A Wintery Hunt

They made the rounds...

Sall and his brother and brother's grand-son...

as Determined hunters,

they even made it around TWICE...

I trailed along once

and nearly froze my cheeks!

That's what fearless hunters and soldiers do...

fight to the finish...

no matter what the conditions.

In this case it was bearing a ZERO degree

wind chill just to see a rooster!

and then missing the shot

because their fingers were too

cold to pull the trigger!

Slightly disappointing, 

but we didn't send them

home empty handed...

Enjoy the pickles, Guys!

and hope you enjoyed 

your Veteran's Day Hunt!

A Hunting We Will Go

 Greetings from the field, friend!

Pheasant field, that is...

I said my hunting days 

were not over yet,

and 

that was an understatement!

I've been out a few times

now with an area 

Hunting Lodge

taking pictures 

of their hunter clients...

The hunters can focus on the hunt

and I focus on them

and whatever else

I see that makes 

a South Dakota Pheasant Hunt

UNIQUE!

 

I try to keep my eyes open

and my head low

(if you know what I mean)

 

It's always wise to stand next

to the seasoned hunters...

some of these clients 

have been coming out

annually for 6 to 10 years.

 

They all come for 

a good hunt...

and

time off with friends...

They start early

and have a 5 star lunch

delivered to the field...

Tai Pheasant Wrap

and Corn Chowder

was prepared by the chef this day

Chef Richard makes 

some awesome desserts...

 After their lunch

they pose for a few

snapshots with buddies...

Then it's back to the hunt...

After about 6 hours

of walking,

chasing,

shooting,

retrieving...

they get to head back 

to a fancy lodge

where there's 

a massage therapist waiting

along with cocktails,

a 6 course meal,

big screen tvs and huge 

leather sofas...

I come home, throw a frozen pizza in the oven

and start downloading 5 to 6 HUNDRED photo files!

The editing process goes all night sometimes!

The next day they get a slideshow DVD to take

home to show the family...

It's a great feeling to see them

appreciate the photos and tell

me they can't wait to show

it to their kids!

I hope my pictures

have a little part in keeping

the tradition of Pheasant Hunting

going for many more generations!

Thanks for stopping in,

I'll share some more hunting photos

again soon!

Lisa

 

Happy Hunting

Nice hunting days

have been limited this year...

just as getting 

your limit 

has been limited

this year!

October has turned 

cool and damp on us,

but it hasn't 

dampened 

our spirits!

Although the pheasant

numbers are way down this year...

it is not impossible

to see groups of them

early in the morning...

Here's a tip...

fill up on your 

favorite brew

around 8:00 a.m.

then head out

just after sun up...

If the sun stays

out, 

 

 

 

 

the birds will come out too...

 

and if it's 

just another

cold and cloudy day,

you may as well

stay home and look through

old hunting photos...

 Remember when...

Recall the stories

from Uncles and Grandfathers...

 

 And plan for

a better day to 

hunt,

maybe in November?

'Cause better days are ahead

and this girl's hunting days

aren't over by a long shot!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lisa 

P.S.  The lady in photo #1 is taken from a vintage South Dakota postcard

(Lynn, you've asked about her before, I knew I'd get around to answering your question some day!)

The rest of my photo subjects are relatives of Sall's.... a niece, 2 nephews, his brother, his Uncle Clarence and his wife Faye and their hunting buddies from circa 1947.

Hunting runs deep through the Sall veins.

Rooster Collage

A Beautiful Bird

deserves

a 

collage...

I've featured them here

at Sall's Country Life

several times, 

in their after-life/before-dinner

state of being...

They truly deserve more...

let's give them their 

fair share of glory...

these fine, gorgeous

and stately birds...

our "State Bird"...

we honor you!

Happy Fall!

and keep your head down

if you look like a pheasant!

Lisa

Rooster!

If you travel across South Dakota

right now you'll see the 

same sign everywhere...

"WELCOME HUNTERS!"

With an economic boost

of $25 Billion dollars in sales

the red carpet has been rolled out 

to welcome hunters from everywhere! 

Yesterday was opening day

and the pheasant hunters 

gathered and hunted...

I had the pleasure of walking

and hunting along side 

a group of investment bankers

from all over the U.S.

I took pictures for them

and put together

a slideshow CD

as a souvenir

of their South Dakota

Hunting Adventure...

 

 Unlike today's windy and cold weather,

yesterday was the perfect day

for hunting...

Nice and sunny...

just enough clouds in the sky

to make the pictures perfect!

these hunters 

were getting a glimpse 

of how lucky we 

are to live in South Dakota...

after 4 hours of marching through

corn strips on a professional hunt,

I went over to our local hunt 

and walked along with them...

 

the same beautiful scenery...

 

row after row of bird feed

and cover...

 

we walked in some pretty big 

fields...

too big for the amount 

of hunters in our local group

I think we were just chasing 

animals around,

or maybe 

they were 

just chasing us around?

see the deer looking at me

in this shot...

here's a closer look...

 

he was running up ahead of 

me giving all the 

pheasants the heads

up that hunters 

are coming!

I made it over and around

and at the bottom was 

this quagmire of brush...

I thought I was just gonna

have to give up and live with 

the deer here!

Seriously by this point 

my legs and feet were so tired,

I was ready to call a helicopter

to lift me out of there!

My boots wouldn't stay tied,

the weeds kept catching them,

It felt like walking in quick sand!

Every step the tall bent over stalks

would grab my feet and hold them!

the guys were all way ahead of me,

who's dumb idea was this anyway?

from there it turned into a jungle

of 10 foot tall sorghum and pure mud...

I struggled all the way back to the road!

 

When I got in the truck I told Sall

I'm going home!

 

 

 

Seven hours of hunting was plenty...

 

then I spent the next 7 hours

editing 400 photos.

 

By 2:00 today I had all of 

my souvenir CD's ready to deliver...

 

All of the hunters loved the pictures!

 

Thank Goodness,

maybe I can buy

a massage session

with my earnings!

Take care and

don't get taken down

by monster weeds,

Lisa

p.s. here's a link to the SD Game Fish and Park website on the economic impact hunting has on our state, INTERESTING! click here

OUCH!

I did it!

I finally "manned up"

and kept my 

appointment at the 

Dentist Office...

Ughhh,

this tooth had to go...

I wasn't about 

to fork over $2400.00

for a root canal

to save a molar...

so out it went...

My dentist told me 

teeth will pop out easily

of older people,

especially those that smoke!

found this fitting photo on the internet at: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/sea-otter-with-a-toothache-max-allen.html

After approximately

2 hours of tugging

and twisting...

then finally grinding

it into little pieces, 

I was regretting both my youth

and my good habits!!

Hope you are enjoying

your Saturday!

Hugs and Moans,

Lisa

P.S.Have you flossed today?

I'm Seeing RED

 Happy Fall!

 One more round of 

tomato juice today...

this is it...

the last of them...

today...

I hope!

the end of canning season

is a good reason to go off the wagon

on a Monday afternoon!

 

The Bloody Mary's 

will be ready

before the last jar pops!

Let the party begin,

Lisa