MY NATURE APPS

Being the Twitter pro that I am, I've had the opportunity to meet A LOT of great people.  One of those people is Jeff Greco. You can follow Jeff on Twitter @MyNatureApps.  Jeff lives in the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York. He attended college in the early 80's receiving a degree in Environmental Science. Always posessing and interest in the outdoors, he started North Woods Field Guides Inc. in 1999 and most recently, My Nature Inc., which designs nature applications for the growing smart phone market. Jeff is self employed in the construction field. He spends his free time outdoors pursuing the many interests that Nature has to offer.
I've asked Jeff to guest blog and he has graciously accepted. You can find out more about Jeff and his smart phone apps at: http://www.mynaturesite.com/.  And if you click on "News & Info" at the top of the screen, you'll find a mini blog filled with tips and tricks to be used in the great outdoors!  It is with great pleasure, I introduce you to Jeff Greco...

NOVEMBER 30, 2010

GETTING THERE.....

I'm not sure when it happened, I wasn't really paying attention. I can't tell you what year it was, how old I was or even where I was when my life changed, but it did change and it changed for the better. I remember years ago I was such a focused person, I picked a place to hike to and that's where I went. No stopping in between, no veering off the trail--I wanted to make the summit, that's why I was there. If I was hunting deer I was concentrating on deer and nothing else. I wouldn't stop to admire a wildflower or take in the view. I was always scanning the woods line, never letting my guard down, a deer could appear at any moment and I wanted to be ready. When I think back on all those years I hunted, on all those summits I climbed, there's nothing that stands out in my mind about what happened between getting from point A to point B. I remember the finality of each outing, the game taken or the view from a peak but nothing in between. I had never taken the time to just stop and enjoy nature.

I see so much of this behavior today in others; disappointment in not getting a deer, not catching a fish, flying down a trail to get to the end and they just don"t realize how much they're missing in between. Nowadays when I hunt or hike it's more of a secondary activity to what I'm really doing and that's just.......... nothing!!

 

I've found my time spent outdoors now is more rewarding than it's ever been in my life and the only reason that is, is because I don't care if I get anywhere. I don't care if I catch a fish, I don't care if I shoot a deer. All the things in between are what I now seek. Twice this year I have set out to reach Round Pond, I had never been there in my life and still haven't. The first attempt was last February on snowshoes--a 2.5 mile jaunt, I think I made it a little more than a mile when I came across a spot where a hawk had unsuccessfully tried to take down a Snowshoe Hare. It was a hell of a fight and the hare had managed to escape but was leaving a blood trail that begged me to follow. One thing led to another and then to far off pond, to an Otter slide to coyote sign to this and that but never led me to Round Pond. It was one of the best snowshoe trips I had ever been on.
I tried a second time in September to get all the way in but was soon overtaken by a set of  Moose tracks. The third time may be a charm but you know what? I've had more fun trying to get there than I probably would have had I got there.

We should all slow down just a tad, don't let one task consume you, stop and "smell the roses", as they say. It's not so much "did you get your deer?" that's important, it's all that stuff on the way. All those things you step over, duck under, go around. What are they? what do they do? Take the time to ask and take the time to find out the answers, get off the beaten path and explore the woods beyond the trail. You might just find what you weren't looking for and have the most memorable day of your life!!

NEW FRIENDS

WOW. November 5, 2010.  I can't really say I have a legitimate excuse about how or why this blog got away from me.  But I will say this, it has not been abandoned.  I'll be doing some retro-posts, taking you back to some of our greatest hunts this season!  I'm also going to be featuring some fabulous guest bloggers, and personal friends. 
So without further ado, I introduce you to Tommy Ellis, born and raised in middle Tennessee.  A working wildlife and landscape artist specializing in watercolors. When he's not in the studio he's probably in the woods or at the lake doing "research".  His interests include: Paleontology, Astronomy, Hunting, Fishing, Martial Arts, and Art.  You can find his blog regularly at: http://followingghost.blogspot.com/  He's definitely worth keeping track of!  Please welcome, FollowingGhost:

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Revenge of the Christmas Duck

  Way back when I was a duck hunter. The Canadian geese were protected at the time and we rarely saw snows or blues. So I was a duck hunter. Along with my hunting partners, Brian and Keith, who happened to be identical twins we were the scourge of the ducks in our area. From the time we had to be hauled to the lake to hunt off the bank by our ever patient parents to when we could drive and owned our own boats we spent all winter duck hunting.
  We planned and studied. Collected masses of decoys and became pretty good callers. We made all of the blind drawings at the areas we wanted to hunt. Standing around in hundred degree heat hoping our number was called. Then spent days working on blinds in the same hundred degree heat with the added bonus of wasps, snakes and skeeters. Oh and chiggers and ticks. We had jobs at night so we could hunt during the day and all weekend. We had it bad.
  This is a little story about an “excursion” Brian and I decided to undertake on a holiday. Yep Christmas day we jumped in the truck and drove over two hours to be in our blind by daylight. I can’t remember why Keith wasn’t along but it was just the two of us.
  We got to the lake, unloaded the boat and headed to the blind. Cold and clear, man was it cold which isn’t all that normal for middle Tennessee even in December but today it was cold. Remember the cold part you will need it later. Set up the decoys and watch the sun come up over the treeline of Bear Creek. The ducks started flying and a few hit the water including a couple of blacks from a group of about fifty that snuck in while we were talking.
  During a brisk chase through the woods after a cripple involving a very bothered duck and an empty shotgun which led to much cussing and laughing, it finally sank in that we were the only ones in the bottoms. There were no shots coming from any blind. Our spot wasn’t bad but #11 was THE BLIND in the entire area and no one was using it. This required no real thought, we packed up, loaded the boat and drove 8 miles to get to a spot that was only about 600 yards from where we were hunting. I said we had it bad.
  This spot is a pump hole. Normally a corn or milo field it was flooded to create a couple of nice ponds. #11 sat in the middle of a wood duck roost and was a favorite place for anything flying down Bear Creek. No boat needed just chest waders. Sure enough it was empty so after parking we hauled bags of decoys down and got set up once again. By now it was midday and the birds were resting up. We take advantage to eat lunch and plan all the shooting coming this afternoon.
  Despite our best efforts we had a total of two ducks come in. A right to left suzie that I shot and a left to right greenhead that Brian knocked down. As the day wound down and the temps continued to drop we decided to pack it in and head for home. We gathered up the decoys and got them bagged with frozen hands trying to wind up frozen cords. Ice was forming on everything in minutes but the ducks coming in to roost in the ponds helped to take our minds off of the pain.
  The last thing to do was to go get the ducks. Brian’s had drifted into the bank so he walked over to grab it. Mine had hung up in a buttonball bush about 70 yards out in the pond. I started wading out knowing that the bottom was fairly flat and hard. This was a good assumption except for the wet ground the farmer had driven his tractor on during the planting season leaving a trench almost two feet deep in the bottom of the pond. Did I find it? Why yes I did. Did I fall in? Technically, no. But I did a fine bit of clogging while pirouetting, flailing about and doing an amazing imitation of a windmill, shotgun still in hand. I did not go under, I did manage to ship almost an entire load of water in my waders.
  At this point please refer back to the part where I said cold.
  By now it was extremely cold and ice started to form on my clothes within a minute. I couldn’t catch my breathe it was so bad but I continued on to get that stupid suzie. As I got back to the bank Brian saw how bad I was shaking and told me to get to the Jeep and the heater. By the time I walked the short distance ice was forming in my waders. Got the waders off and engine started but my clothes are freezing to me.
  If you have ever been in a mid 70s Jeep you know the heater is a heater in name only. It would be thirty minutes to get anything out of it. So instead of shivering in the truck I stood in frozen clothes and wet socks, no boots and watched the ducks pouring out of a darkening sky and land yards from me. First a few, then dozens, finally the sky was filled with ducks pitching in to go to roost.
  It was one of those hunts that stays with you. I’ve been on hunts where we took more ducks or had worse things happen. This one though we always called the Christmas Excursion or Suzie’s Revenge and always with a laugh. We had a good day, Suzie got me back and I will never forget standing at the water’s edge watching and listening to hundreds of ducks going to bed while slowly freezing into a duck hunter popsicle.

DESTINATION "X"

Welcome to the first entry for the GOOSE MAFIA!

I just wanna start out by talking about our group a little bit. 

We came together as family and friends one faithful afternoon in the 90's.  None of us could have imagined this happening at that point in time.  It would have been completely unfathomable.  On our first night out hunting, we realized there was something special about this sport.  It was like deer hunting, where you just sat in a stand or a tree all day and night, wishing, hoping, PRAYING, the perfect buck would grace you with its presence.  This sport involves so many levels of expertise...
When we first started, we had no "technique".  We went out in the field blindly every single day, never knowing that we actually possessed the power to greatly influence our odds of success.  I believe we had 12 Canada goose shell decoys, and we would just set them up in a corn field in a random pattern, while we took cover in a nearby wood line.  And somehow, we managed to get lucky once in a while.  We did have goose calls, and even if we did, it wouldn't have mattered, because there wasn't one of us in the group that would have know how to "blow".
Over the years, we've read articles both online and in magazines, and watched several waterfowl hunting movies, stuffing as much info as we could into our brains to take out in the field with us the next time.  A couple of us even bought a couple goose calls a year or two later, and although we had to work day and night at getting it correct, it all paid off in the end.
We've even incorporated a youth generation to our group.  Our nephews have been coming out with us since before they could even take a gun.  They would just come along and watch and wait and listen and take mental notes so when they COULD hunt, they would be ahead of the game!  It was also nice to have someone to hole Luke back on a leash so he didn't run after the birds too early. *smiles*
As the years went on, we got more and more involved, learned to scout for the geese long before they migrated based on what fields were planted with.  So gaining permission from the land owner was definitely STEP #1.  Without the generosity of these land owners, we wouldn't get to do the thing we love to do most.  We have nothing but the utmost respect for these people and their property.  We never leave ANYTHING behind.  Not empty shell casings, not wads, not even broken corn stalks.  Everything is either "as good as" or "better than" when we got there.  R.E.S.P.E.C.T. 
Now, here we are, present day, with crazy progress.  Truck loads of decoys, everybody with their own lanyard and calls, a fully trained Labrador Retriever (CHANCE) and a kick-ass logo and club apparel to boot!
We continue to watch videos other waterfowl hunters have made...there's always new tips and tricks that they share with everyone...that's another part of the sport that is so great..."THE CAMARADERIE".  Even though we are separate groups, in different parts of the state, or nation, or bordering countries, somehow in the end we take a piece of every group with us out in the field every time.
Some of the biggest things to think about are decoy patterns, and how the geese interact with each other.  Calling them at the right time and stopping when it's not the right time.  Calling aggressively vs not aggressively.  Playing the sun and the wind.  How the barometric pressure and cold and warm fronts effect the flight patterns, as does the phase of the moon.  Camouflaging your self and your blind, if you use one, to the best of your capabilities.  Geese can see EVERYTHING. When they are flying right above you, you can see them turning their heads side to side, looking for any sign of danger.  SAFETY.  We are CONSTANTLY reminding one another to check the safeties on our guns...you can never remind each other of this too often.  And when youth hunters are involved, good sportsmanship is always a topic. 
We also cut loose a lot of fun when we are set up early, and have some time to sit around before the birds fly.  We'll just sit and talk and LAUGH.  Sometimes the guys get bored and wrestle (And poor Kyle got a bloody nose today).  Keith even plays music on his flute.  I never thought Lady GaGa could be played on a goose call and actually sound "good".  We talk about past hunts and how we want the group to grow and improve.  We set goals, we accomplish them.  Some people probably say, "all those people do is play  (hunt).  Those are the same people who have never gone out hunting, because although we DO have a great time, there is also A LOT of work that goes into each and every hunt before and after the birds fly.  Just this past Saturday, I had a 17 hour day.  On the go, steady.  That's a long day for anyone.  Spend it outside carrying decoys and guns and blinds and it feels like a 30 hour day at times. 
Bringing you directly up to speed, we've pummeled 40 geese in 4 days of hunting.  Last year our goal was 100 for the entire season.  And we hit it, but it wasn't until we pushed right up to the end of the season.  We ended season with 109.  Right now, 4 days in,  we're almost half way there!  We've learned to take our time and aim and not just "poke and hope".  We've got the skill, we just need to remember to use it.  And the results are SO DRAMATIC.
Other elements play a huge factor as well, not just for the birds, but for the hunter.  Heat, cold, rain, mosquitoes (very bad this year), snow, pollen (allergies), farmers working their fields, you name it.  If it happens outdoors, it's going to impact us in one form or another.
I'll keep this blog as close to current as I can, posting many photos along the way.  So keep track of us, we've got a lot of great things coming!
GOOSE MAFIA...OUT.