Here's the best of my batch...still trying to figure out this new fandangled camera contraption. As always, I had a great time with an even better group of people.
The Group:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e395/clintopher/DSC_0605.jpg)
The Table Fare:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e395/clintopher/DSC_0598.jpg)
The Swamp:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e395/clintopher/DSC_0582.jpg)
The Woods:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e395/clintopher/DSC_0635.jpg)
And last but not least,
The most productive part of the hunt:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e395/clintopher/DSC_0648.jpg)
Clint
Nice pictures..Did you fellas get any squirrels?
Those are really nice pics. What kind of camera are you using?
That looks like a great way to spend time.
Thanks for sharing.
QuoteOriginally posted by frassettor:
Nice pictures..Did you fellas get any squirrels?
Once again, the squirrels were safe.
QuoteOriginally posted by split arrow:
Those are really nice pics. What kind of camera are you using?
Thanks, it's a Nikon D90 with 18-105 kit lens. The wife and I gave it to each other for Christmas since we've got a little one on the way. It's got so many doodads it'll be a while before I learn them all.
Looks like tasty lunch. :campfire:
You have the eye for fine photos my friend. Keep at it.
... mike ...
Congrats on a sucesful outing, even if the Squirrels didn't co-operate you still had a great day.
BTW, Shame on you for showing that food cooking... I'm Starving. :)
Keep'em Sharp, God Bless and Good Hunting.....
No matter the bag, looks like you guys enjoyed things all around! Nice day.
Nice pics, looks like loads of fun.
Beginning to think that PETA is a sponsor for our January outings. But at least the company is first rate.
As we drove to the hunting ground, I saw the hardwoods give way to tall pines. What?? Not again!
My fears were for naught, though, as hidden behind the pines were beech, white and red oaks, holly and cedar and poplar.
While the guys discussed a squirrel drive, I meandered off looking for solitary adventure. That is when I discovered the hidden riches of these woods. Doomed woods. Instead of being celebrated for the rich ecosystem that they are, they have been measured to the half-inch and metered out into real estate properties, assets, money. But there is a tender loam of decayed leaves and wood laying on its breast, sandy base and rippling water coming filtered from the heads of the gentle ridges. I immediately scared somethings off, and sat for a while at the head of a stream. I thought the stream was one of the boundaries, which made the other side look oh so divine. I was good, though, and meandered down my side. There was a lot of open, so I could see, and enough trunk and holly to keep me feeling skulky.
Quiet, except for a few birds. Hardly any breeze. Mild temps. I had not slept much the night before, and the drive down in the dark had tired me even more. I decided I would see what was over the next hillock and then try to catch a nap. Over the hillock, up the next, some old scrapes, pawings... maybe this is a good place to settle down.
I can never sleep out there. I might miss something.
Killdeer
Yes! Great pros! :thumbsup:
Very nice photos as well!
It was quiet, it was comfy, and all the woods took a nap.
Except for me. It finally seemed like 11:00, so I turned on my cell phone and checked. 11:30. Ooops, again.
I trundled back to the trucks, smelling a fresh-lit grill on my way and pausing to admire a bent-over juniper with a big rub on it.
Gotta get busy here.
Killdeer
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/TG%20Uploads/Squirrel%20Hunt%202010/IMG_2501copy.jpg)
Just to tide you over. I gotta get the dog out and hopefully take The Magic Bow out for the last time.
Killdeer
Soooooo......ahhhhhhhh......I sure hope the backstraps on that grill weren't off the local squirrels!!!!!!!!!! Got to make this hunt next year. Looks like a great time. Thanks for sharing.
Brent,
The burgers were ranched bison and the backstraps were from my nephews first big 8. You were there in absentia as one of your bows was brought along by Clint. Shot very nicely,I might add. Next year in person would be fine as well.
Looks like you all had a good time, I like to nap in the woods on a warm day :)
Josh and his dad load up...and let fly!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/TG%20Uploads/Squirrel%20Hunt%202010/IMG_2526copy.jpg)
Josh spots for Jeremy
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/TG%20Uploads/Squirrel%20Hunt%202010/IMG_2523copy.jpg)
Missed, Jeremy. :p
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/TG%20Uploads/Squirrel%20Hunt%202010/IMG_2528copy.jpg)
Killdeer
Clint is determined that something WILL be shot on this hunt. Yeah, the squirrels won again.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/TG%20Uploads/Squirrel%20Hunt%202010/IMG_2505copy.jpg)
More of the afternoon's frivolity;
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/TG%20Uploads/Squirrel%20Hunt%202010/IMG_2525copy.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/TG%20Uploads/Squirrel%20Hunt%202010/IMG_2515copy.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/TG%20Uploads/Squirrel%20Hunt%202010/IMG_2525copy.jpg)
Tom gives the Shaman a stretch
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/TG%20Uploads/Squirrel%20Hunt%202010/IMG_2518copy.jpg)
Lots of bow and lie swapping, as is natural. Eventually we got our fill of hitting the bottle ;) and headed out for more hunting.
Killdeer
I can smell the grill'n from here.......that would get me up from a nap!!! Or I aleast I hope it would!
That looks like it was a fun get-together!
Sure appreciated seeing the bend on the limbs of the Shaman!
Nice lookin' bow!
Shoot straight, Shinken
I headed for the same ridge, but got sidetracked, which is one of my favorite things to do while hunting. I went close, but veered off to the left and found a spot that looked like it needed watching. Or napping.
Nope, couldn't settle, and I had to see what was further on. A little draw, and on to the next ridge, and a stream... I heard leaves rustling. And not the ones I was rustling!
This called for a slow sneak, and mimicking the leaf rustles I was hearing.
S l o w l y I snuck, step by step, inch by ...oh. Sorry. Wrong routine.
It took me a half hour or more to get within eyeshot of the rustlers. (Sounds like a western, eh?) Yep there were two of them. I was content to just watch for a while, as Carolina wrens are some of my favorite birds. But they sure weren't squirrels. But this WAS a nice place to sit, so I sat, and the wrens moved on. I listened to a pileated working on a branch, the slapping of the beech leaves in the breeze, and the rustling of the leaves in the thicket. Sure was loud for a couple of wrens. And that sure was a big wren, looked about twelve pounds or so.
Binoculars up, and there is a hen turkey working in the brush. Scratch scratch... scratch! Where are the rest of them? I only see one, but maybe they were tag-teaming me. Well, can't hunt it, but, what glory would be mine if I bagged a photo of her? Starry-eyed, I fetched up my camera. Long minutes passed as she worked nearer, almost into the open, then back into the brush. This happened many times, until I was almost ready to take a shot of the twiggily obscured bird and post it with an explanatory, "That blob in the smilax is..."
But even that was eliminated from possibility, because, as any hunter knows, when one is presented with a project such as this, it is time to Cue the Squirrel.
All of my focus was in the viewfinder of my camera. So, of course, directly behind me I hear the scrabbling of little feet on bark. I can see him in my mind's eye, mouth pulled to one side, eyebrow cocked as he hangs head-down ten feet above the crunchy carpet and peruses this intruder. "Ahem," says he. Intent on the turkey, I dare not move, so I ignore the rat. This, of course, is the vilest insult that one can hurl at a squirrel.
The squirrel then proceeded to heap upon me the loudest, most excruciating excoriations, imprecations and protestations, thus defending his pride and position, and venting his righteous indignation regarding the impudence of this uninvited meddler in domestic affairs.
Well, I was squirrel hunting, right?
I looked over my shoulder. Yup, just as I had imagined, about fifteen yards behind me. I looked to the front. There she scratched. The squirrel barked one last wheezy complaint and scampered down and away, having proven his point. I looked to see if I could get a fix on him. I heard a bunch of leaf rustling and the pitter patter of turkey feet in the thicket, then all was quiet again.
Well isn't THAT par for the course? :mad:
I slowly gathered all my stuff, put it where it belonged, and got up to move along. It was getting late, and I had a bit of a drive ahead of me yet.
A petulant bark-wheeze wafted thinly through the late afternoon air, the kind that comes from a disgruntled tree rat, surveying from on high a kingdom gone woefully wrong. There is no approaching him.
I set off across the ridge, heading toward a draw, and down a tree trunk came the game. Must be young and ignorant, because after all this, and with me shuffling along in front of God and everybody, this squirrel came down a tree to gawk. I pulled back, and thought way too much, actually tried to aim, and missed just under it. I never heard that unimpeded shaft hit land again. Pretty one, too, with a good Zwickey on it.
I hope someone finds it, and wonders where it came from.
Killdeer
Ah, I just love those pics to go with Killdeer's words... almost feels like I was there. Wish I were!
You were missed, Bartrum.
Killdeer :wavey:
There are people who will confuse a squirrel hunt, with killing squirrels, and that couldn't be further from the truth. Squirrel huntin' has nothing to do with squirrels, it has to do with folks. It's about what you see in those photos; shootin', eatin', shootin', talkin', shootin', and so on. Once in awhile, someone may see a squirrel, and may even pretend to stalk the critter in an effort to bring it to bay. But alas, it's not about the squirrels. I think I said that, didn't I?
Nice Killy and all.....love those photos.
Look's fun great to take the kid's out.Better then them video Game's. 4 Sure !!!
Nice pictures.
George,
Once again, you've hit the nail on the head. Its about the company a person keeps.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/Hunting%20and%20Camp/2009%20November%20Hunt/IMG_2276.jpg)
Like I said, I hope somebody finds it!
Killdeer
Oh yes....nurse logs, turkey tail fungus (mushrooms), and a layered insulation of oak, maple and other varied leafy critters. A fine picture of God's soul-cleansing medicine....and in the color of Heaven.
Not just squirel hunts....all hunts should be like. Time well spent.
The story that the pictures tell is that you all enjoyed the good time........ :goldtooth:
Awesome story! Congrats on a great hunt!!!!
Sorry I missed this guys. Wouldn't mind a follow up rabbit hunt. *HINT*