New Year Traditions

[Daniel G Rainey]

Charlie Going to church before leaving.

[C.O.B.]

This is the last day of our late season antlerless deer season. I will be in the blind this pm with a fine custom rifle probably in 257R. Not just any doe will do as we have instituted a Trophy Doe theme on the property. I'm looking for that long nosed gray faced old biddy with the sway back. There out there and an old doe is way smarter than a young buck. The problem lies in that the bucks are shedding their antlers so you have to be careful at what your shooting at so you don't accidently kill an antlerless buck. I found a shed while walking to the blind last week.

[6pt-Sika]

Years ago my skeet shooting two man team partner and I would go Grouse hunting in the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area this borders the Shennendoah National Park so for Virginia the grouse population is pretty decent but rather VERTICAL !

Now any more I just go out and sit in a treestand and watch the sun come up hoping a deer will walk by .

Biggest difference between now and then is the partying . When we'd go after grouse I was usually hung over and lacking sleep . Now not so much LOL's !

Was out this morning about half an hour before legal shooting time and stayed up the tree until noon . No deer but a very pleasant morning mid 30's and virtually no wind !

[Researcher]

I celebrated with about two and a half hours with the snow blower today!!

[C.O.B.]

That beats about 5 hrs with a shovel I have used mine 3X in December, last year it was 3X total.

[Kevin McCormack]

Left for Rock Hall with keen anticipation for a 2-day duck hunt last Wed. to MD's Eastern Shore. The weather last Thurs. & Fri. was the best waterfowl gunning weather we have seen in 3 years - birds everywhere with BIG flocks of 'new' ducks coming down from the savage weather in the NE. Tons of birds, both ducks and geese, showed no interest whatsoever in our decoys either day; hunting both field pits and water rigs.

I had a New Year's Eve dinner commitment, so left midday on Friday. Have since found that no one else who stayed killed anything the rest of Fri. or on New Year's Eve day!! Had thoughts on the way home Fri. of visiting a sick friend in the hospital in Easton MD but he gave me a wave-off, which was a good thing since there was a monumental wreck on the Bay Bridge, which they closed shortly after I crossed it which lasted almost 8 hours.

Highlights of the trip included eating fresh shucked oysters on the half shell, seeing the folk art decorations in the Ricaud's Woods (formerly Remington Farms) on the road to Rock Hall, and the 35-foot tall Christmas tree in town made out of bushel baskets decorated by the local watermen and their families, topped off by a steamed version of our beloved Chesapeake Blue Crab. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

[6pt-Sika]

Did you get any canvasbacks ? ����

[Kevin McCormack]

No 6-pt.; as I said no one killed a thing. We saw a nice flight of cans but they overflew us way out of range and didn't look at our rig. Also had hundreds of bluebills in our creek and down the road a bit at Eastern Neck WMA, which was very nice to see. A few 'Jinglers' (goldeneyes) and one confirmed Pintail along with some Widgeon and our usual generous complement of Buffleheads and Ruddies. Great to be out but I was looking for some roast duck to go along with those oysters on the 1/2 shell!

[Big D]

MEMORIES! We would take our boat from the Sassafras to Rock Hall and eat dinner with the Maynes who owned the Marina.
I had a chance to hunt at Remington Farms. The goose decoys were actual taxidermyized geese

[Craig Larter]

Ah---- Remington Farms I was guest in 1981, 36 years ago. I can still taste the chilled blue claws.