MORE OF THE SAME?
I have to admit that 2015 was a pretty good year. I bet you
didn’t expect that to come from me. Yes, we have made it through another one.
What lies ahead? Who knows? I pulled my
carrots during the first week of December when I mulched my garlic. That isn’t
something that happens very often. I had to buy a new freezer before deer
season was a third over. That was nice. The freezer was full, the cellar, too.
That makes a pretty good year in my book. I never got mad, never got injured and
there wasn’t much turmoil. One can’t ask for much more than that.
I just hope we can enjoy a short, mild winter. We deserve
one; after the past few. Winter could lose steam and be pretty much over by
mid-February that would suit me just fine. I would love to actually be tempted
to buy my Trout Stamp before the end of April. One can only hope. I used to
catch a lot of trout between the first of the year and the middle of March;
when I headed south for turkeys. That seems like eons away, now. I really do
not think I have gone fishing before April during the last fifteen years. It
has usually been well into late April, too. It always seems as if when I have
had the time; the roads are treacherous and the water is frozen over or it is flooding.
There is seemingly never any in between time.
I never have minded a little occasional snow or a couple of
big storms. The thing that always gets be down is the lingering ones. Looking
at that white stuff from Thanksgiving until the mid-April gets real old and it
does so very quickly. The getting old stuff usually kicks in at some point in
mid-January. There sure isn’t much of interest during that time; for me. The
search for Golden Eagles and different ducks is about all there is to do. I was
privileged to see a Snowy Owl last year in Taylor County. That was a lifetime
experience that was totally unexpected. Therefore; I now realize that good
things are possible during the first month of the year.
I imagine I will spend a good deal of time this month
reloading ammunition. I had all of my
equipment laying in storage for about thirty years. I can honestly say that
after taking up making my own ammo; that I will never shoot another factory
load. Ammo is just like food: It is a lot better when you actually know what is
in it and where it came from. I believe the venison starts accumulating when
you know what is going to happen when the trigger is squeezed. I have had a few
bad experiences over the years with store bought shells. I never will again.
There just isn’t much to discuss here; after all it is
January and we aren’t in Florida. By the way; if you are reading this on the 1st,
I am sitting here eating trout, ramps & cornbread. It doesn’t get much
better than that at this time of the year. More of the same; I hope so, as long
as it is all getting better.
HAPPY 2016!!
This is my January 2016 article for Two-Lane Livin
(c) High Virginia Outdoors ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Photo (c) High Virginia Images
