Get it in the ground, 'fore the rain come down! A lesson in driving a tractor.

"For whatever a man sows, he will also reap." Galations 6:7

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The time has finally arrived to plant our yearly turkey food plot! (And the crowd goes wild ahhhhhh!!!) Ok, maybe it's just me going wild! I tend to get overly exuberant when any activity concerning turkey hunting arises. Planting a turkey food plot is step one, on the road to a successful season! This required an early rise on a Saturday, a tractor, a four wheeler with a seed spreader, seed, and a whole lot of driving in circles! In the past I have helped plant several dove food plots, but this was the first time for me planting a turkey food plot! If you are unfamiliar with what a food plot is, it is an area of ground that is disced and planted with seeds. The goal being to grow the plants that turkey's (or whatever you are hunting) likes to eat. This will attract the animals, to that specific area everyday to feed, and then when hunting season rolls around you know just where to set your blind up.

Tyler graciously started the discing process (which is not a quick process) last night while I was a work, so this morning I helped finish it up! After the shock of waking up at 7 on Saturday wore off and my coffee kicked in, I was a farming fool! 

I even found a friend to keep me company while driving. Although something tells me he was more interested in the fresh bugs being dug up behind the disc, rather than me! But I digress.

This is the tractor we used to do our discing, 

it is affectionately named "The Flea", because it's pretty small and for some reason, I have the feeling it's secretly an Autobot that one day will transform, and will pole vault 30 feet in mid air right before my eyes! That might be a stretch, but The Flea despite its name, certainly is big enough to get the job done. Today's adventure also included the ins and out of tractor driving. 

First thing first, what is what? Steering wheel, ignition key, and gas/temp gauges are obvious to any licensed driver.

The not so obvious things are the clutch,

the bucket and bucket lift lever,

pushed forward the bucket raises, pulled back it lowers, right dumps the bucket and left pulls it back up.

Speed control behind the wheel and brake on the floor board. 

A second speed control and gear shift,

hydraulic disk lever, pull back the disc lifts, and pushed forward the disc drops to the ground. 

Finally the piece de la resistance, the disc!

After familiarizing myself with all the controls I was on my way. We disced up an area of about one acre. After approximately two hours of discing the ground was soft and my buns were sore. This was my que to start spreading the seeds. If you know anything about wild turkey eating habits, you know they love winter rye! Wrens Abruzzi Rye to be specific. 

In true redneck fashion, a four wheeler rigged up with a seed spreader on the front, is the fastest and most fun way to disperse seed. So we filled the spreader, and fired up the four wheeler!

This is what winter rye seeds look like!

Don't ask why this was fun, it just was!

And off I went.....

Also, it must be mentioned that on the back of the four wheeler, we attached a grate scrapy looking thingy! Ok so I don't know it's technical name, but I know that it was a huge help when drug behind the ATV, as the seed was being thrown from the front this grate helped sift the seeds in the ground from behind!

A successful day of discing and seeding, complete, and we got it down before the rain came! 

If we continue having the same weather we have been, which includes plenty of rain, then it should be no time at all before we see the seeds sprouting.

Hopefully the turkeys will find what we planted, ASAP!  Turkeys have been spotted on this private property many a mornings, so this hunter is keeping her fingers crossed. 

Stay tuned for the fruits of thy labor, and more farming adventures with The Girl Outdoors! 

A word from TGO.

"How do you do that? How do you kill those poor innocent animals? That is so mean!" 

These are all questions or statements I have been faced with by onlookers, ever since I became a hunter. My reply is always the same. "How do you not?" Animals were put here on earth by The Lord to nourish our bodies, and to feed our young. Let me be clear I respect all Gods creatures for the magnificent beings that they are! No one but a great creator could have designed such beautiful animals, and I am not promoting killing animals for no reason, or in excess! I believe in obeying the laws set fourth by fish and game, and I never take something I won't eat, or what someone else wont eat! I hope and pray that the same wild game I have had the honor to hunt, will be around for my children to do the same, but I also know that if it wasn't for hunting seasons animals would eventually overrun us! The folks that do kill animals for no good reason and out of season should face justice for their actions. However, let us not forget hunting goes back thousands of years, and all of our ancestors at one point or another were hunters! That was a means of survival, and if it wasn't for those ancestors, life today would cease to exist. I respect that fact that there are a lot of people who do not want to be the hunter, but still enjoy the meats! I also respect that there are others who just choose not to eat meat all together. Both of these are personal choices, and not for anyone else to judge. I have also made a personal choice, and that is to hunt and to live off the land to provide for myself and my family. If you enjoy going to your local grocery store and buying meat there, more than likely the meat you purchase is from an animal that was penned up for their entire lives, never allowed to roam free and be wild animals like God intended. So I pose this question to you, which is worse? Allowing an animal to inhabit their natural habitat and reproduce, and sacrafice a few, or raise animals in cages and kill them all? Which would you rather eat and serve to your family? So next time you are with a hunter and you feel the urge to ask those types of questions, or make those types of comments, please just remember hunting is more than a hobby for a lot of people, it's a way to stay connected to their roots, and where they came from, a way to connect with their creator, a means of sustaining life since the beginning of time, and most importantly a way to provide for their family. 

God Bless from The Girl Outdoors. 

No Glamping Here!

One of my favorite activities in the whole world is camping! Good ole fashion tent, sleeping bag, smores and hot dogs camping! It is one of the first memories I have with my dad! Daddy daughter dates always involved a campfire and nature hikes! Late last week the girls called and asked if I was interested in camping and bringing the horses, and of course I can't turn that down, so Saturday we headed out to Little Manatee State Park!

Little Manatee is only about 20 minutes from where we live, and they have stalls and plenty of horse friendly trails! 

It was pretty chilly last weekend for us Floridians so the first thing on the check list was the fire! Once we got it built it seemed like the only appropriate thing to do was to whip up some hot cocoa and enjoy the fruits of our labor! While you mediate on the idea of a warm crackling campfire, let me give you some tips on how to build an efficient campfire quickly!
1. Gather your matches/lighter, tinder, several small sticks or small pieces of wood, and finally large logs! Tinder can be anything from dried moss, to paper, to pine needles! The only requirement is that it catches on fire quickly.
2. If you do not have a designated fire pit, like the one featured below, make sure you dig a hole and place rocks or bricks around the circumference to keep the fire from spreading.
3. Once you have your pit, place the tinder in the center of the pit, light the tender on fire with your matches or lighter, and start placing the small sticks or wood on top allowing plenty of time and air, so the sticks start burning pretty well.
4. After the small stuff has a good flame going then add your large logs in a tee pee formation just like in the image below! The tee pee formation is the best way to build a fire because it allows the outside logs to fall in the center and continue to feed the fire for a long time.

When the feeling in our fingers and toes once again returned thanks for the warm fire, we tacked up the ponies and set out on the trails! On this trip the ladies gave me a tutorial on how to saddle, bridal and harness the horses. It was so much fun to learn and gain that experience.

My best horse friend Sydney makes an excellent trail ride for me every time we go! 

The trails were beautiful and the weather could not have been better! The park is named Little Mannatee because of the river that runs through it, and it makes for a beautiful view upon horseback! 

It was a short trip but in that short time I saw a beautiful forest, a marvelous river, and had my first experience in several years of Cantering a horse! Holy Shinkies do they go fast! Stay tuned for more camping adventures with The Girl Outdoors! 

Ducks For The New Year!

"Now this is hunting, no birds, sitting in a boat, gettin' rained on!" -Tyler Nuckols

The boyfriend is so poetic sometimes! Ha ha! ;)

Anyone who has ever duck hunted can tell you its a labor of love! You wake up way before sunrise, get dressed, paint your face, hitch up your boat, gather your decoys, drive to your destination, put the boat in the water, find a good spot to anchor, throw out your decoys, set up your blind, and get your calls and guns ready, all before the sun comes up! 

When its all said and done, at the end of the day, you have some delicious ducks to show for it! Well today for us was not that day, ha! We saw an estimated 1,000 plus ducks at Lake Tohopekaliga. However, most of them were Coots, which are legal to take, and there are a lot of hunters who like to eat them, but we do not, and we do not shoot what we will not eat! 

All hunters have known days like these, the good birds for eating, did not want to fly with in range this morning! They were either too high, flew left, flew right, already in the water or flew behind us, but not to fret my pets! We will live to duck hunt another day! At least I got to practice putting on my war paint! 

So I leave you with this, some tips on duck hunting to make your trip go smoothly.

1. First and foremost a duck blind is essential! If you can build one or buy one that is easy and quick to assemble, that is your best bet. The last thing you want is to be messing with your blind while ducks are starting to fly overhead.
2. Get yourself a duck call Lanyard, one like these. 

They make the transition from calling to shooting much easier, and you don't have to worry about loosing or damaging any of your calls in the water.
3. Organize your decoys on a carabiner clip! There is nothing worse than trying to untangle your decoys at the last second to get them on the water, again while ducks are starting to fly over head!
4. The more camo the better. Ducks have ridiculous eye sight, and trust me they see the smallest of movements or any different colors. So drop down and get your camo on!
5. Lastly, when the ducks do finally start flying in your direction, DO NOT MOVE! Wait until they get in range before you move to mount your gun. Trust me, they will see you and turn away!

Stay tuned for more duck adventures with The Girl Outdoors!

These Rifle Days!

The boyfriend is leaving tonight for Georgia to hopefully bring me home some venison! Our outdoor freezer which is usually stock piled with deer meat is empty, and mama ain't happy! So it's time for the men to bring home some more, but before they head out on their adventure, the rifles need to be sighted in! This is the rifle Tyler (the boyfriend) uses, it's a 300 Winchester Short Mag, and is a Remington model 700!

This rifle can be used to shoot anything in North America, from Ferral Hogs, to Elk, to Bears! In my opinion there is no better gun, rifle wise at least! Anyhow this morning we had the task of sighting in the rifle! If you don't know what sighting in is, it's when you adjust the scope on your gun to match exactly what your shooting! The scope is the telescope thingy you look through to shoot! If your scope is off, then chances are you're just going to be scaring away your deer instead of eating it! In order to adjust the scope you have to use the dials that are on top of your scope, the dials can be turned to either go left and right, or up and down according to what you need!

The bullet for this gun is below, and is what a full shell looks like and what an empty one looks like...

Every time  you shoot you make minor adjustments with the dials on the scope until you are shooting just where you are looking! After several rounds we had it where we needed it! 

After it was all done we did some great shooting! The deer is as good as in my freezer! 

Stay tuned for some delicious Venison recipes, just found a new one for deer steak I can't wait to share! 

In the mean time here are some pictures from the deer hunt of 2012

Hog Heaven!

If you know anything about Florida wildlife, you know we are just about over run with Feral Hogs! They are everywhere and therefore in season for hunters year round! This is good news for me because it gives me a reason to hunt in between turkey seasons! ;) I am fortunate enough to have permission to look for hogs on my friend Jack's property in Lithia! We have set up two tree stands, here is a picture of the first one..

This is where my brother Chris usually posts up! The second stand featured below is where the boy and I usually sit..

The stands are hidden but set up around a feeder we hung on the property! It goes off at the same time everyday and that is where every once in awhile you can find Wilbur showing up for snack! It's that blue thing you see hanging from the post! 

Now there are a lot of people who do not like to eat Feral Hogs! Just like any wild game, it's going to be tougher and much different than pork you buy at the grocery store! However this is not a problem for me and mine! If we don't use it, there is always a friend who is need of the extra meat in their freezer, so we don't hesitate to take one when the opportunity presents itself! 

How did you know there were Hogs on the property to begin with you ask? Well we first suspected it because as we were walking through the woods one day we noticed hog rooting! If you don't know what rooting is, it's when hogs dig up the ground to get to insects! They end up leaving holes and trenches in the ground that can be very damaging and dangerous should you step in one! So when we saw the rooting we set up trail cameras...

Low and behold the hogs had come to feed right where we had suspected! Below are some trail cam pictures we saved..

We even caught a theif red handed, stealing the pigs food! 

Hunting these Feral Hogs is so much fun and good for having meat all year round! 

Below are a few pictures from the latest Hog we took! Boy was he a big one!

Stay tuned for more creatures and fun with The Girl Outdoors!