Post-season Ducks

My buddy Greg and I spent a couple hours in the flooded timber yesterday morning. The first hour or so I was videoing and got several minutes of close-up footage of wood ducks. Nothing terribly exciting, but they sure are pretty to watch. Does anyone know what the duck was doing at 2:15 when he puffed up the feathers on his head? Was that a mating display? Please leave a comment if you know. I'm just curious.



As soon as I picked up the still camera the woodies disappeared, but some mallards worked in and I got a few good photos of hens flying. The shot of the day was when a greenhead dropped in and seemed to freeze in mid-air with the sunlight just gleaming off his head like an emerald. What was I doing? Picking up decoys, of course. I'm here to tell you that getting good photos of ducks flying is five times harder than killin' 'em.

I'm sure Ann was perplexed as to why we had forgotten our guns (and the scooby snacks, of course), but she did an awesome job of sitting still while ducks landed almost on top of her.

Pursuit Hunting Hyperlink Haiku

OK, this is going to take some explaining.

Yesterday I received this wonderful compliment from fellow hunting blogger Kari Murray who liked this article I had written in a minimalist, stream-of-consciousness style. Her comments about how the sparse prose and photos had captured the essence of the hunting experience got me thinking... always a dangerous thing.

In my blog, I've written pretty extensively about the process of hunting. I've written about the emotional highs and lows of hunting. I've written about the relationships that it fosters with friends, family, and the natural world.

So, I wondered, could I enhance the impact of a few well-chosen words by harnessing the power of the internet? Voila... Haiku and Hyperlinks

As a writing exercise, I decided to try writing a Pursuit Hunting Hyperlink Haiku. My self-imposed rules... The piece had to fit the traditional Haiku five-seven-five structure. Each line had to contain a hyperlink to a related Pursuit Hunting blog article that elaborated on the word and the phrase and that helped to capture the essence of the hunt. And it had to include a related photo.

My first (and probably last) attempt:

beneath the white oak
acorns fall      deer come to eat
that is where i hunt

OK, back to gear reviews.

Hodgman Wadewell Chest Waders

Here is a Straight Shootin' Gear Review of the Hodgman Wadewell 2-ply chest waders. Under mild weather and light duty conditions, I found them to be an economical and effective wader. I would have serious reservations, however, about depending on them for a once-in-a-lifetime extreme cold weather hunt.

If you decide to pick up a pair of these waders, you might want to check out this video for a quick course on how to patch 'em up.



Here is a source:

Three Essential Knots for Outdoorsmen

Here are three essential knots that every outdoorsman should master. By "master" I mean you should be able to tie them by feel in complete darkness. If you're ever caught without a flashlight in a pop-up thunderstorm and your gear starts blowing all over camp, you'll thank me when you can secure it quickly and securely.

The video demonstrates how to tie each of the three knots, so the photos that follow are primarily to show how the finished knot should look. You can click on any of the photos to enlarge it to a size where you can easily see the details.

I also show you a handy way to coil and store rope so that it will be neat and tangle-free when you need it.

TWO HALF HITCHES

This is probably the most useful knot there is... period. I use it for all sorts of things like:

HAULING A BOW UP INTO A TREESTAND

Notice that I've made a loop around the grip before tying the two half hitches

HAULING A RIFLE UP INTO A TREESTAND

Again, a loop around the stock just under the sling swivel stud keeps the rope from slipping off and keeps the muzzle pointed up so that it doesn't get jammed into the dirt, thus avoiding any possibility of a very dangerous barrel obstruction. Obviously, this should never be done with a loaded chamber!!!

HAULING A RIFLE AND PACK UP INTO A TREESTAND

Same method of tying a wrap and two half hitches, but pass the rope through the haul loop on your pack first.

BOWLINE

I've left this knot loose so that you can see how the rabbit goes around the tree and back down the hole. It should be tightened in actual use.

TRUCKERS HITCH

A very handy knot for tying down canoes, ATVs, Boone and Crocket deer, or maybe even your daughter's pink Barbie bike.

HERE'S THE ROPE COILING TECHNIQUE TOO

Mini Maglite Upgrade - UPDATE

When I did my original review of the Nite Ize 1 watt LED and IQ Switch upgrades for the Mini Maglite, I had an issue with the operation of the IQ switch which I documented in the video. I called Nite Ize customer service to tell them about the "problem". I was treated very courteously and promptly received a replacement switch. I learned something in the process that I'll pass along to Nite Ize.