The Chickens Have Arrived

     My daughter and I are raising 52 meat birds this year.    We got them yesterday and everyone made it throught the first night.   If what I read is correct in about 10 weeks they should be ready for dressing.    I am running 2 heat lamps as they are in an outside building with out heat and it was 49 degrees last night

  This is them in there new home for the next couple of weeks

 

This is what they have become in one week.    They got a bad start due to the feed we were sold was the wrong type it bound them up and we lost four got the correct feed and the eat well

 

 

Making An Axe Handle

Several years back while rummaging through a scape metal pile I came across a axe.    It was a Collins 3.5 pound double bitted axe.    The handle was broke one side of the blade was chiped some.   I have always collected axes,  hatchets,  and knives.    I brought it home and it has been collecting dust ever since.    This spring I decided to get it out make a handle and sharpen it.

 This is the completed handel working at sharpen  the axe now

 

 

 

The board to the left was the piece of lumber that I sawed the handle from

 

I used a power bandsaw to saw it out and then a rasp and drawknife to shape it.

 

 

My great grandfather was a carver who carved axe handels for people in Canada he got 2.00 apiece to carve and install a handle.

 

It was a Good Winter

It was a great year for me on the ice.   I can not say I was impressed with the ice it was not the best Ice I have ever been on.   Had some great days out there.

First flag of the year ended up being a small Perch.   Not sure why but our side of the lake was good this year.    I did not spend much time on the other side of the lake and the Georgia shore side has never been noted for many pike.  

I started tying some Ice flies this year some days they worked very well other days not so well

 

Doubles were not uncommon at all I used some spoons I had that did not seem to work so well in the summer.    I would remove the hook and use them as a sinker it slowed the decent to the bottom way down.    Also found out the perch in this area are right on the bottom.                                 

Febuary 10,2013 I should be Ice fishing but I have a cold and just do not feel like it.  It has been a good year so far the ice has been kind of touch and go with the weather patterns we have had.   On the good side there has been a lot of sub 0 stuff to keep the ice safe.

 

This was the first Perch of the year to small to keep but it counted as the first one.    Caught on a Northland Forage minnow

This is one of the greatest things it keeps me fishing even in the coldest weather it is a bit bothered by the wind.    Also keeps the market guys from seeing what I am catching

 

Folds up quickly and carries all my gear

We did make a trip to Maine Smelt fishing it was great catching 18 smelt a bit high priced by the pound but worth every cent of it

 Loved this place

This is what they look like very easy to clean to eat

 

These are what we used to catch them

 

Deer Season 2012 and past

Being recently retired I have more time to do things I enjoy.    One such thing is deer season so this year I was going to hunt more.    I own a small parcel of land I planned to put a stand and hunt from.   The land has never been posted and is open for all to use.    It is what is left of my grandfathers sugar place.

This is the tree stand I put up.    It is a nice strip of hard wood kinf of a transition area not too far from here is a southren high point where deer like to bed.

   These are the views looking in the front and to the sides of this stand.    there are more  does in this area than bucks but you will not have one with out the other.    I am using a 700 remington in the 260 remington caliber.   I have a 2 to 7 Leupold scope and is a real shooter.

  This is the last deer I shot in 2008 with the 260 it was in Ontario, Canada

         Have not seen a deer in the woods yet this year.   I do have to addmit I did not hunt very much.   I got a flu and was sick 3 days and ended up with this cough that will not go away.   Kind of hard to take a stand and cough all day.


                                                                   

Catfish

Caught my first Channel cat fish yesterday .   They were not very big but they were cat fish, The brown bullpout  and small cats bit real well wish they had been bigger but what ya going to do

Squirrel Hunting

Squirrel hunting was a past time that we did as children there was more chasing than killing back then but I loved it.   Today I still hunt squirrels because it makes me feel like a child again.    Now being retired I have plans to do  much more of it.

Even though you can not see it there is a squirrel up there

One I got yesterday in the morning

Went back out in the afternoon and got these three to finish my limit for the day.    Most of thr time I don't use a shotgun to hunt with but today i was looking for partridges but came up with these guys instead,    These were the redest I have ever got.