Category: Recreation

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Getting cooler and I love it

Fall is finally coming and I am loving it.  I love to hunt.  Yes I do hunt with a primitive bow like my ancestors did. Yes I only kill what I will eat.  I’m sure someone will read this and wonder how I can kill Bambi.  Well Bambi is not real and hunting deer helps the herd to stay healthy.  Too many deer and there won’t be enough food for them.  They’ll get sick and diseased and slowly die off.  That’s not good.  By hunting them for food, you are keeping the herd stronger.

I hunt strictly by the rules.  I get my license and only kill bucks until doe days.  I prefer to get the old spike bucks so that you weed out the poor racks and build a herd in your area that is more likely to produce bucks with nice racks.  I put out mineral blocks for them through the summer to help make them healthier.  I do feed them apples and corn to bring them in to my stand but I also take care of them when it’s not deer season.  My ancestors taught me to respect the animals as they should be.

Deer season starts soon so I need to get out and practice a while to keep my skills sharp so I hopefully make a clean kill every time.  The last thing I want is for the animal to suffer any more than they have to.  IF I hit one and it doesn’t fall where I hit it, I track it down until I know the animal will either survive or I find it.  I don’t leave a badly wounded animal to suffer.  I would never do that.


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Historic sites and State Parks closing

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s office announced layoffs of up to 450 state employees and the closure of 25 historic sites and state parks. Fourteen state historic sites are scheduled to be closed October 1. Eleven state parks are slated for closure November 1.

Among these sites to be closed is the Black Hawk State Historic Site, in Rock Island, Illinois, which occupies much of the historic site of the village of Saukenuk. This was the home of a band of Native Americans of the Sauk nation. It includes the John Hauberg Museum of Native American Life. The state park is located on a 150-foot bluff overlooking the Rock River in western Illinois. It is most famous for being the birth place of the Sauk warrior Black Hawk. The disputed cession of this area to the U.S. Government was the catalyst for the Black Hawk War.

There is already so much of the Native American way of life gone forever and now this?  Why can’t the white man see what they are doing to OUR countries deep rooted heritage?  We all are now Native Americans and these things must be kept to teach our young of the way of life of Our nation.  Our nation we ALL call America which is made up of many tribes from all over the world.

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The 2008 Olympics are here

So many topics to talk about concerning the events that are taking place in China, while hosting the 2008 Olympics this year. I usually enjoy watching the Olympics and have had opportunities to attend some of the games in the past, but never have actually made it to any of them.

This particular location that they picked for hosting the games, in China, has had it’s ups and downs, and it is the first time that I haven’t kicked myself in the rear for not making more of an effort to personally attend this most exciting and interesting event.

The air quality in China is a major issue and I can really feel for the participants that are having to deal with such a problem as not being able to breath properly while trying to perform the best that they have ever had to, in order to take home a medal. It has been a real eye opener for the rest of the world, and maybe now something will be done to make China a better place to live and breath in the future.

I wish them all the luck in the world, and I hope that the US can kick some butt and bring home a good amount of medals for us to rant and rave about, until the next Olympic games are held.

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Block Party ends nicely

I was at a neighborhood block party last night and met some new people that I had not met before. Not that its much of a “neighborhood” being as our closest real neighbor is at least ten miles away, we still got to town though, as do many of those who dwell in the mountains here. But when I go to the town-wide neighborhood street parties, I go with some reservations. You see, I don’t usually like to be around people I don’t know.  You never know what kind of person they are or what they are capable of.  However, I do like going to the street parties to hobnob with the few that show up that are my age and share my interests and see what’s going on in their lives that might actually be of interest.

So it was with quite a bit of surprise that I met a woman about my age who shares the same musical interests that I have, likes the same kinds of movies, television shows and books that I do, and shares my love of animals. So we spent quite a bit of time socializing and she told me to check out her blog when I got home and had a chance to check it out. I did, and I was glad that I did because now I feel like I’ve gotten to know her a little better. I hope we can keep in touch!

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Wildlife galore this time of year

My yard has been filled with an abundance of wildlife these last few weeks, there has been an major explosion of rabbits, skunks, opossum, ducks and gophers and even a porcupine or two, my dogs hate to see critters in the yard and bark and whine like they’ve never seen such creatures when they are out there. We have had deer and foxes in the past, with the lake less than a mile away we get a bit more wildlife than most of the neighborhoods around here.

I remember about six years ago, I found a wounded dear in my backyard.  She stayed perfectly still and rested under the bushes for a few hours thinking she was totally out of site, and then she went running down the sidewalk and into the street, never to be seen again by these eyes of mine.  It is good to see the animals returning, very good.  It is a good sign too.