Raining on Thanksgiving.

As Thanksgiving is approaching, I am reminded of my Thanksgiving memories.  Namely, that the winter duck hunting season started on Thanksgiving.  It gave hunters a chance to bring home a duck for Thanksgiving dinner.

Since my Dad was a mailman he worked six days a week.  One of the few holidays he had off was Thanksgiving.  So it was the one day we could go hunting. 

We would always hope for bad weather since ducks seem to love bad weather.  Seriously, the worse the weather is, the more duck hunters show up.  It really is the opposite of good decision making. 

So a typical day would be getting up at 4 AM, head out the door at 5 AM, make it to Cockroach Bay (Yes that's it real name.  It's in Ruskin, Fl.)  by 6 AM, take the boat to our spot, and have the decoys set up by 7 AM.  Then we would sit in the rain and wind with guns on our laps hoping some ducks would fly into the decoys.

What's funny is that it was usually really active from 7:15 AM to 8 AM, and then maybe a few up until 9 AM.  Then, nothing.  It was like all the wildlife would stop from 9 until 10 AM.  Once 10 AM came around you might get a few show up until 11 AM.  But once 11 AM hit, it was over.  The ducks day was over until sunset. 

So we would then pack up at 11 AM.  We would then pick up all the decoys, and make it back to the dock at 12 Noon.  Then we would make it back to the house at 1 PM where the two of us would clean all the saltwater off of everything.  This also included making sure the guns were oiled really well.  Saltwater is really rough on guns.  And if we actually did manage to hit any ducks, this would be the point where we would clean them.

Then it would be time for Thanksgiving dinner between 3 and 4 PM.  That would be the perfect time to eat, and start watching the Detroit Lions get their butts kicked on TV. 

So you can see just how eventful Thanksgiving was for us.  And for the photographic evidence, feast your eyes upon this:

Yep, that's me in 1991 with a blue wing teal.  I was 15 at the time.  And I still use that same shotgun to this day.  In fact, I still have that same coat.  It's the coat I use when it's just a bit cool out hunting, but not overly cold.  Although, I do have better choice in headwear these days.

Getting My Goat, and Loving It, Part 2

So I went to the Florida State Fair yesterday.  Mainly to see the crafts that were entered by my Father and Sister.  Here's the pictures of the two pieces that my Dad entered.

And here is the piece that my Sister entered.

Good for her, she got 2nd place. 

Next, I went to see something that I really had been wanting to see.  The goats.

I can hear him saying, "Hey man, do you have some taffy?"

I love this picture.  Look at the expression on that Mommy goat's face.  It's like, "Oh yes!  Yes, yes, yes!"

Something that is better than big goats are little goats.  And baby goats are just awesome.

Don't cha just want to give em a hug?

Next up, turkey, turkey, turkey.

I should have taken a video of this rabbit because he would not hold still.  Out of 7 photos I took, this was the best one.

Look, it's a Silke chicken, just like in Farmville.

I just wanted to give this duck a hug.  I bet it laid magic eggs.

This rooster was more than loud.  It was insanely loud.

This picture is just hilarious.

Moo.

Next up brings the question of the rides.  Well, it seems that the Fair is not so fair.  They only sell all you can ride wristbands on certain days.  Otherwise, everything was way overpriced.  I felt like I was in a Carnie type atmosphere.  Everything was a gimmick.  So I went ahead and left.  At least the animals/ plants/ agricultural stuff/ crafts were really nice. 

Inside the Secret World of Adrian's Hunting Adventures

I have plenty of hunting stories that I've aquired from years of being in the outdoors.  Sometimes the tales can get either really hairy or relaly tall.  Back in 2009 I took my video camera with me to show just how weird things can get out there.

Today I bought a machine/ program that lets me transfer my video to an MPEG format.  I am really glad that this type of program exists so that I can share my wonderful and weird hunting experiences.

So without further ado, here's the highlights of the Perry, Fl. 2009 hunting trip at Hickory Mound.

Clip 1.  The Waking of the Weasel (rhymes with Grease-el.)  Note how I am doing my best Steve Irwin impression.

Clip 2.  This is an osprey sitting in a tree.  The osprey is one of the best fish hunting birds out there.  I was really glad to get this shot.

Clip 3.  In this video you can see some hooded merganzers and grebies.  This video was recording in the Hickory Mound Impoundment Unit.  It is a beautiful estruary that supports a huge amount of wildlife.  I've never seen a place quite like it.

Clip 4.  A funny little butterfly landed, and hilariousity ensued.

More to come.  Stay tuned for parts 2, 3, and 4.