Titan Dies - Weight Lifted

Alekseyev, Vasily - 1942 to 2011

Passed away on Friday in Badenhausen, Germany.

Winner of the Olympic Gold in the 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Games - Alekseyev was unbeaten from 1970 to 1978.  He holds eight consecutive world championships.

Alekseyev was the first man to lift 500 pounds and more than 600 kilos (1,323 pounds) in three lifts.  

As a young man coming of age in the 1970s it's a sad day to see this weight lifting titan pass into history.

RIP Big Guy...

Demand for Alcohol

The year-round population on the peninsula is slightly less that 28,000 people.  The village of Egg Harbor has 201 permanent residents.  It's a small place.

Egg harbor also has 21 licensed liquor establishments.  That means there is one location to slake your thirst for every nine residents.  Egg Harbor has more liquor licenses per capita than any other community in Wisconsin.

I don't want you to get the impression that there is a drinking problem in this tiny burg.  Probably has more to do with the annual invasion of flatlanders.

Learn more here. 

Die Hard Deer Camp

Last day of deer camp for this hunter.  Found this interview on the web.  This is a hard core deer camp...

More Antlers

Here are some additional selected photos of the local buck population...

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Antlers Anyone?

The other day Sister and I finally got around to fetching the memory cards from the trail cameras. 

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Yotes! Yow!

Took the dogs out tonight to do their business and Sister, Little Buddy and Girlfriend got all worked-up over the yipping and howling to the south.

Coyotes!

As near as I can figure they were located immediately south at the edge of the hay field bordering a large woodlot. A half mile distant.

It's been a number of years since we've had yotes howling around here like this. 

Probably because there's all sorts of gut piles and the occasional unrecovered deer on the landscape.

I suppose coyotes have a reason to be thankful today too.  If I was one I'd probably howl too...

Yummy Burger

Picked-up 30 pounds of ground venison from the local butcher.

I dropped a big box of scraps-off on Monday and asked that they grind it into burger and ad 10% pork to the mix.

Packed in handy one pound+ bags and frozen.

I have a vision of tacos, chili and more in the coming year.

If you're in the area be sure to make a sttop at Marchants for some awesome fresh and smoked meats.  http://www.marchantsfoods.com/

Opening Day With a DNR Warden

Here's a short clip from Wisconsin's WDNR...

Curious Bear

Here's a  bowhunter's solution to a curious bear...

Veterans Recognition

Finally got around to off-loading some photos and video from my iPhone.  This is a nice shot of the card trick that the crowd participated-in at the Packer/Viking game last Monday night.

Very cool.

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Deer Camp

All the unloaded firearms are stacked lovingly
on the rack by the  back door of the garage.

By the grilling supplies.

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High Cost of Healthcare

In the past 25 years the daily cost of an average midwest hospital stay increased 1,366% or 11.3% per year.


Over the same period inflation rose 101% or 2.8% per year.


What gives?


Source: Department of Labor

Deer Camp

I don't want you to get the impression that I'm superstitious or anything but I never begin my gun deer camp without a healthy dose of the Cowboy Junkies...



If you're hunting  this weekend - shoot straight and be safe!

Downtime

When we're off chasing ringnecks in Spink County, SD one of our favorite times of day happens to be kicking-back and enjoying some downtime at Randi's Refuge.

Located in a a barn it has all of the comforts of - well - a barn.  Except that it is appointed with over stuffed furniture, a fully stocked fridge and bar.  It's a combination dog kennel, pheasant-cleaning station and man cave.

Back in Dolan at our rented house it's pate, sardines, head cheese, toast points and the Packer game...

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Smoke Signal

Returning from our pheasant hunting road trip Braumeister and I spied this giant cloud of smoke near Baraboo, WI.

We watched it loom larger as we approached and speculated on what was the cause.

Barn fire?  Plane crash? Forest fire?

When we finally arrived at the spot there was a prescribed burn being conducted in what appeared to be a wildlife area to the east of the highway.

Looked all over for a news item with details and found nothing.

Solve the Mystery

On Interstate 90 crossing Minnesota you are going to see plenty of these road signs situated on the north and south sides of the four lane highway.

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What will you find on the reverse side of the larger signs like the one above?

Peninsula Ringnecks

I was cleaning shotguns yesterday late afternoon when the Frau said - There's a couple of rooster pheasants by the rain garden pond.

Go figure.  Guns disassembled.  Parts everywhere.

I called Girlfriend to the backdoor and cracked it open. She spotted the birds immediately, flushed them and sent them cackling.
  
The pooch is still recovering but she hasn't lost any interest in ringnecks...
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Turn of The Digit

The odometer on the 4-wheeler turned over to 1000 miles yesterday.

It's hard to believe that you can put 1000 miles on an ATV on an 80 acre property in only seven+  years or so.

That's like driving your balloon-wheeled vehicle from the peninsula to Cheyenne, Wyoming.

That's a lot of errands and deer hauled to the shed.

The Big Zephyr

Just back from chasing ringnecks in South Dakota.  1300 miles of road trip and not a single kayak sighting!

We saw a lot of these though.  They're everywhere!

They're supposed to be good for slowing climate change.  Nevertheless, they were not turning.  Not a single kilowatt of current was being generated by the hundreds and hundreds of wind turbines we drove past.  Braumeister pointed out that this was because their blades were feathered. 

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I think I've figured it out.

Check out this news item...


In The Know: Coal Lobby Warns Wind Farms May Blow Earth Off Orbit

Gone Hunting

Be back next week.

Maybe...

Sparring

Smokey Joe captured these bucks sparring one frosty morning last weekend.

Shot some video too.

Very cool.

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