A few of my last few Halloween posts

Grubby and the Pumpkin Bottom Haint's

Return of the Pumpkin Bottom Haint's; Grubby's Revenge

Hattie

Boo

and finally

In the dark. At night. With a full moon

The full moon lit up the haze and gave the sky a bright sheen that cut down on the number of falling stars that were visible. About the only good thing a full moon is good for is watching out for werewolves. Not that I would be scared of them if they did exist. But it’s best not to think about things that don’t exist when you’re in the woods on All Hallows Eve.
In the Dark.
At Night.
With a full moon.

That way I don’t have to blame the bad odors on the paper mill or explain the fact that I can’t hit the broad side of a barn much less a charging werewolf with all five shots while ricocheting off trees like a pinball.
In the Dark.
At Night.
With a full moon.

One night, during deer season, Mikie and I watched the movie, American Werewolf in London.
As I made my way to my deer stand the next morning, the full moon cast shadows on the hoarfrost that seemed to move in the light breeze.
I have to ask “why?“, as I strolled down the eerily lit fire break thinking about the scene “Beware the Moors”, “did that deer wait till I almost stepped on it before crashing away through the under brush?”
In the Dark.
At Night.
With a full moon.

On the ride back home that day, I asked Mikie “ You notice that the paper mill smells exceptionally strong today?”

Abbie is wearing Maizie's old hunter's orange with my name, phone number and email addy on it. And she doesn't need it in the smallest setting.
She's going to be a fast dog. I just hope she can smell as fast as she can go

2 and I had a good trip to Apalachicola. Well, after we got past Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, we had a good trip
Tuesday evening was spent with a squealing bearing on the trailor for the "2+3" and then we went to gas it up (because GF and I didn't after our Port St Joe trip. We lacked a trailor hitch on her car) and the gas cap was froze. We made a trip to Sepico Creek Marina to get some assistance...and a big hammer.

We left slightly before daylight to fish on Wednesday without shrimp since Brownie told us Bay City and East Point were out and besides the speckled trout only wanted pogies which we couldn't find. Nothing would touch our plastics and lures, so we went out to Sheephead Bayou to get some bait. The water was low and dropping, so I tried Brownie's theory of going as fast as you can. All that meant was I got stuck further in then normal.

The tide was out most of the day Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It meant a lot of bottom bumping with the "2+3" to get up and down Poor House Creek where we stay.

Since I’m in Apalachicola fishing with 2.
Today is my late mother’s birthday, so I’m linking to a mostly true post

“Momma and the attack of the orange bumble bees”

Uncle NoPass was a dog man.
Always had been, always would be. But, like many households of the early sixties, there were glowers (very apt, no?) of the semi-feral cats that , if not accepted, were tolerated for their ability to keep down the rodent population. Eventually, of course, a .22 would be needed to control the cat population. Our method was cheap and efficient.

One cat, black in color, was not only tolerated by Aunt NoPass, but actually petted despite Uncle NoPass’s opinion of it having a heart that matched its hide.

One of the things that have begun to bother me here in my fifties is how little I really know. Not at all like when I was younger and knew everything. Believe me, you couldn’t tell me nothing for about forty five years. Just ask 2.
The only good thing now is I know ya’ll don’t know squat either, so I can at least fake it. And what I do know is from decades of watching conventional wisdom and the best laid plans go down the drain

Heck, I don’t even know who the guy in the mirror is anymore. The face I hardly recognize. It’s vaguely mine, although a far older version of what I should look like at my ....youthful….. age.
Not with all the white in the beard and the silver shining on the side. The deep blue eyes that stare back at me out of that face have faded some. In my younger years, most women referred to them as bedroom eyes. They’ve squinted into the sky (and water and bushes and ,,,,,) to the point that the wrinkles around them are permanently etched into what was once a youthful smooth skin. Character lines to be charitable.

Like 2, I’ve always wished for that tough manly leather like skin, instead I got what 2 got- parchment thin and easy to bleed through the scratches I receive. Not that the aspirin and Plavix help. And that’s not a good thing for someone who likes to follow the dogs into the briar patches while chasing bunnies.

It’s funny but I feel just like the old cranks that I used to hear and snicker at who preached “ just you wait….”

Happy fifty fourth birthday to me!

Go ahead and snicker. But just you wait.

Deep breaths, deep breaths

and talked to Jimmy about getting a deer leg or two, so I can break a hound that has a taste for deer when she can't find a rabbit. He said "Sure, though not many are being brought in yet."

So, I get back and there is a email from djmed with a set of pictures of a buck supposedly in a backyard over in Montgomery, Alabama. Obviously, the woods are the wrong place to go if you want to kill one of the sage maggots.

to mention it, but the Girls, including Abbie got their heartworm pills on the 14th on schedule

coming up out of the devil‘s walking sticks thicket where Brag had shot the first rabbit of the 06-07 season only a few minutes before. Abbie gets her first smell of a rabbit Brag had just killed in this picture

Rye skirted one side of a thick patch and I on the other side. I reached down to pick up a pine limb to throw on a bigger pile and, maybe, drive a rabbit out. The 9 dogs of the blended pack were milling all around the area between Rye and myself. When I uncovered the rabbit who was crouched under the limb I picked up, he exploded like a Florida running back weaving his way though Auburn’s defense in the first half.

of the 06-07 primitive weapon season in Alabama.

I had planned on taking a stand with my recurve bow on our pine plantation hunting lease near Seale, Alabama this morning, but Cuz called last night and wanted to run rabbits instead.

I was all for it, of course. I did mention to Cuz that it was the first day of deer season and that the state of Alabama had given the hunters an extra day because the traditional opening on the 15th fell on a Sunday.
He told me " I think you forget whose name is on the lease"
Well, that's good enough for me, besides we all knew that most of the hunters were hunting other parcels. We'll start a little late in order to give the one or two a chance to bag one and we'll start running near vacant stands.

It'll be good to see Brag, Rye and Cuz. It's been a lonesome summer. And I think we'll have a special guest. No, not djmed. I found out late and he had previous plans as this email indicates.

"Dang. Id really love to, but both of my brothers are coming for the game.
I've already had my quota of tailgate participation (1 game), but this weekend is Duane's birthday and we decided to celebrate here at the UF game.
Of course, we decided this when it looked like AU was a a national contender. I could come up with tons of things to do besides mixing it up with this unruly crowd. I hear the fish are biting pretty good and it is bow season. I haven't even drawn my bow, but I am going for opening day of rifle in GA next weekend. "

He isn't the only ones that don't seem to enthused about bow hunting this year. There are several in our club who are opting out or have cut way back.

Everybody knows that I tote a camera with me everywhere. Yes, I’m legendary for some animal photos such as classics like “ Outhouse after the rabbit had passed” and “Hen Turkey’s: a study with the lens cap on” and “Bush that the deer was standing in front of”

Thing is I don't always know what I'm taking a picture of....such as flowers. Oh, I have a rudimentary knowledge such as red flowers, yellow flowers on a vine, summer flowers and such. I just don't know the names of most.
If you do, please post the proper name and/or the common name in the comments such as BB goldenrod.

rabbit hunting, the plavix and the asprin, I could use this stuff by the gallon

of the 2006 Duck Stamp art contest that will grace the 2007-2008 duck stamp is

Richard Clifton of Milford, Delaware



More

Overall, the first race today was a disaster with Brag’s dogs misbehaving, but the last three races were pretty good with my dogs running well though Brag’s dog, Kate still shortcuts. Why the dogs would run well for a year before backsliding the first two hunts is a mystery to me.

I decided to hunt Friday rather than Saturday. After Brag’s dogs had misbehaved last Monday and with Auburn playing at lunch, I didn’t want to take any chances of chasing down wayward dogs while Auburn tried to play football.
I suppose, the way things turned out, I might have been happier chasing dogs.

I have to say my dogs did well today. Brag’s…well lets just say they still need some work. Next Saturday, October 14, I’ll have just the thing.

The first went to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,

This time I tried

Keith Guyse, Assistant Chief
Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries
Wildlife Section.

I run The Rabbit Journal, a website about hunting rabbits in Alabama
I noticed that rabbit season opens a day later this year and deer season which has always opened on 15 oct is opening a day earlier.
Could you explain why this has happened?
Is it a trend to lengthen the deer season at the expense of small game season?

Update:
I received a reply from Keith Guyse with an explanation:
The traditional dates of October 1st and 15th fall on Sunday this year.
The dates were shifted to avoid having those opening days on Sunday. I
don't expect any break with tradition so those seasons should revert to
the 1st and 15th next year when those dates fall on Monday. There is no
underlying effort to lengthen the deer season at the expense of small
game seasons.

Keith Guyse
Assistant Chief
Wildlife Section


And of course, I had to get on my soapbox for a minute or so.

"The total effect on me was the loss of two days to hunt.
It's hard enough to find a place as it is with the dang deer hunters locking up the property.
Heck, most of them don't even want you on any property in February either.

Shame is deer hunters are going to kill hunting as a sport for Joe Blow by pricing out everybody, but the wealthy. Lease prices are unreal and most deer hunters aren't willing to share the property. Eventually, we'll have a situation like in England where the "blood" sports are on the ropes."

I’m a rabbit hunter. To be more specific, I’m the dog man. We have good days, so-so days, bad days. Today was a so-so bad day. I’ve had far, far worse as the regular reader knows. Regular reader will be a regular term in this post

If you’re a regular reader of the Rabbit Journal then you know the rules for ownership of The Rabbit Journal pack…
They’re mine when they behave and run good, they’re Brags when they misbehave, loud in the pen or run trash.

I had decided since we had a two week layoff due to my trip to Florida and Lucy’s surgery (which she is healing nicely from) that I would go out this first day of rabbit season 06-07 and shoot a rabbit for Abbie. Well, try to shoot a rabbit. The regular readers also know of my legendary shooting skills from the end of last season.

Dang Brag’s dogs