How Many Days Left?

How many days left for what you muse? Well yes, we have Thanksgiving coming up next week. One of the nicest holidays we can share with our family and friends. For Hubby and me, we are off to North Dakota to visit our daughter, and her husband. This time we are going to travel with our oldest daughter, and her family. The first time they have been able to go visit up North for a holiday. I still get to cook. ;) So, to answer the question ,"How Many Days Left?" Click below to find out how long we have left 'til the holiday we have set aside to bestow on others our heartfelt desire to give of ourselves... Countdown to Christmas

Bobcat or Lynx?

Darrell over at AlphaTrilogy.com presented his readers with a picture of a member of the cat family. He and a friend found this animal while they were out on a Turkey hunt. Made me curious after I assumed it was a Bobcat ; being aware they have growing populations in the southern Missouri area from previous research. However, the suggestion of the possibility it might be a Lynx by Kristine sparked a need for me to look further. When I started the search for more information I found an animal control company located in Sarcoxie, MO., west of Springfield, on Interstate 44. Both Bobcat ,and Lynx, were included in the list of pests they were licensed to handle if they become a nuisance. Looks like we can draw from that, both populations do exist simultaneously in that part of the country. Maybe ,with more of us visiting the woodlands, we will have more chances to catch animals like this unexpectedly, as their presence expands throughout the country.

A New Gadget Alert

Ankeny, IA inventor Steve Ugolini, has developed a method to assist hunters and shooters to be more accurate. Mr. Ugolini recently got the patent on his product called an AccuScope, it uses math calculations to analyze how to chart adjustments for firearm mounted scopes. He theorizes that "sighting in" can be expensive if people go through ammunition by trial and error, spinning the dials without getting the target in the cross hairs. The chart is supposed to help the hunter/shooter by allowing them to input measurements and match them with the shooting distance. On the chart below the shooting distance is the number of clicks the hunter/shooter should turn the scope dial for windage or elevation. Reports have it that Mr. Ugolini has worked out calculations on two charts that covers three different types of scopes. What makes it handy is that it fits in your pocket. The listed price is $9.95 plus whatever taxes your state would tack on. If you find yourself needing some extra help in homing in on the target - Look for this little gadget from theSportsman's Guide, from Casey's General Store through November 30th,and last but not least the company website...

Pheasant Hunting Statistics for Opening Day

According to six Iowa Conservation Officers in various sections of the state, hunters had mixed success when checked on opening day October 27th. Heading over to the eastern border in Jones and Jackson counties Officer Mike Macke reported having checked five hunters. Two birds had been bagged at the time of the interview with Des Moines Register reporter Juli Probasco-Sowers. He commented that conservation set aside ground has become limited in his area eliminating good cover for the pheasant populations. Traveling to the far west side Buena Vista, Cherokee, and Woodbury counties , then south to Union and Ringgold all seemed to reflect a lower hunter number with lower success rates. They attributed some of the difficulties to crops still being in the fields and some extreme weather conditions like our late severe spring snows and sporadic flooding. Coming back to Linn and Benton, close to Jones and Jackson the hunters were seeing good results for their early morning foray. Conservation Officer Aric Sloterdyk reported talking to between 50-60 hunters in his area with the average of one bird for each by noon. Closer to home in Marshall and Grundy counties, Officer Jeremy King had some positive information as well. He said he had visited with 100 hunters and saw 25 dead birds. The comment made was that the people who were out have seen more birds than they did last year. So far there has been one "freak accident" sending a pheasant hunter to the hospital. In Iowa's Tama county, for some reason a hunter had put his gun on the ground. Apparently not putting the safety on,his dog stepped on the gun and it discharged, injury was to the hunter's leg. Again we must not second guess being safe - Anything can happen! ...

Pheasant Season Opening

This morning marks the opener for Pheasant Season at 8:00 A.M.- 4:30 P.M. here in Iowa. The weather is cool and looks like the sun will be shining when it finally comes up, wind speed looks like it is going to be between 11-16 from 7:00A.M. - 4:00 P.M. Going by the Air Sports Net Launch Code for the Marshalltown,IA airport. Have to keep abreast of the flying weather might as well use it for hunting weather. ; ) Those who are participating will be hunting from now until January 10,2008. I plan to be among those putting their money on the counter to get a license.( Yes, I am a straggler) May be this year I will get one and may be I won't but I am going to be out none the less. Won't know if I could get one unless I get out there and give it a try... Happy Hunting!

Eyes to the Sky

The Discovery Space Shuttle lifted off Tuesday at 11:38 A.M. EDT and docked this morning with the International Space Station at 8:46 A.M. EDT ... Last night Hubby and I had the chance to watch the International Space Station streak across the sky from the Northwest to the Southeast over our property, pursued by Discovery almost a minute later. Oh, did I mention it could be seen with the naked eye? They both appeared like moving stars through the almost night light. The sun was glowing in the West from below the horizon and the moon was shining brightly from it's rising in the East. The weather crisp, the sky extremely clear. Tonight,about 20 minutes later than last night, I once again caught the Space Station/Shuttle making a pass over central Iowa. The moon in full phase, named the "Hunter's Moon" is making the landscape shine even now...Hope everyone gets a chance to stop to take a look ; see the big and little things that make our world special...

What Season is this?!

Yesterday, the morning started off cool and calm. Hubby jumped out of bed before sunrise to pull the voisin 3/5 out of the hangar. He wanted to head it up above the cool temps into the inversion layer, warm, smooth sailing. The voisin went higher than it has ever flown. Sunrise came shortly after he was air borne. Said he" wished he had remembered his camera." Needless to say he wished he would have extended his flight time by a half an hour, loves to soar... Caught some deer activity before the sun came up. Headed one in the direction of the pasture north of the house; cut a buck off from crossing our country road as I drove in the direction of the local blacktop. Was wishin' the light of day had been brighter so I could check out the statistics. We reached the pleasant temperature of 77 degrees, not what you might consider very good hunting weather. Had to open some windows to cool the house down, with the sun making good thermal heat and the oven working to bake that special treat for the weekend things got HOT. Watched for things considered out of the ordinary due to the calendar date. Bees still swarming out of the hallow in the tree. Monarch flitting by the window, Asian Beetles making their presence unmistakeably conspicuous, where's the Box Elder bugs?! Heard some gun shots in the vicinity . The youth and disabled individuals of Iowa were given two days to find their Pheasants for this year on October 20th and 21st. Can't say for sure that the activity was for that purpose, but I can positively confirm that someone was cultivating the art of using a shotgun. Before the sunset on this gorgeous day I was off into the timber to checkout the well worn deer paths. Didn't see anything but I did hear activity on the other side of the ravine, running away from me. Ah, the imagination, replaying what I saw in the back yard earlier in the week. Maybe, it was one of those guys....

Weather Changing

The weather is starting to change around here this afternoon. After a full week of clouds and gloom the sun is finding its way out from behind the solid cover.

The wind has been a factor since last night. We were at 20 mph this morning , moving on up to 35 mph this late afternoon. Forecast says we are going to see the decline back to 10 mph by 10:00 tonight.

Everybody that has been waiting for the break in the weather its on the way! Get out to those deer stands in the morning , find the right shot and bring that "Trophy Buck" back to the camp. ; )

Sparring Whitetail Bucks

This morning shortly after 7:00, I had the opportunity to observe one spike buck and a small 8 point working each other with antlers inter-locked. The skies were cloudy and the light of day was still barely visible. Opening the door to try to catch some pictures anyway. I was greeted with the sound of something making a heavy crackling noise across the leaves and twigs lying on the ground in the timber. I had gone to alert Hubby to the two bucks ,only to come back and find two more had entered the arena. They too were jousting, antlers inter-locked. What was more impressive is they also carried racks of impressive size. You should have seen the most dominate of the whole group(pictured in the middle above). Not only did he carry majestically a nice rack on top of his head but he was thick in body muscle. An awesome creature. I will have to clarify the antler formations in this region of central Iowa are relatively small compared to what you might find in the southeastern part of Iowa. At least that has been my experience so far. These guys will still be the center of some ones story very soon. Maybe, even mine ;) Hubby and I observed them between 5 - 10 minutes, had them all watching us from the back door,eye to eye contact. We did get some pictures that look much like trail cameras at a distance. Hoping I will get another chance to see them all today with enough light to get a great picture for "Show and Tell"...