Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Ducks are here
Once again, the fast flying acrobats of the air are back in season. Yes, it’s duck hunting season; my personal favorite two months of the year are at hand. The time to wake up early, get eaten alive by mosquitoes, paddle waterlogged kayaks and canoes into the furthest corners of the swamp, hide in makeshift palm frond blinds and shoot feverishly into the air, all in an attempt to bring those little bacon wrapped morsels of the marsh to the grill. The first week is in the bag and now we have to wait till December 10th to hunt again when the peak of the migration is over. We did well the first week; I think we shot around 20 or so, maybe more; it’s all been a blur of soggy waders and wet palm fronds. Ross and company are gearing up for the festivities when they come home from school to really hit it hard over the Christmas break. It will be fun to have some company in the blind. Anyways, the weather’s cooling down to the 60’s at night and that means winter’s coming so it’s time to bust out the jacket and start eating heartier meals: we’ve eaten plenty of turkey, coot jambalaya, gator leg and river shrimp over the last week or so. So now that we’re well feed and rested, we’re ready for more action. I’ll keep you posted.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
A Good Idea At The Time...
This (QAC iu>z#l@< UHYJ...Ooopps Cora just typed that, she was on my lap...) weekend was a long weekend for me, I had Veterans day off, which fell on Friday. So, what else to do with a day off but to spend it in the field. Doug and I talked about going after some wild hog, so we did. We went to a spot that we've gone to plenty times before but never had much luck. It's an area that you can drive to but you have to park 2 MILES from the public land we are able to hunt. It's a double edged sward...less people take on this endeavor due to the sheer magnitude of the walk, thus less people stinking up "my land". We zigg-zagged through a few fields until about 08:30 when a pack of pigs ran by and we took these monsters...
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
We make "weekend widows"
Tis the season… the season that makes “weekend widows,” as my wife likes to say. I’ve started a week or two ago setting random early morning alarms to train my subconscious to be alert when the time is needed, whether it be 3, 4, or 5 a.m. I’ll be ready, coffee thermos in hand, squinty eyed and bushy tailed, ready for what the day in the field will bring. The time is at hand for walking down cool, dark, and narrow dew-covered trails and spending the sunrise pondering things that can only come to mind after hours of sitting still, quietly meditating, looking deep into the wildness and thinking about nothing but the moment at hand.
Saturday morning kicked off yet another full-fledged hunting season and I spent the majority of the weekend focused on bagging a big buck. I started on Saturday morning by making the long trek down the St. Johns to where I parked the boat and walk another 1.58 miles to my final resting place perched above the swampy water overlooking a former cow pasture now covered in 6-8 inches of water. I saw 4 does and a few pigs but didn’t take any shots.
Sunday I was able to go with my mom’s husband, Jim, to their neighbor’s property in Ocala and hunt but again, no bucks-- just does.
On another note, it looks like this year, in stark contrast to last year, is going to be a bumper crop for duck hunting! I’m seeing really good signs that indicate the ducks will stick around for the majority of the winter. Good food, good air temperatures and great water levels are expected to grace us throughout the winter. So, you never know; I could go deerless this year and just concentrate on the mighty fowl. Time will only tell.
Here’s another report I sent out to a few close friends giving them a rundown of my weekend. Enjoy….
Assuming that you didn’t hunt here’s a little update:
I’m really, really sore today!
If you haven’t worked out your groin muscles lately, I suggest you start now! it’s like trying to walk through SNOW!!! But it’s not frozen…so it’s like trying to walk through WATER!!!!
They haven’t mowed the dikes since early teal and there are 3 places that the grass is over 6 feet tall for around 30 yards each. One of these areas is where I got ran off by a pack of angry pigs who seemed to have made their residence in the lovely jungle on the dike!!! Another of those areas is where I couldn’t see the trail anymore and FELL OFF the dike!!! Awesome! Right now the water is about 3 feet from cresting the dike and when you walk off the dike in the dark you don’t have much of a choice but to faceplant in the mud…YUCK! That is, of course, after your tree stand that you’re heaving along hits you in the back of the head. OUCH!
Anyways, I saw the same four deer that I saw during the archery hunts I went on, two big does and two little does/deer/not spotted (seems like a nice little family). And aside from the angry pig encounter, those ten or so I ran into on the dike is about it for pig sightings.
REMINDER: Watch out for SNAKES on the dikes!!! And watch out for floating ant blobs. While walking through the water, there are blobs of ants you will brush into and they make your waders their new home, complete with a Thanksgiving meal in the form of your legs and neck.
The ducks are EVERYWHERE! There huge flocks of teal, lots of Floridas, shuvlers, mallards (yes, I said MALLARDS!), pintails and everything in between. They are definitely looking for that 6 inch water. I was on a tree that overlooked a flooded pasture and the ducks were DUMPING into it; unfortunately it’s about 2 MILES from…well… everywhere. Get those waders and choke tubes and canoe paddles ready because it’s going to be a bumper crop this year.
The OLD canal (the filled in one) is questionable whether it can be run in a kicker boat right now; a few airboats ran it Saturday but it doesn’t seem to have a clear cut path yet. It DOES, however, look a lot better to canoe down than the ditch it parallels. Then again, my hatred for that ditch is still strong after I got stuck in the hydrilla during bow season. On Friday I would like to try to get from Lake Winder to the mud hut, so if anyone’s interested in scouting or bushwhacking let me know.
I was in Ocala on Sunday and saw 2 does and 1 unidentified, and oh yes, the owner of the deer stand I was sitting in…oops, little mix up there…I guess he WAS coming to his property this weekend…
Anyways, that’s my report.
CHEERS! Capt. Nate
www.natesoutdooralmanac.blogspot.com
Saturday morning kicked off yet another full-fledged hunting season and I spent the majority of the weekend focused on bagging a big buck. I started on Saturday morning by making the long trek down the St. Johns to where I parked the boat and walk another 1.58 miles to my final resting place perched above the swampy water overlooking a former cow pasture now covered in 6-8 inches of water. I saw 4 does and a few pigs but didn’t take any shots.
Sunday I was able to go with my mom’s husband, Jim, to their neighbor’s property in Ocala and hunt but again, no bucks-- just does.
On another note, it looks like this year, in stark contrast to last year, is going to be a bumper crop for duck hunting! I’m seeing really good signs that indicate the ducks will stick around for the majority of the winter. Good food, good air temperatures and great water levels are expected to grace us throughout the winter. So, you never know; I could go deerless this year and just concentrate on the mighty fowl. Time will only tell.
Here’s another report I sent out to a few close friends giving them a rundown of my weekend. Enjoy….
Assuming that you didn’t hunt here’s a little update:
I’m really, really sore today!
If you haven’t worked out your groin muscles lately, I suggest you start now! it’s like trying to walk through SNOW!!! But it’s not frozen…so it’s like trying to walk through WATER!!!!
They haven’t mowed the dikes since early teal and there are 3 places that the grass is over 6 feet tall for around 30 yards each. One of these areas is where I got ran off by a pack of angry pigs who seemed to have made their residence in the lovely jungle on the dike!!! Another of those areas is where I couldn’t see the trail anymore and FELL OFF the dike!!! Awesome! Right now the water is about 3 feet from cresting the dike and when you walk off the dike in the dark you don’t have much of a choice but to faceplant in the mud…YUCK! That is, of course, after your tree stand that you’re heaving along hits you in the back of the head. OUCH!
Anyways, I saw the same four deer that I saw during the archery hunts I went on, two big does and two little does/deer/not spotted (seems like a nice little family). And aside from the angry pig encounter, those ten or so I ran into on the dike is about it for pig sightings.
REMINDER: Watch out for SNAKES on the dikes!!! And watch out for floating ant blobs. While walking through the water, there are blobs of ants you will brush into and they make your waders their new home, complete with a Thanksgiving meal in the form of your legs and neck.
The ducks are EVERYWHERE! There huge flocks of teal, lots of Floridas, shuvlers, mallards (yes, I said MALLARDS!), pintails and everything in between. They are definitely looking for that 6 inch water. I was on a tree that overlooked a flooded pasture and the ducks were DUMPING into it; unfortunately it’s about 2 MILES from…well… everywhere. Get those waders and choke tubes and canoe paddles ready because it’s going to be a bumper crop this year.
The OLD canal (the filled in one) is questionable whether it can be run in a kicker boat right now; a few airboats ran it Saturday but it doesn’t seem to have a clear cut path yet. It DOES, however, look a lot better to canoe down than the ditch it parallels. Then again, my hatred for that ditch is still strong after I got stuck in the hydrilla during bow season. On Friday I would like to try to get from Lake Winder to the mud hut, so if anyone’s interested in scouting or bushwhacking let me know.
I was in Ocala on Sunday and saw 2 does and 1 unidentified, and oh yes, the owner of the deer stand I was sitting in…oops, little mix up there…I guess he WAS coming to his property this weekend…
Anyways, that’s my report.
CHEERS! Capt. Nate
www.natesoutdooralmanac.blogspot.com
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
more gator recipes
I am writing this as we are dining on gator white chili and "cracked" gator (fried gator steak). Figured I'd go ahead and record recipes for what are now my two FAVORITE ways to prepare the river lizard. Enjoy-- or come over to our house and enjoy :)
Gator White Chili
dice and saute:
3 cloves garlic
1 bell pepper
1/2 onion
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp sage
Remove veggies from skillet.
Saute 1-2 lbs 1/2" gator cubes in a dutch oven; in the meantime, in another pan, melt 3 Tbsp butter and then add in 1/4 c flour, slowing mixing to form a roux. Once the two are combined, slowly add in 2 c chicken broth, stirring often.
Add the veggies and roux in with the gator and season (with the aforementioned spices) liberally. Add in 3 14-oz cans of white beans-- your choice of which ones, but I used great northern beans, navy beans and butter beans. Turn the heat to medium low and let it cook for approx 1-2 hours. Top with cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce. Freakin' delicious.
Cracked Gator
I come from a family that loves them some cracked conch, and my dad has repeatedly said, "What if you tried to cook gator the same way you do conch?" We finally took him up on the challenge, and I am SO glad we did. Thanks, Dad!
Cut a portion of gator tail into approx. 3" steaks (in Nate's words, "the size of a roll of electrical tape. Or a tape measure. Or a cell phone." Isn't that helpful? Ugh.)
Either run the portions through a tenderizer 2 times or beat the S out of them with a mallet. If you've ever beaten conch, do this just the same. Basically, beat it 'til it's thin enough that it's flat.
Sprinkly gator with lime juice.
Prep: Lightly beat two eggs in a bowl. Fill a shallow plate/bowl with flour. Fill another with your favorite breading (I like McCormick's Seafood Bake).
Heat vegetable or canola oil in a skillet.
Dredge gator portions in flour, then cover in egg, then cover in breading.
Fry gator portions, approx. 3 minutes on each side ('til lightly browned).
We ate these plain, but next time might make a white gravy (like you find on country fried steak). I was amazed by how tender they were. Nate and I took our first bite apprehensively, but after that, it was on!
~Blythe
Gator White Chili
dice and saute:
3 cloves garlic
1 bell pepper
1/2 onion
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp sage
Remove veggies from skillet.
Saute 1-2 lbs 1/2" gator cubes in a dutch oven; in the meantime, in another pan, melt 3 Tbsp butter and then add in 1/4 c flour, slowing mixing to form a roux. Once the two are combined, slowly add in 2 c chicken broth, stirring often.
Add the veggies and roux in with the gator and season (with the aforementioned spices) liberally. Add in 3 14-oz cans of white beans-- your choice of which ones, but I used great northern beans, navy beans and butter beans. Turn the heat to medium low and let it cook for approx 1-2 hours. Top with cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce. Freakin' delicious.
Cracked Gator
I come from a family that loves them some cracked conch, and my dad has repeatedly said, "What if you tried to cook gator the same way you do conch?" We finally took him up on the challenge, and I am SO glad we did. Thanks, Dad!
Cut a portion of gator tail into approx. 3" steaks (in Nate's words, "the size of a roll of electrical tape. Or a tape measure. Or a cell phone." Isn't that helpful? Ugh.)
Either run the portions through a tenderizer 2 times or beat the S out of them with a mallet. If you've ever beaten conch, do this just the same. Basically, beat it 'til it's thin enough that it's flat.
Sprinkly gator with lime juice.
Prep: Lightly beat two eggs in a bowl. Fill a shallow plate/bowl with flour. Fill another with your favorite breading (I like McCormick's Seafood Bake).
Heat vegetable or canola oil in a skillet.
Dredge gator portions in flour, then cover in egg, then cover in breading.
Fry gator portions, approx. 3 minutes on each side ('til lightly browned).
We ate these plain, but next time might make a white gravy (like you find on country fried steak). I was amazed by how tender they were. Nate and I took our first bite apprehensively, but after that, it was on!
~Blythe
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