Commit the Crime ....do the Time

Or as we like to say...

If you roll in the deer poo in the path...you get a bath.

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Very undignified for a Lab - but there are consequences for certain actions.

Poetry in Motion

Blonde dog loving a romp in the snow.

Burst setting on the trail camera got a three shot sequence of poetry in motion...

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Frozen Swamp

The deer camp guys know where this picture was taken.

From the crossroads, looking east, towards the Stand of Death.

The entire trail and everything on both sides is flooded and frozen.

Unbelievable...

File this post under awesome and useful gifts.

Went out to the machine shed yesterday to assemble and load the 4-wheeler with tree pruning tools. Noticed the machine needed gas.

Going to fetch some gas I discover adjacent to the gas cans and behind the lawn tractor a large object covered with a tarp and topped with a red bow. Lifting the tarp was a Briggs & Stratton power washer sitting on a wooden pallet.

Thanks deer camp guys. You're the best.

And new tarps, too!

Feeling pretty clean already...

 

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Charge!

Labrador retriever dogs loving the winter weather.

Impossible for them to do anything slowly.

Charge!

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Stroll

From another relocated camera.  

If I whitetail deer could sashay along a trail with a nonchalant stroll this one has got the technique perfected.

 

Ice Drinking

Sid and Lawyer have been out on the bay working on their getting skunked technique of ice drinking.

No fish in any of these pictures.

I'm sure nobody was thirsty...

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Sun God

Another relocated trail camera location.

Never figured it to be perfectly positioned to capture the sun.

Don't look at the picture too long or you will go blind

 

Pheasant Pot Pie

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Assemble the following:

A couple of whole pheasant breasts cut into pieces

Celery, garden potatoes, green beans, carrots and peas 

2 c of frozen pearl onions (thawed)

Butter

Flour

1 egg

About three cups of low-sodium chicken stock (low-sodium has more chicken flavor)

1 ½ cups of cream

Olive oil, chopped garlic, cracked pepper, sea salt and Penzeys cracked Spanish rosemary

2 frozen pie crusts (the kind that you unroll) - thaw to room temperature

2 pie tins

Sauté the pheasant pieces along with olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until well browned.  Set aside. 

Chop the potatoes, carrots and celery and par-cook.  Not soft and mushy.  Go for blanched.  You’ll want enough to fill a couple of pie tins.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat the stock in the microwave.  In a sauce pot melt 5T of butter.  Whisk in ½ c of flour.  Add the stock and the cream.  Continue to whisk and bring to a boil until thickened.

Divide the cooked pheasant and the veggies and add to the pie tins.  Sprinkle with rosemary, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Ladle-in the cream mixture.

Drape the pie plate with your pie crust and crimp the edge to seal. Cut some vents in the dough.

Beat an egg with 2T of water and brush the top of the crust.

Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with a bold red wine.

Makes two pies.

Don’t hunt?  Substitute boneless, skinless turkey or chicken breast.

Deer? What Deer? Deer Here!

Nice sequence of photos captured on a relocated trail camera.

A group of four does and fawns move thru followed by a pair of bucks.

One of the boys is sporting a half rack.

Looks like antler hunting season is about to begin...

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Chilled

Been really cold this month.

Some pictures of the whitetails weathering the cold weather.  Breath vapors and frosty lips.  Brrrr...

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Circuit Walker

Making the circuit of the four trail cameras to make sure they're operating, the batteries are fresh and the SD cards are swapped-out on a routine basis.

It's about a mile walk.  Very nice in the winter.

The reason you will rarely see the girls (Girlfriend and Sister) in the picture is they're tearing it up on their own and only occasionally will get their image captured by the unwavering gaze of the trail cameras.  The blonde Lab is in the first photo (right)...

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Dawgs

No week is complete without some pics of the four-legged members of the family.  The Labs totally embrace winter.  They love absolutely nothing more than running, mousing, chasing, snuffling and romping in the snow.

Captured on one of the trail cameras Sister and Girlfriend...

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Alarm!

I happen to think that someone with his Labrador retrievers startled this whitetail when approaching.

Camera was set in five second three photo burst mode.  You can see here how much ground a white tail deer can cover in a matter of seconds.

Run!  Run for your life!

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Deer Mouse

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I think these tracks were made by my friend the deer mouse - Peromyscus maniculatus. 

The most common rodent found in North America and Wisconsin.  I find these little critters frequently taking-up winter residence in my bird nest boxes.

Have to be careful cleaning out the boxes as this little rodent is the primary host for virulent hantavirus.

Deer Shortage?

From one of the trail cameras last week this series of photographs of seven deer parading on the trail.  Taken in one day - most with a few moments of one another.

Amazing.

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Packers

Green Bay vs. Dallas divisional playoff game recap.
 
Trailing 21-13 in the third quarter, A-Rod threw a couple of touchdown passes in the second half leading the Packers over the Cowboys 26 - 21.It was a nail biter.

On to Seattle for the NFC championship game.

Some game day photos.  The Frau and Yours Truly, network camera crew, a fan with a dead animal on his head, and me with House Ways and Means Committee Chair and former candidate for vice president - Paul Ryan.

Next weekend is a tough game.  Go Pack!

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Pilgrimmage

Today is Sunday and it is noteworthy that the Frau and I are keeping the sabbath holy.

Pilgrimmage to the House of Lambeau...

Gobblers

For good measure here are some gobblers mugging it-up for the trail camera...

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Mama and the Fawn

All I can say is there are all sorts of deer around here.

Including some does with fawns tagging along...

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More Whitetails

Plenty of whitetails running around.

Some recent trail camera photos of the fellas.  Little fellas that survived.  They might be big fellas next year and the following...

 

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