Ice Drinking

I gave-up ice fishing about six years ago.

Nonetheless, that last venture found a couple of buddies and I out on Sturgeon Bay having a few cold ones and soaking-up the winter sunshine. Fishing was just good enough to keep our attention.

Anyway, a guy on a snow machine approaches us. He was wearing a green parka and a fur cap and he looks for all the world like the warden. As it turns out he wasn't - he just looked like the warden. This guy hangs out for a spell and joins us us in the pleasurable experience of imbibing without having to bother with a cooler.

Before too long we are out of beer.

Scotty and the guy climb back on the machine and motor over to a tavern somewheres along the shoreline and return with another case of beer.

As we were starting on the second case (the guy with the snow machine is rapidly becoming a fast and dear friend) we take notice of a big lake freighter moving through the channel that the Coast Guard had busted-up for winter ship traffic. Mind you this is probably less than a quarter mile distant.

Do you have any idea how much water a big lake boat displaces?

Enough to cause the ice you are standing-upon to heave in a vast, undulating fashion. It's creepy to feel the ice beneath you move up and down and the water level in your fishing hole alternately gush from the mouth of the hole and disappear from sight.

Why do I tell you this?

It was shortly after that outing that some ice drinkers found themselves separated from the peninsula. Seems the ice they were on cracked and began to float away. It was a big chunk for sure - but there was no way back to shore. A hovercraft eventually fetched them to safety but they lost their stuff.

I remember thinking at the time - Yeah, that's another good reason to stay off the ice.

Wouldn't you know it - it's happened again.

Just recently a bunch of guys were out on the ice on Green Bay. There they were - a dozen guys with pick-ups, ATVs and all of their fishing gear when another of these gargantuan 800 foot freighters comes cruising along and causes the ice to crack. This time an ill wind rapidly widens the gap to about 500 feet.

Did I mention that the crack extended about five miles in length? That is one big ice floe.

Anyway, some of these fellas ended-up about a mile out on the water before they were rescued.

The good news is that they all got plucked-off the ice and nobody even got wet.

The last anybody's heard the trucks and ATVs are still out there.

Getting back to that last ice drinking expedition - the conditions were a tad slippery. We were out there on practically glaze ice without any snow for traction.

Towards the end of the day I slipped and conked my head pretty good. I was seeing these really cool flashes of light for a spell but the only lingering effect was a stiff neck that didn't go away for about a week.

Nowadays I restrict my fishing to perfectly safe piers and boats that I can count-upon to float.

Funny though- the Coast Guard is still in my speed dial.

Swamp Gas The Tree Hugger

Yeah, sure.

Really. You could probably build a pretty good case for that accusation.

What is amusing (to me anyway) is that the term tree hugger is usually meant to be a pegorative and accusatory term for some kind of pansy-arsed urbanite.

Me? I wear it proudly on my sleeve.

You see - Swamp is no fool.











Growing trees is a good thing.

Especially if you intend to cut them and sell them for a tidy profit.

Moreover, if it is part of your long term plan.

Tree farmers are big on plans. Too be fair, this is how we maintain our valuable renewable certification.

This propagation of tree stuff is even a better than good thing if they attract all sorts of wild game that you can hunt. And song birds that you can watch and listen to.

My wife and I like trees so much that we've planted more than 45,000 of them over the last fourteen years or so.












Honestly, we get frustrated about the amount of damage the critters do to each and every tree that we carefully plant by our own efforts.

So we rationalize it with an understanding that the deer, rabbits and mice have to eat too. And so do we.

Deer and rabbits periodically find their way into the freezer. No mice though.

Wouldn't you really rather prefer to own acres and acres of healthy trees situated in the vast healthy out-of-doors instead of a portfolio of rotten, crummy stocks?

Think about it.

So you can call me tree hugger all you want.











And I will smile every time you reach for the roll while sitting on your commode.

Ka-ching!

Winter BBQ

I like winter.

Really. I do. There's much enjoyment to be had during the cold winter months. Snowshoeing, cross country skiing, sitting by the fire and...

Grilling!

Grilling, you say?

Yep. That would be BBQing all manner of grilled meats and vegetables.

That's not to say it's without its challenges.

First-off you have the challenge of cooking in the cold. It's no fun to move your toasted tootsies from the fire and run out to the grill in the snow to flip a burger or sear a venison cutlet.

There's also the problem of locating the damn grill sometimes.

With all of the snow we've had lately I lost the Weber Smokey Joe.

I'm not kidding.

I had a general idea of where it was before it got buried under all of the white stuff but it was nowhere in sight. I ended-up probing-about for it with a bamboo pole like I was searching for an avalanche victim.

Meet The Family

As long as I'm in the mode of introducing this blog it would be an opportune moment to introduce a member of the family to you.

This is Girlfriend.







Girlfriend is my upland bird hunting companion and a regular member of the family. She's got more energy than sense but that's hardly a fault.


This picture was taken on a South Dakota pheasant hunt late last year.

Isn't she a handsome-looking specimen of the Labrador breed?

The girl is just getting over a bad case of tapeworm. Blech.

My lovely wife had taken the dog for a walk recently and went to scoop-up Girlfriend's number two business when (as she described it) a tapeworm reared its head from the turd like a snake-charmer's snake!

I called the vet about it and they asked the usual-

Breed?

Lab.

Hunting dog?

Yep.

Eats all manner of stuff in the woods?

Yep.

Bring in a stool sample and we'll get it squared-away for you.

Did you know that the Navajo word for dog is Eater of Feces?

That's my girl.

Deer Camp 2008 - Sehr Verrückt!

As I post this it is a balmy -7.8 degrees Fahrenheit. So much for global warming.

At the farm the usual group of suspects gathered for Wisconsin's fall gun hunt - this would be a couple of months ago - last November.

Here we are cutting-up my deer.








Nothing better than spending a day in the machine shed with a cold case of Schlitz and butchering deer.







Prosit!

A Trip Out of Town

Ok. First post. Greetings and salutations. This first posting is a test of the blogging tool - text, format and capacity to upload and post photos.

I took a trip recently and had an opportunity to take a few photographs.

Any guesses as to the location?