Trek to the Hills

On the road...Time to get out of Iowa for a change of pace. Turning 50, decided it would be great to wake-up in a place to which I have grown fond. The Black Hills of South Dakota - an awesome area to hangout for a few days. Thursday morning September 20th before 7:00 A.M. we tucked in Hubby's Voisin 3/5 airplane. Since there isn't going to be any flying accomplished for at least 6 days we needed to make the wing tips less desirable to the mouse population. They have become ardent fans of the new apartment complex since the plane has been hangared here at home. Passing road side water holes, ponds, and lakes through Iowa,southern Minnesota, and middle South Dakota brought to view all the different types of waterfowl still taking refuge for food and rest. In northern Iowa along Interstate 35 we saw one of the big birds of flight not regularly seen. However, we did know what was rising off the pond, winging its way upward... a banded Trumpeter Swan. It was exciting for me to see. Another sight becoming more frequent are the big Wind Generator farms being created to provide the country with more energy. We saw trucks hauling sections of the generators everyday we were on our trip. A total of 2,926 miles. What could this mean for our migrating bird populations? Getting back to the end of our day on Thursday the 20th, we reached our destination at the Super 8,Keystone,SouthDakota. Albeit a tourist destination but a very peaceful place. It is at the end of their peak summer season - still found it to be bustling during business hours. Will be sharing more of what we experienced in our few days in the hills. Stay tuned...

Ground Hog Hilton Update....

Friday afternoon, AHHHH the start of the weekend. After a hectic week of running from shotgun blasts it is time to relax. Hmmm, wondering about the sanity of that woman that lives here?!? One minute she's trying to send me across to the final acorn patch. The next minute she has me posing to the left and right, up and down, for two different cameras....a couple of short movies no less.(for private viewing only; internet connection to slow) ; ) Man! Who does she think I am?!? I'll be having to call in my stunt double here pretty soon! Well folks, after a nibble or two of those tastey morsels among the greens, I found myself headed for the balcony. Taking a load off my feet - giving me time to plan the next feast before heading off to bed for the night. Sure am glad it won't be long 'til I get a good long nap. One way or the other ; ) P.S. Hope to catch you next spring in the on going saga of the "Ground Hog Hilton".

Great Question

Recently, I was asked about the firearms that Iowa allows in the hunt for the white-tailed deer. Myself, I have only used a 20 guage shotgun for the deer, pheasant, and turkey hunts. Following is a synopsis of what I found posted on the Iowa DNR website: http://www.iowadnr.com/law/files/07huntingregs.pdf Pages- 5, 21-29, 36 Page 5- gives us a chart of the different 2007 seasons and 2007 Anterless Quotas for Resident Hunters. Page 36- tells about the Nonresident Deer Hunting Zones and allowed Nonresident Anterless-only license Quotas if you are able to get one. So, what I have found is that the only exception allowed to use a crossbow or handgun is if you have some disability making it impossible to use a shotgun, muzzleloader, or compound bow. It is possible to use a center-fire rifle,.24 guage or larger in certain circumstances. The special January Anterless-only season in the following lower tier counties gives you a chance to use higher powered equipment. The following counties are eligible for this special waiver: Mills, Fremont, Montgomery,Page, Adams, Taylor, Union, Ringgold,Clarke, Decatur, Lucas,Wayne,Monroe, Appanoose, Wapello, Davis, Jefferson, Van Buren, Henry, Lee, and DesMoines.The map on Page 36 gives you location information if you should have an interest to explore the possibilities ... ; )

Marsh Count

Hmmm, 1-2-3-4-5-6 Canadian Geese, 1-10-25 American White Pelicans. Today is rainy and cool. Only supposed to get to be a high in the middle 50's. I'd send some cooler temps south to our friends there if I could so the hunts wouldn't be so steamy... Passed the Marsh going into town , decided to take a bird count after going home to get the binoculars and a couple of my Bird Identification books. Really nothing spectacular to see. Didn't stick around for hours to see if the population would change. The pelicans did seem to tuck their heads more as the rain fell more briskly. Later today I am planning another check to see if the waterfowl have taken the chance to head off or will stay to wait out the weather...