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.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Moira Update

Mo has been recovering well from her spine injury, despite some scary set backs, one of which required an additional surgical procedure. She soldiers on, as does the rest of the Tidball gang. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of friendship and love that have been such an important part of this last week. Heartfelt thanks and gratitude for all of the support and prayers. Moira is an inspiration, a strong, tough-minded combination of grace and grit. Here is a picture of her, full-out in her passion, a sporting pursuit as well. I won't speak for all Grousers, but we are sure lucky to have the spouses we have. Let us not take these things for granted.

























Now, somebody please post some of the good stuff. I am armed with a stout bottle of Scotch (from good Sir Peter), and am in need of a good story to go with it.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Horse for Sale...

...or target practice.

For those of you that don't know, Moira was thrown from this horse Wednesday night and suffered a severe spine injury. She is in surgery today, and I am suspended in the wash of all that was, is, and will be. There have been some touch and go moments, but if the surgery goes well, she'll be walking again before we know it. Appeals to whatever gods or deities you make offerings to are appreciated.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The best cure for scurvy


Sunday morning after the grouser mini-reunion found three of us - two suffering from IPA deficiency, one scurvy free - on Seneca Lake in George's magnificent Penn Yann. Slicing through a slight chop, we trolled lures at depths from 25 to 60 feet. Lightning quick, Keith claimed the first strike for his own and soon landed a 21" lake trout. I bungled the following few, but the population was quite forgiving and we eventually landed five of 13. Even Capn. George, ravaged with manly scurvy, left the tiller once to land a magnificent 24" leviathan. Please visit me in PA Furnace if you'd like to sample trout, smoked per Moira's orders.

Fruity, Fruoffy, and other F word beers

Had a nice reunion of some grousers down at the Cayuga pond the other night... cooked up some home grown burgers and kicked back enjoying the High Life...well...some of us did. ;)

Sunday, July 19, 2009

A Guide to Snakes of Whip-Poor-Will Hill



Well, two snakes so far (and one lizard: eastern fence lizard, unphotographed).

I came across this black rat snake, about three-feet long, on an old logging road below the house. The dogs ran over it, twice, and never noticed.

A few weeks ago we found a three-foot timber rattlesnake just up from the driveway. This photo was taken by my brother-in law Chris, who had never seen a rattlesnake in the wild. We came across this one as we were driving back from a nice swim at Trout Pond, the only natural lake in West Virginia. My reaction when we drove up to the snake was to stomp on the brakes and yell, "Everyone, out of the car NOW!!" so we could gather around the snake and appreciate it slithering across the road. Probably not a sound behavior from a evolutionary standpoint.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Salvelinus namaycush

A 10 dollar Cameroon wrapper "Black Opal " cigar
and a + ten pound Lake Trout
on a beautiful July morning on Seneca Lake.
Priceless.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Noz on the Rocks



As I mentioned in an earlier post, Noz loves to climb the rocks in WV. Video evidence presented.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

... the shock that overrides

Came across this quote I thought I should share while doing some reading...

"I whisper thanks to the animal, hoping I might be worthy of it, worthy of carrying
on the life it has given, worthy of sharing in the larger life of which the deer and I
are a part. Incompatible emotions clash inside me—elation and remorse, excitement
and sorrow, gratitude and shame. It’s always this way: the sudden encounter with
death, the shock that overrides the cushioning of the intellect. I force away the sadness and remember that death is the spark that keeps life itself aflame (p. 263)."

Nelson, R. (1989). The island within. New York: Random House.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

An Evening at the Ponds








Warm Water...good for the soul. Enough of the snooty trout, let's get muddy.
Joined up with Mr Bill's clan for an evening of dog training, burger flipping, and kid fishing.
Hannah has a new 'biggest fish', with an assist going to Ben...not Arkansas class catfish, but hey...
And even McPhee went for a swim.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

15 minutes of fame?


Hate to blog right over such an...uhm...inspiring post, but here is a piece that my friend Pat Durkin just wrote for NRA's American Hunter magazine on Heberlein's deer / grouse camp 'Up North' in Wisconsin. Some of you have been there, others may be soon.

You'll notice the genesis of Conley's name. The story of me and the farm girl is true, but by today's standards would probably be rated PG-13.

Jim has assured me that pasting in a screen grab of the first page and then a link to the full article will work:

link to download full article.

If it doesn't...blame him. 'Course he's the one who's gotten me this far.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Monday, June 22, 2009

Rain.


Ask me how my "2 dads, 4 kids, 2 wives" fathers day tent camping and trout fishing trip to Kettle Creek (Potter Co, PA) went this weekend. Nary a High Life man in sight, but I enjoyed frying bacon in ankle deep water.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Truck

in honor of Father's Day.



Some of these are just making me laugh out loud.