Point of View

Here's a pretty nice buck that we saw in a field from our deer stand.   Louie and I were sitting about 20 ft. up in a tree and we watched this buck walk out from the woods.....

It's thrilling to see something like that move cautiously out into view.  He was very quiet and kept looking around.  I zoomed out a little with my lens...

Then I finally zoomed out all the way so I could show you how far we were from where the deer was.  You can just barely see him to the middle right of the photo.  He turned and dashed off.

He was in and out of that field in less than 2 minutes.  We didn't even shoot at him.  It was another nice afternoon in the woods tho....

Deer Hunting November 2012

It's deer hunting season again and we are spending a lot of time out in the woods.  So far we've gotten one doe.  It's just a great time of year to be outside - it's not too cold yet, which I like.

This is the view from our tree stand.  There are still quite a few leaves on the trees.

This cute little guy was the only thing we saw the other day....

The guys spent quite a bit of time looking for some key locations to set up their camera's to see what type of action we are getting on the deer property when we aren't there.

I spent my time taking pictures of mushrooms....

And of Kyle getting loose with the gator....

But all their hard work and planning paid off - now we just have to actually see one of these guys when we are out there.....

Shotgun season opens today.....

What's Thanksgiving Without Cranberries?

I love fresh cranberries and they are so easy to make.  A lot of people don't know how easy they are, so I'm going to show you.

First, buy a 12 oz. package of fresh cranberries.  I buy whatever kind the store has in stock, this time they happened to be Ocean Spray....

Rinse the cranberries and pick out any smooshed ones....

The directions on the package call for 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar.  I tweak it a little and use 1 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar.  I am a rebel like that!

Pour the water, the sugar and the cranberries into a pot.  Turn up the heat.  Start stirring.  The cranberries will start to pop and get soft.  I start to crush them against the side of the pot at this point....

Turn down the heat and keep stirring.  They will easily boil over if you don't keep an eye on them.  I keep boiling them until they cook down and start to get thick.

Turn off the heat, pour into a container and refrigerate.  You can eat them hot or cold.  I prefer them cold, on my turkey.  I really like it on toast, with mayo and sliced turkey.  Yum!

In between cooking, look out the window and admire the lake....

Chablis helped me cook this year and she made the broccoli rice casserole and the green bean casserole.  And yes, I cheated and used instant potatoes.

This cute little bird kept hanging around the back deck...

The turkey took longer than expected to cook, but it still turned out....

Louie, Chablis and Kyle weren't shy about digging in.  This was a hard year for me - Tony decided to spend the day with his girlfriends family.  It was the first time in 18 years that our little unit of 4 wasn't together.  I know they have to grow up and do their own thing, but it was still hard for me.  Than goodness for Facetime - at least I still got to see him for a few minutes.  My nephew, Kyle, came and spent the day with us tho, so that was really nice.

Afterwards we all drove out to the hunting property and sat in the deer stands.

Here's a short video I shot tonight.  This is the first time I've tried shooting video on my camera and it's also the first time I've tried to upload video to the blog, so we'll see how well this works....

Can you see the deer in this picture?  We didn't shoot any, but it was nice to sit out in the woods and enjoy the quiet of the evening.

It was a nice Thanksgiving.  Hope yours was nice as well!

Why I Like to Be In the Woods

I like to be out in the woods.  And not in a creepy way.  Ha ha!!  There's just something very peaceful about being there.

We usually head out early in the morning, before the crack of dawn.  We walk about 3/4 of a mile down a trail.  Usually there's just enough moonlight for us to see the path.  If not, we use our small flashlights.  This is what it looks like when we enter the woods.

Once we get to our deer stand, we climb up and settle in.  There's a farm nearby and we can clearly hear the cows and their constant mooing.  I imagine that's what it used to sound like on a trail drive.  They never stop mooing.  First loud, then soft, then loud again.  The sound is relaxing and could easily put me to sleep.

Next we start to hear birds chirping and we can make out the faint outline of the trees around us....

It rained the night before and we can hear the soft, steady drops of rain as they slide off the branches and hit the carpet of leaves on the ground.

Slowly the trees emerge from the darkness....

Off in the distance a rooster crows and chicken start to cackle.  2 squirrels play tag up and down a nearby tree.  One of them discovers us and its high pitched chirp sends out a warning that we are there.

Bushes and shrubs slowly start to stand out......

As the sky begins to lighten up, we tilt back our heads and look up at the tree tops.  The brilliant yellows and oranges of the leaves appear to be on fire.

The sun finally breaks over the treeline and light streams through the forest....

When the wind blows, the tree tops gently sway and the dried leaves rustle in the breeze.  The forest bursts with the harmonies of birds singing, turkeys gobbling, and squirrels whistling.

The final colors of autumn are still beautiful....

Walking out later in the day is nice too.

It's a good view, coming or going!  I never get tired of seeing the colors of autumn from inside the forest.

Venison Tenderloins

Since hunting season has begun, today I'd like to share my favorite recipe for deer tenderloins. 

First take your tenderloins and slice them about an inch thick.

We had about 12 tenderloins this time.  Dip them in a mixture of egg and milk and then cover them with breadcrumbs. 

Toss a stick of margerine into a pan.  I like to add a little olive oil too.  Then fast fry the tenderloins for about 2 minutes on each side. 

Remove them from the pan and place them into a casserole dish or a 13 x 9" baking pan.

Then grab 2 large oinions and slice them up.

Toss the onions into the frying pan with whatever margerine was still in there. 

Add about half a cup of water.  Cook the onions until they are limp and browned.

Pour it all on top of the breaded tenderloins in the casserole.

Cover the casserole with some tin foil and bake for 45 min. in a 350 degree oven.  Then remove the tin foil and bake for another 15 minutes.

We usually have mashed potatoes and corn on the side.

Eat, smile, enjoy!

All this week The Outdoor Blogger Network is hosting a HUGE series of giveaways to celebrate their 1 year milestone.  Go over and say hi!