Monday, August 31, 2009

A Nation Holds its Breath

On the morrow, 8:00 AM, Conley and Maya make their (in)glorious debuts on pen-raised (as opposed to Penn-Raised) birds down at Candor (http://www.ringneckpreserve.com/). Check cords, whistles, e-collars set on 'deep fry' at the ready.

Expect a full report from an unsteady (one way or the other) scribe as dusk settles over the land.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

more of the good stuff

sorry I've been AWOL. Keith told me to post something to the blog. Here it is.



Bet some of you may like other "Viral Video Film School" clips on YouTube. Be sure to check out the ones on animal fights and feeding the bears.

best death scene . . . nailed it.

The camping one is good too.

Monday, August 24, 2009

ID the Mystery Tree



So I've been walking the WV property identifying the trees and shrubs, but one tree has stymied me until today. Here are some pictures of the leaves and bark, can you guess the species? It grows up to about 30 feet, in the sandy, well-drained upland soil:


Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Maine Waters

Last weekend we took the boat out on one of the many lakes in the area - Boyden Lake - for a little swimming, fishing, and picnic supper.


the serenity was only disrupted by the danged bald eagles cruising the skies and landing in the big pines along shore.

First off, Collin got a hit on his Spiderman rig too strong for him to hold onto, so I assisted.


He was pretty proud of the smallie we landed; it went backinto the depths. The perch began to hit, and pretty soon Angela caught another bass, about a 2-pounder.






A friend had mentioned fishing the drop-offs for white perch, so we went armed with worms. The fishing became very good as the sun dropped; it was hard to quit.

Now, there's a keeper!





We kept the decent sized perch (10.5-12 inches), which I filleted that night. There must be a High Life commercial about cleaning the catch... Cagey?

Heavens, they're tasty! Only hitch is the state gov has a consumption advisory on most species of warm water fish, so we end up sneaking in a couple tilapia fillets for the kids.


The perch came fast -- you could hardly keep a line in the water. Great fun for kids of all ages.



Fortunately I didn't have nav lights on the boat, so we had to quit fishing and head for the landing. Otherwise, I'd still be cleaning fish today.

Friday, August 14, 2009

That's not a fish; NOW THIS IS A FISH!

Been way to long since I posted anything on the Grousers Blog. Thought I'd share a video and a few pics I took from my Great White Shark diving trip this summer off of Dyer Island, near Kleinbaai, South Africa!





AWESOME EXPERIENCE!! We must have had 10 different Great Whites visit the boat, which made we wonder how many of these damn things might be down there cruising the island hunting for seals. Also made me wonder what this new tourist industry might be doing to potentially increase human shark conflicts. Humans = Food?

Hope everyone is doing well. Sending positive thoughts to Mo and the Tidballs!! Looking forward to seeing many of your in Wisconsin this Fall!

SafariJim


Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Cagey Wanted Some Good Stuff


Happy to oblige...the Anniversary Salmon. Even with tilting 'im towards the camera, he was a pretty big fish. Kisses to Mo...see you guys soon.