself would be disastrous. I could feel the ill will in it growing along with a now almost overpowering desire to open the jar, pull the ring off the rotted and lifeless finger and place it on my own hand.
With the desire to open the jar, I could also visualize the hand crawling through the night to find me and the rest of my family at the camp.
The top of the fruit jar had a glass top that was wired on and you could tell that it had also been waxed over to seal it. My hand involuntarily moved forward and I picked up the blue green jar and studied the ring again. There was nothing fantastic about it. I am not sure if it was even real silver. It was just a signet ring with a W, but the desire for it was almost more than I could hold back. Almost I say, because while I studied the blackened nails of the gross left hand I saw a faint movement, at least I feel that I did. The pinkie finger curled just a minute amount, but enough to scare me so badly that I dropped the jar back to the sand and woke to the fact that I had to get rid of the cursed thing, RIGHT NOW! Was the hand really alive or had my imagination completely fooled me? I do not know but I do know that the feeling of evil was far more than anything I had ever encountered.
I started digging madly in the sand and I dug as far down as my arm would reach. Then I took a large leaf and held the jar at the top until I slid it down to the bottom of the hole. I covered it up, packing the sand as I filled it. Soon it was covered and I think it will take years before it is uncovered again unless we have a gigantic storm that would wash up the jar from 4 feet down. I will watch and make sure that it does not appear again to me or the kids in my lifetime.
Meanwhile this story may scare them a little around a campfire but someday they may realize that it is a true story and they have been warned.....
It was a long walk but I moved lightly through the crisp leaves, checking the creek for deer tracks and anything that might be interesting. It just felt good to do some strenuous exercise and be in the woods.
Turning South at the fork, I moved into a wide sand ditch that had fresh deer tracks everywhere. I had not been to this spot in a couple of years but remembered how the overhanging White Oak trees were dropping acorns and the thick brush along the sides was covered in muscadine vines so that it looked like the deer were having a feast here. I had not been able to figure out a stand location and had put the area on the back burner and promptly forgot about it after awhile.
I stopped and examined fresh turkey tracks and droppings in the sandy creek for a minute, but as I turned to go, a small glint of blue-green caught my eye and I moved to the edge of the creek to check what it could be. I was always on the lookout for old bottles and I was surprised and happy to find the blue of an old fruit jar uncovered in a wash in the bank. I opened my pocketknife and carefully dug around the blue-green glass and realized it was whole. I started digging and in a few minutes, eased the antique jar out of its hiding place.
The old quart fruit jar seemed unusually cold as I examined the exterior. It was a very old Mason jar with lots of bubbles in the glass. The glass top was still held on with rusty wire. Bold script said Mason and underneath that was 1858. My knowledge of bottles was enough to know that it was worth several hundred dollars. I was shocked and amazed to find something this valuable washed out of a bank in the woods. I was about to be more shocked than I ever imagined I would be.
I had checked the glass and not paid any attention to what was inside. Most old bottles you find will be filled with dirt. This one was not. It was still tightly sealed after around 100 years. I looked deep into the jar. The interior of the glass was partly covered with a gray mold. This mold had welded the contents of the jar in place as solidly as glue. Inside the old fruit jar was a rotting and mummified hand.
It was some unknown persons left hand, cut off just above the wrist and was leathery looking with blackened fingernails and gray with mold. I imagine at one time the old jar had been full of alcohol that had preserved the gruesome thing but it had evaporated over the years. Still, the hand was open and stuck in a slightly spread position inside the green glass.
To make the sight even more macabre, the hand still had a ring on its finger.
It was a large insignia ring with the letter W on it.
Holding the jar seemed almost like holding a spider in your hand and I eased the jar down onto the sand and wiped my hands on my pants.
I sat on my knees studying the strange contents of the antique jar. The hand and the ring were as weird an object as anyone could fantasize about in a nightmare. It suddenly seemed way too quiet and remote where I was and I felt my heart beating way too rapidly. My mouth felt dried as I tried to imagine how this horrible thing could have found its way to me.
Where was it from? What would cause someone to do this? How did it get here?
What was the significance of the ring? Why was it here?
I have read and seen where some people believe that strange and unusual things are drawn to specific locations or people. I have found this to be true for the famous Christmas Place with its long, unusual and peculiar history. I was looking down at this hand and could feel a coldness emanating from the mummified remains that left no doubt that if the green jar was opened, the results to my family and myself would be disastrous. I could feel the ill will in it growing along with a now almost overpowering desire to open the jar, pull the ring off the rotted and lifeless finger and place it on my own hand.
With the desire to open the jar, I could also visualize the hand crawling through the night to find me and the rest of my family at the camp.
The top of the fruit jar had a glass top that was wired on and you could tell that it had also been waxed over to seal it. My hand involuntarily moved forward and I picked up the blue green jar and studied the ring again. There was nothing fantastic about it. I am not sure if it was even real silver. It was just a signet ring with a W, but the desire for it was almost more than I could hold back. Almost I say, because while I studied the blackened nails of the gross left hand I saw a faint movement, at least I feel that I did. The pinkie finger curled just a minute amount, but enough to scare me so badly that I dropped the jar back to the sand and woke to the fact that I had to get rid of the cursed thing, RIGHT NOW! Was the hand really alive or had my imagination completely fooled me? I do not know but I do know that the feeling of evil was far more than anything I had ever encountered.
I started digging madly in the sand and I dug as far down as my arm would reach. Then I took a large leaf and held the jar at the top until I slid it down to the bottom of the hole. I covered it up, packing the sand as I filled it. Soon it was covered and I think it will take years before it is uncovered again unless we have a gigantic storm that would wash up the jar from 4 feet down. I will watch and make sure that it does not appear again to me or the kids in my lifetime.
Meanwhile this story may scare them a little around a campfire but someday they may realize that it is a true story and they have been warned.....
Monday, March 24, 2008
New Links to Ponder
Two new links to consider as we slip into Spring. The first is Mushy's Moochings. This is an outdoor related chronicle of his life and times. Hunting, Sports, Girls,
Growing Up and Close Friends. It it a pleasure to read and I am very glad to have him linked. I know you will enjoy him too. (He likes a good cigar too!)
The second link is Drew's World. This link is out of the U.K. and is a young man that is involved with Canal Boats and his desire for a life of hunting and learning Bushcraft. He enjoys posting
about things he is purchasing to reach his goals and his plans for the future. Hmmmm.... a deer hunt for a boat ride? Might have something to work with here.
He doesn't know how much I would like to travel those lazy rivers of his on those canal boats and talk about this stuff, I might have to look him up soon.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Dust Jacket
This is the proposed dust cover for my fathers book "Lim"
I hope that when it finally gets out that you will all read it.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
A Perfect Shot
I took this nice deer off of a pond stand near Abbeville many moons ago. I had not practiced with my bow that year and was surprised when the deer wandered out 20 yards from my stand. I pulled the string back, aimed carefully behind the shoulder and released. I jerked and the arrow would have missed the deer by at least four feet, but the deer jumped the string and sprang up and forward. The terrible shot hit the deer in the base of the neck, dropping and killing her instantly.
I did not mention this to the rest of the members of the camp.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Who is This Jr. Blogger?
Who is this very serious little girl that is now a professional blogger? We have very deep discussions about what she should blog about and what is funny. Suddenly there are lots of phone calls and emails to make sure she is putting up a good post and she wants to link and learn who all my online friends are. Thanks to you who are already linking her and taking the time to share comments with her.
I have to admit that I am very impressed with her early post and hope that you all will go by and visit the Jr. Deer Camp Blog.
Oh, and while you are over there, please check out the copper tree from Bob and Marian! They make a great gift!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Natural Born Killers
Hot Lead, MS> I have never seen anything like it. My brother Paul is a natural born killer. Everytime he strolls into the woods, something is going to get the hell blasted out of it.
Saturday afternoon, Paul and Michael head over to the Double WhiteOak and suddenly walk up in amongst a herd of wild hogs. Paul quickly took advantage of the situation and commenced firing. This is a family blog so I will not go into gory details. But, suffice it to say that there was blood, dead hogs and shell casings scattered everywhere. Paul was temporarily satiated and wandered back to camp to get help getting them out.
The next morning Paul and Michael headed to the Negotiation Field. They had taken a turkey there last year and Paul knew they would be there again. A few quick calls and they were surrounded by turkeys. Michael cut loose. His turkey tumbled and he told Paul that his turkey was down. Paul is not one to waste words when there is killing to be done. He snatched the shotgun from Michael and cut down on the escaping turkeys. He reached down to reload and found they were completely out of shells. He rushed the staggering turkey but it evaded him and headed into the brush. Paul was mortified!
They got this nice 22 lb. gobbler with a 10 inch beard. Congrats Michael!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Spring Break Cats
While we are getting ready to go after the turkeys, my cousins Dean and Matthew are reelng in some big cats on their spring break.
PS. GuyK is still having a few problems
PS. GuyK is still having a few problems
Thursday, March 13, 2008
A Gobble In My Ear
Caw-Hoot, MS> Well, as you can guess, turkey season officially starts this weekend. Now for all you diehards, good-luck. Me, I still just don't get it. At the famous Christmas Place Rack and Spur club, you can't trot to the outhouse without stepping on a gobblers beard. Hello? How hard can it be?
Dad is sitting in his office right now blowing on his damn turkey call, practicing. Why? Hello??? they are big chickens.
I guess I will take Spencer. Maybe we can club one with a gunstock to make it more sporting. We really need a turkey eradication program launched at the camp, but I have not heard a word from Othmar.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
2 Hoofs Down
Oxpatch, MS> Thunderhoof had been driving me crazy to see the new adventure movie called 10,000 B.C. He said it would be great and I would get to see how it really was in the old days when he had to put up with Wooly Mammoths, Mastadons, Saber Tooth Tigers and other gigantic varmints all the time.They made us sit in the back of the theatre because of his big horns. I had to pay for three seats too. Then he ate 2 big buckets of popcorn and a couple of boxes of goobers before we got halfway through the movie.
I liked the animation for the mammoths and for the saber tooth but the story line was very weak and we were both very disappointed in the movie.
We will have to say two hoofs down on seeing this movie.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Birthday Presents
Gray Beard, MS> I know all of you are concerned that I did not receive your birthday gifts. You can still mail them to me at P.O. Box 1072 in Water Valley.
I did receive some great gifts and wanted to share them with you. I really, really needed some golf stuff. I got golf balls, tees, a towel, gloves and some more golf balls. I am set for the summer.
Then I also received some extremely nice birthday gifts. Marian found an original Coke bottle from Vicksburg that she gave me. It is a beauty and says Vicksburg Steam Works across the front. She and Bob were great and I loved having them come over. They are only a couple of hours away. Kind of like Debbie or David.
Last, but not least, a lot of people gave me booze of one kind or another. Lots of wine, whiskey, and beer. Seems like they know something that I don't. I have enough booze so that when that crazy KeesKennis comes to visit, we will party hearty through the delta. My, I look good in my new hat! Click and you will see that there is only one real bourbon around here, that is Ezra Brooks.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Let's Par-tee
Geezer, MS> The famous Birthday Bash was Saturday night. All the cool peeps were there like me, Camo and Marian. Hell, even my Dad made a guest appearance and wore the best gift of the night. The Watermelon Hat!
The party was great and we did not even have to call the fire dept to put out my cake. Denise did an amazing job putting the party together and I can not thank her enough.
Thank you to everyone that came to the party! Denise even made a chocolate cake to absolutely die for and there was enough food and drink to feed an army and get them drunk too. Erin acted as the barkeep as we set up the bar in the garage. It worked pretty well and made everything flow nicely.
Hey! You can have your cake and eat it to! That Denise was great and I did not realize that I had so many friends. Of course in Water Valley, the offer of free food and booze is going to make a lot of people show up for any party. I guess 50 was not so bad and I got a cool WaterMelon hat that everyone got a chance to wear.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Party Emergency!
Dusting, MS> Late yesterday as we were preparing the house for the big party, it started to snow. Rapidly it grew to blizzard-like conditions as almost a 1/2 inch of snow covered the ground. Little old ladies quickly jumped in their 4-wheel drive trucks and headed to the supermarket to clean out every gallon of milk and loaf of bread in town.Many people will probably cancel coming to the party due to the horrible weather.
I hope we are not snowed in for three or four months.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Night Action
Slippery Slope, MS> The night I got this deer behind the lake, I got Burney and Mark to go with me to get it. Using flashlights going up the lake, locating the deer and dragging it out was fun and I think helped us bond a little closer than we had been.
I realized that we were in it together for a lifetime and to start enjoying it.
Burney took so-called action shots and we kidded each other about fainting or having a heart attack dragging the deer back to the boat.
I realized that we were in it together for a lifetime and to start enjoying it.
Burney took so-called action shots and we kidded each other about fainting or having a heart attack dragging the deer back to the boat.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Something Important
Water Valley, MS> Contrary to popular belief there is something interesting going on.This weekend I am reaching the magical age of 50. I have seen and done a lot in that time. Denise is throwing a party for me on Saturday night and I hope my blog friends will maybe leave a comment or two about it.
Hard Courses
SanDestin, FL> The courses down there were very hard and tricky. None more so than this one which is near our condo. This course is filled with hazards and traps for the unwary. There are ample (very ample) distactions that can cost a golfer all that he has. I would not recommend for a married man to play here.
On the other hand, occassionally someone makes a birdie!
On the other hand, occassionally someone makes a birdie!
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Tracking The Bet
SanDestin, FL> Each night we would get back to the condo and the cards would be pulled out to determine the bet. Mark Larson was usually on the winning end of things. For some reason they always made Paul call out the scores. I wonder why?
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Return Of The Reprobates
Mark Larson, Bill Howard, David Hyde, Alan McLeod
Rex Howell, Chuck Nicholson, Paul Howell, Greg Myers,ATO- Alpha Tau Omega brothers from college
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