Turkeys a lot Gordo Nothin!

I am pretty sure I worked harder last weekend then any other turkey hunter in America, and I have nothing to show for it. NOT EVEN ONE GOBBLE. I did see two hens which has been par for the course for this season. One of the things that I love about turkey hunting is that it is so difficult to call in a spring tom. I think my average is about 1 bird every 3 years and I hunt every chance that I get which is usually every weekend of the season at least. Usually though I at least get to talk to the birds and end up getting outsmarted. This year however I had a couple homosexual interactions with some hens but did not have one gobbler talk to me. Conclusion: hunting on public land sucks!! There were so many gapers in the woods this last weekend I was more worried about getting shot than I was about shooting something. As a result I ended up hiking from lewis creek trail head all the way over adobe peak which ended up being about a 6 hour round trip(4-5 miles, 3000 feet vertical??) on no breakfast and not enough water. I was seeing spots when I finally got back to the truck. NOte to self never ever hunt public land on memorial day weekend again. Did get some good advice from some locals I trust on places to go next year. Also I am more motivated than ever to work my butt off and get rich so I can hunt on my own property in the future.

Mom's Visit

Mom just left and we had a great time while she was here. Everyday was action packed. While she was here we managed to hike the royal arch trail, watch the Rockies spank the twins, see the Lipizzaner stallions in Broomfield, and eat lots of good food. Here are some pics from the visit.

Texas Trip

Sarah and I just got back from Austin. We went down there to visit Molly,John, and Emily(Sarah's sister,brother in-law, and niece) and do some fishing and turkey hunting. We had an awesome time eventhough the turkey hunting did not prove to be succesful. This season I have managed to call in two hens which has led me to believe I sound like a lesbian turkey. John took me to his ranch which is pretty unbelievable. When we set up on friday morning we heard 4 different birds gobble but we couldn't get any to work with us. My excuse besides my gay calling was the oppresive heat. Way to hot to even think about doin it. Later on we walked up on another spot John thought might be holding birds and we got busted by two big toms and a jake. Decided to call it quits and do some fishing. The bass pond on this place is pretty incredible. THe water is gin clear and you can see lunkers cruising the banks. John and I both caught some nice fish but no monsters. Sarah caught and released all be herself several nice brim. All on the fly I might add.

Saturday Sarah and I had a full day in austin. THe highlights being a butt naked fat chick at barton springs and seeing James Hand play at the continental club. Finished up the day with some great sushi at mizou(cougar territory) after starting the day with the world's biggest breakfast taco at Jim Bob's trading post.

Here is a video of emily checking out her first turkey call and a picture of one of the bass.

Dex goes down at Berthoud

Grassman and I went and skied Berthoud the other day, and on our first run I got a little too close to dex and the edge of my ski caught his right leg. I barely nicked him and he did not even make a noise but when we stopped I noticed he was bleeding profusely and had a big junk of sking/furr dangling from his leg. I took off my shirt and Grassman and I bandaged up his leg for the rest of the trip out. WHen we got to the bottom we were pretty fortunate to get picked up right away by a construction worker on his way over the pass. The guy was very generous and compassionate. Fortunately he had a first aid kit on him and he helped us bandage dex up for the trip to the vet. He also insisted that we take extra gauze, first aid ointment, and tape for the trip to the vet. People like this guy really restore my faith in the inherent goodness of people, and because of him a potentially really awful situation turned out just fine. We got dex to the vet quickly and within a matter of a couple hours, a lot of cheez, and about 20 stitches later we were on our way.

Turkey Hunting and the Ark

Winchester and I just spent tw full days starting a 4 in the morning scouting out the southern part of the state for turkeys. We covered a lot of ground a discovered some good spots for the future. Found lots of poop, scratchings and tracks. Friday morning we got a hen all fired up and she came right to us maybe 15 yards away which was cool but would have been a lot cooler if she had the big dog with her. Anyway the hunting was a bust but had an epic day on the Arkansas river with Pete and Chris. Chris got word they were dropping the flows and suspected that with the 75 degree day that was forecasted there would be a substantial caddis hatch. He was right and the fish were going crazy. We all caugt a ton of fish on dry flies and the were all in the 11 to 14 inch range which was nice. I hooked into a big dog that I spotted while billy goating around on the rocks but he spanked me in a matter of seconds.

Habitat

A group of us from school and Sarah just got back from volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in Denver. We all had a great time and got a lot done. Thank you Erin Humphries for organizing the event. I got to put my retaining wall skills to good use, and Sarah got to practice her roofing skills. She also patented her two handed hammer swing.