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We have here on this site some very thoughtful and contemplative folks. In addition to the common passions of this site, I’ d be curious as to what other interests or subjects inspire you? I’ m alternately intrigued and depressed with modern cosmology (Stephen Hawking types…). The possibilities of what we don’ t and likely never will know blow me away. I enjoy searching for native American artifacts and plan to spend no small part of my few years of retirement (assuming it works out!) kicking around likely spots…so I would say the concept of time jazzes my brain….how a 1000 year old stone is really just a moment away….so I wish I was a woodworker and could do useful things! Oh, and I would like to learn a little Russian and go see the places there and the Ukraine my ancestors came from or got dragged to….the end for now:D Any other takers on this subject?
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Ok since you asked,
I enjoy family, friends, fly fishing, hiking/backpacking, poking around the old stomping grounds of the ancients so I can feel young and ignorant in so many lost ways, a good book, being completely alone on top of a mountain, a good argument, and I really enjoy woodworking because I just loose myself in the grain and beauty of the wood it self.
Wow made me feel almost sensitive. 8)
Good luck with your retirement, I hope it works out better than you expect.
Troy
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Hunting, fishing, just about anything outdoors and reading. BTW, paleoman, if you ever start on that Russian adventure and want to bounce some questions off someone, let me know.
Lastly, solitude. I have been dreaming more and more to “get away from it all” and not come back. Take the family and be somewhere where you cannot see your neighbor. It’s a dream. Who knows, maybe one day.
Right now, I am trying to get into building bows and flintknapping.
Be well.
Alex
😀
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Looks like I’ll be the third PA archer to chime in. These past few years I’ve been doing a lot of this archery thing, but I got steered here by going more traditional with guns. Several years ago I built a flintlock out of a kit my neighbor gave me. Always loved shooting and hunting and the flinter gave it some new life.
My main hobby these days is spending time with my wife and kids and getting them outside, doing art, and just goofing around. I’m my son’s den leader, Webelos I, and having a good time with it. Birding, fishing, canoeing, all good. At the end of the day, watching a movie with my wife knowing the kids are resting peacefully tops it off.
The upside of a slow economy for a freelance photographer is more time with the family.
All the best to you. peace, dwc
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I enjoy reading a great deal on a variety of subjects and fiction and nonfiction. Recently have begun quite interested in natural history and how us humans feel “pulled” to be outdoors (at least many of us). Been reading a lot of David Peterson and Thoreau and I’ve been inspired. 😀
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For me, as a musician, pianist and composer, I can only be , musically speaking, inspired from inside. It starts flowing when I regimen myself to keep my a** sitting at the piano, and trying different stuff until something feels right. Being in the right frame of mind is vital. My frame of mind is best when I keep some sort of balance between the passionate New York city musician life, which also comes with its subway, airports, hotels, music venues, starbucks, noise, and…. city folks :-), and my other passion which is the outdoors and silence, more specifically, trad archery, bowhunting, backpacking, mountain running, softcore rock climbing. As far as other interests, I promised myself that I would really get into fly fishing this year, and not just practice a little bit on grass as I have done the last 2 years.Oh, teach my grandson to ride his bike. I told him the training wheels are coming off, and to be ready to rumble. He wasn’t too happy! 8)
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If you like reading about how important being outdoors is try Last Child in the Woods. It’s about how being outside in “non-structured” play spurs the imagination and calms the spirit. It’s an interesting read. At the present my children only get 15 minutes of recess at school. Unbelievable. They get it at home for sure, which is my main interest. best, d
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I’ve been spending more time lately taking photographs and making art. As a high school art teacher, I spend my days teaching and encouraging young people to express themselves visually in new, creative and intelligent means. After helping others make art all day it is easy to let your own art making take a back seat to other things. I’ve done just that. But, over the past six months, I’ve gotten back into nurturing my need to create by not only taking photos in the swamp, but by making abstract paintings based on the textures captured in my photographs. It’s been incredible.
I’ve also been doing some writing. But, that’s another post. 😀
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I grew up in Northwest Montana, so it sort of goes without saying that I enjoy the outdoors. I grew up hunting, fishing and hiking. I had easy access most of my teen years to plenty of National Forest. I had one neighbor that granted me anytime access through his property, plus my grandpa had property that bordered the same area of National Forest. I got into traditional archery in 2002. I love it! I hunted, hiked, fished, trapped and biked my way all over the mountain sides above where I lived. 3D shoots are excellent, and there are a good number to be had within a relatively short drive of where I lived in Kalispell. Don’t forget Glacier Park. I enjoy reading, playing with my kids (I’m too heavy for the trampoline, so that sucks), spending time with my wife, shooting my bows. I decided to try my hand at building a self bow. We’ll see how this project turns out as I get closer to the end. I live in Texas now, and thanks to work, have yet to get into the fishing and hunting that Texas is supposed to be famous for. Maybe this year…only time will tell.
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Broadhead,
You have some beautiful photographs on your site. Thanks for sharing them. best, dwc
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In addition to bowhunting and stumpshooting . . .
Sailing, kayaking, fly-fishing (just got into Tenkara – super long 14′ poles w/no reel), ultralight spin fishing, radio-controled airplanes (glows & gasoline up to 82″ wingspan), raising chickens, raising turkeys, raising sheep, gardening, putzing with my 1956 Ford 640 tractor, muzzleloading with traditional flintlocks (Lehigh style rifle & English fowler – I moderate on a traditional m/l website), homebrewing and wine racking, metal detecting, walking with my dog, napping with my cats, driving my turbo a little too fast on twisty back roads . . .
Heck, I’m interested in lots of stuff!
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I try to practice archery everyday after the animals and my 92 year old mother-in-law are all cared for and then a walk through my woods. I have a few firearms I enjoy, but they have taken a back seat to archery for now. My wife makes a number of products from our goat’s milk that I help in a small way with. Living on a small island as we do there is always a need to help out in community stuff. I read a lot and write poems now and then. I’ve always had a passion for pot/point hunting, but haven’t indulged in it here. I plan to putt over to the next island in my skiff this spring and start scouting for good a few good spots to hunt from come deer season. Oh, I also help a friend make 3 or 4 hundred gallons of cider every fall and 2or 3 hundred gallons of sauerkraut that we give away to other islanders. We smoke a lot of salmon too.
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dwcphoto wrote: Looks like I’ll be the third PA archer to chime in. These past few years I’ve been doing a lot of this archery thing, but I got steered here by going more traditional with guns. Several years ago I built a flintlock out of a kit my neighbor gave me. Always loved shooting and hunting and the flinter gave it some new life.
My main hobby these days is spending time with my wife and kids and getting them outside, doing art, and just goofing around. I’m my son’s den leader, Webelos I, and having a good time with it. Birding, fishing, canoeing, all good. At the end of the day, watching a movie with my wife knowing the kids are resting peacefully tops it off.
The upside of a slow economy for a freelance photographer is more time with the family.
All the best to you. peace, dwc
Sounds like at least a few of us came here via the blackpowder route. I still love basic black during the one firearm season I do hunt. I love remote places too..and still fondly think of the rugged New England hills that formed me and the local history that surrounds them…23 years later and I’ m still homesick!
Guess I’ m a sucker for beauty in form and function.
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I love to fish too! I really enjoy inshore saltwater fishing. Hard to beat reeling in redfish, trout, flounder,etc! I also enjoy largemouth bass fishing and lineside fishing!
I would love to fish up north for smallies, walleyes, and northern pike one of these days!
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So many interests – so little time… Music, playing guitar and singing are very important to me. Cycling with my good buddy. Rugby and hurling, but only following now as I’m getting a bit creaky and sensible to play anymore! Fishing, mainly saltwater. And lots of reading, mainly non-fiction. And a few intellectual pints in the local, or two, or three… 😉
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It’s fly fishing for me. I absolutely love getting out into the wilds of Maine and fly fishing small streams, rivers, and remote ponds for wild brook trout. And as I’m an organic vegetable farmer, growing things is a great interest of mine also.
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dwcphoto wrote: Broadhead,
You have some beautiful photographs on your site. Thanks for sharing them. best, dwc
Thank you David. After looking at your website and reading your biography,I feel honored. I know very little about cameras and photography in general. I just try to apply principles of composition to my shots and treat the photos as if they are drawings or paintings. Nature does the rest.
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Well, reading this, I guess I forgot a few. I’ve made a few good ales, and a few bad lagers. One OK batch of wine and I love to sail. If only I had a sailboat, I’d be ok 😕 . Great read here, and great thread. Be well.
Alex
😀
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To answer this truly I must come out of the closet and admit that I’m extraordinarily fond of pretty girls, or any girl that will smile at me at this advanced age … and Patron tequila, and a local-brew kolsch … and of course, since I’m not running for office, I always inhale. 😛 And of course, I love good music … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6CDa-z1MUY
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lyagooshka wrote: Well, reading this, I guess I forgot a few. I’ve made a few good ales, and a few bad lagers. One OK batch of wine and I love to sail. If only I had a sailboat, I’d be ok 😕 . Great read here, and great thread. Be well.
Alex
😀
I’m going to brew a batch of IPA this week. Hope it turns out well.
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David Petersen wrote: To answer this truly I must come out of the closet and admit that I’m extraordinarily fond of pretty girls, or any girl that will smile at me at this advanced age … and Patron tequila, and a local-brew kolsch … and of course, since I’m not running for office, I always inhale. 😛
Wow, since we are friends, I knew some of the items in your closet, but I didn’t know you would let them out for a walk in the virtual world! 😀
I guess the cliche expression is valid:
“Truth will set you free” !!!! 8)
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Great thread!
I enjoy writing and photography, but I’m ordinary at both. I guess a steady, on going passion of mine is wildlife and ecology writ small and smaller. I love things that creep and crawl. I love the forests that they call home and we call lawns and gardens. I can abandon great swathes of time lying on my belly watching their little world. Now that I have a toddler I have a partner in this pursuit, which is a rather special joy in itself.
I also love my dog. We moved recently but I used to live on the outskirts of Sydney, and the only decent ‘wilderness’ nearby was basically a swampy marsh deemed too useless for any development, industrial or residential. My dog and I would spend many hours there running and roaming and swimming the creeks. I took him on a pretty long swim once, we were in the water for the better part of an hour, just paddling along and he never faltered. He helped me one day when I helped the police search for an autistic boy who went missing there in the afternoon. We found him huddled in the dark swamp covered in mosquito bites, looked like he had chicken pox, poor little fella. But I love my dog. He is mongrel of unknown heritage rescued from the pound as a gangly adolescent.
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Hello all,
Just joined yesterday . Have been reading a lot of the post and I see this is a good place to visit .
I live in southern Ohio with my wife Linda . Have been in love with the outdoors all my life . Grew up hunting , fishing and trapping . Played with guns all my life . Still like them too , but the most pleasure I get is with the bow . Been shooting recurves since early 80’s .
Turkey hunting is my main addiction .Spring or fall , I get the greatest thrill out of trickin’ a turkey with a call and good set up .Though I typically use a shotgun for turkey I will again this year try to arrow one with the Super Kodiak .
Gardening , gunsmiting ,making my own gear are also some things I enjoy , but would rather be roving some woodlot with the recurve.
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broadhead wrote: I’m going to brew a batch of IPA this week. Hope it turns out well.
broadhead,
Other than imperial or dry stout IPAs are my favorite. You’ll have to keep us up to date on the results. I usually have a pretty sophisticated grading system. I have a few six-packs of different [popular] beer in the house in plain sight in the fridge along with an equal amount of mine. I invite some friends over and give them some of my beer. I tell them “there’s more beer in the fridge”. When they all leave, I check the fridge. If there is only my beer left, I don’t use that recipe any more. If there is none of my beer left, I keep that recipe. 😆 😆 😆 It’s worked so far. BTW, I am not so far in as to grow my own hops and send samples to the local crime lab to get molecular analysis of content. I just like to dabble (and drink). Good luck with the IPA. I’m sure it’ll be a winner. Be well.
Alex
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Besides stunp shooting time is spent doeing wildlife photos fishing .But mainly this year it will be spent introducing the newest member to the trad ranks my youngest daughter. I am ordering her a youth longbow.Looking forward to it.
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In recent years I’ve spent alot of time restoring/remodeling our cabin built by my father-in-law back in the early sixties. Our grandkids are the fourth generation to enjoy it. And when not working on the cabin just being there is enough for me… flyfishing, hiking, bird watching, etc.
Also,growing up in New Orleans I took to music at a young age but put it on the back burner for almost thirty years. Recently I’ve been bitten by the bug again and discovered I can still play. So I’ve been sitting in around town playin’ the blues and some (light weight) jazz. Sometimes in life you take a long journey to end where it all began.
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It has been really enjoyable reading this thread. You all are so interesting!
I am a family man, and I am defined by my faith in Christ. Like so many of you, I love to fly fish, particularly with dry flies. I love backpacking and have just recently got into rock climbing…And I can see that the older I get, the more I will be into mountain biking. Furthermore, I love the game of basketball. Despite my age, I still play three days a week and really enjoy beating up on the younger cats. Finally, I am a big fan of reading and writing. I am planning on writing a book sometime soon…Cool thread. 😀 T
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I enjoy hunting, fishing, shooting, life. I enjoy the joy of others as that increases mine. I like learning even if it doesn’t take much to get over my head. Life is good. I’m a simple guy and I’m happy with simple things. I get unhappy when I miss a 3-D target but I go right on to the next one and miss it too then go home and never miss anything in my yard. No harm in seeking perfection I guess as long as I can recognize and accept the imperfections that exist. And, if I’m seeking solitude all I have to do is start singing and I’m all by myself in a heartbeat. 😆
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David Petersen wrote: To answer this truly I must come out of the closet and admit that I’m extraordinarily fond of pretty girls, or any girl that will smile at me at this advanced age … and Patron tequila, and a local-brew kolsch … and of course, since I’m not running for office, I always inhale. 😛
So..now that we know you’ re normal:wink:, when you were in K’zoo checkin’ out the does….do you find any shooters in the herd or is this trad world pretty much a guy gig? I mean you see women compound shooters but do they inhabit this little subculture to the same extent as the wheelie world?? I dunno..just asking…
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Constantly since I was a kid: Camping and backpacking in all seasons (winter is my favorite!), canoeing (kayaking was added recently), Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, birding. Intermittently since the onset of adulthood: outdoor photography.
For seventeen years I was a volunteer SAR dog handler, the demands of which meant that I got started as a hunter fairly late in life.
I used to fish fairly often, but living in Alaska spoiled me and I find it hard to get excited about doing that here in NH. I buy a combo hunting/fishing license annually, but the latter part usually ends up just being a donation for habitat and stocking measures by the NH Dep’t of Fish and Game.
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Fly-fishing (especially salt water), hunting waterfowl and upland birds, dog training, photography, writing, wilderness, travel (although I don’t do as much as I once did), family. Bush flying used to be high on the list, but I’ve been away from it for too long.
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It’s been quite a pleasure reading all the posts , from scattered parts of the globe .
In reality , it is exciting to have been in the company , even though it is INTERNET, of such a number of archery and outdoor enthusiasist’s .
I enjoy the fine tooling and workmanship of vintage firearms,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,BUT A FINE RECURVE OR LONGBOW , WITH A PRACTICAL QUIVER ,FULL OF DELICATELY CRAFTED ARROWS IS LIKE A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN ,,,,YA WANNA EMBRACE ‘ER .
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I do all kinds of things. Gardening, food preservation (canning, drying, lactic fermentation, etc), home butchery, baking, furniture building… We have a large music collection; I also play flute. Birding, entomology, horticulture, taxonomy in general… Most recently I’ve gotten into Odonates (dragonflies & damselflies). I’ve been getting back into running again lately, especially trail running. Hoping to be ready for a full trail marathon by late spring/early summer. Life is good, man. Live it! Might have a thing or two in common with Dave (congrats on 2012’s big vote).
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Could see myself hanging out with any of you folks. I guess this is as good a time as any to introduce myself. I’m an Aussie living in South Island New Zealand. I have been subscribing to the online mag for years, and I love it. My intrests, apart from shooting my longbow are fishing, kayaking, gold prospecting,cooking, possum trapping, mushrooming and the occasional ski.
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Great thread! I have a pile of interests….so many that I’m only half-arsed at most all of em. I’m an ex-river guide who is now a field biologist working with longleaf pine ecosystems and endangered woodpeckers….so I’m in the woods daily! I love hunting of all types…most especially turkey hunting, and organic gardening, music, fishing, camping and canoeing, primitive skills, skinny dipping, IPAs and stouts, and old, lazy black labs named Sadie.:D
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Broadhead, I have also really been enjoying your photos. Would love to see some of the paintings!
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Upland hunting (and chasing a hell-bent German Shorthair across the landscape)
Fly fishing as much as I can (till hunting season starts…)
Target shooting (clays, pistols, etc)
A little xc-skiing and mtn. biking here and there, but really, more and more I just prefer to disappear into the woods and slow down, take my time and bum about. It drives my wife, who is quite physically active, absolutely crazy!
I also realize I’ve become a bit of a knife collector without ever really intending to be. 😉
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I was sort of vague in my first post! I do love to fish, but I should have stated, that fishing doesn’t start till turkey season has closed!! I absolutely love to turkey hunt!!! I also enjoy small game hunting as well!
I don’t brew beer, but love to drink it! All types, as long as it’s semi cold to frigid.:D
I also have piddled around and built a couple of home brew trail cams, but most of my time around my house keeping the yard and landscaping up and helping the wife with our two children, my son who’s about to turn 5, and my baby girl who will be 1 tomorrow.
And of course, shooting my bows off the back porch.:wink: My house sits in a 3 acre field. There are some trees now that I have planted, but I’ve got a fantastic archery range!:D
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Really no end to it, if it’s outdoors.
Turkey Hunting
Duck Hunting
Fishing (mostly trout, stripers, smallmouth, etc)
Backpacking
Dayhiking with my wife and walker hounds
Cold Beers with Friends
Canoeing (though I don’t do it enough)
Camping
Reading
I’ve also gotten back into the gym big time as of late and really cherish sore muscles and climbing mountains.
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History – reading, watching, and exploring
Bass fishing
Watching the grandchildren grow
Gardening
And I too always inhale
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I’m going to sound sad but I really enjoy work, with that out of the way.
Hunting waterfowl, but only on the coast.
Any small game with bow or shotgun.
I’ve two springers and work them for others, ones quite good the other follows but between them they do a good job.
Clays with 10 and 8 gauge, sold the 4.
Canoeing but sold the boat it was to big for me on my own looking forward to choosing a new one.
Fishing passed me by when I was a kid and only started fly fishing recently, loving it but have promised myself not to start fly tying.
Family, I’m blessed that they are all fit and well and enjoy what they do, wife retired at Christmas and I’m benefiting from her undivided attention, lost about 10 lbs so far!
Just a natural curiosity for all things outdoors, natural history hunting now fishing.
Working towards a serious hunt this year no plans in stone but it will happen, to many things have been canceled over the last two years.
Beginning to ramble now, Mark.
Forgot the rugby, don’t know how that was possible and beer, will be combining the two on satuday, cant believe how many folks are drinking IPA but that’s a good thing, bit of a thing for scotch from the western isles.
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I spend most of my time taking care of my two boys. Will is 4 and Aaron is 2. I work in the evening and watch the boys all day. I garden, bird watch, and fish every now and then. I enjoy a Guinness when I do have a beer. But the only thing close to my archery passion is my cooking passion. Which works well when I do kill. I don’t inhale because my line of work frowns on it. I have a great wife I met in high school and she is the world to me, but I am with Dave, I appreciate a nice looking women. I spent my days growing up hunting ruffed grouse with the dogs my dad trained. That’s was all I did until the archery bug got me. I really need to get back into it. Maybe this fall.
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pothunter wrote: Forgot the rugby, don’t know how that was possible and beer, will be combining the two on satuday
Mark, if I have you pinned in the right nation you guys gave us a sore beating sunday week ago. I was there and to hear “the chariot” ringing around lansdowne was painful! We shot ourselves in the foot while you guys did the basics right, and that’s how you win rugby games. Question is, will you do the grand slam???
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Wex, I’ve never been to Lansdown Rd. but will one day would have liked to have gone to Croke Park that would have been a privileged.
Been a long time coming but we’ve got some good young lads, we had to fight for the win, its the kiss of death to mention the grand slam with France on Saturday.
Ill be at Worcester, France v England under 21 game followed by a session with the lads to see the big match.
Good luck with Scotland, you’ll win but it might be tough.
Looking forward to Italy v Wales.
Mark.
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pothunter wrote: …its the kiss of death to mention the grand slam with France on Saturday…
Similarly, I think you’ll beat France on Saturday but then again hard to know which French team will turn up! Hope you enjoy it. You should try get over to Lansdowne, they’ve done a really nice job with the place. Twickers is pretty impressive though, I was over a while back following a little team called Leinster – you might have heard of them 😉
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Wex, seven injured and one suspension but what happened, No.12 Marshall that boys quick, what happened to O’Gara messed up and switched off, never been known.
Our second half went well, Ill leave it at that, after party was good, didn’t do much sunday.
Leinster, anyone play for them I should know.
Good luck with the French.
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Injuries or not if you have 80% possession in a rugby match and don’t win there’s something seriously wrong! It was infuriating to watch. Poor decisions, lack of leadership, rubbish set pieces, and our nations most experienced out-half playing as if he’s had a lobotomy 🙁 The slam is all yours at this stage, but for a pesky team in red that seem to be building…
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Whitetail and tree rats occupy most of my time in the fall. Catfish and camping in season. Reading is a passion of mine. Love historicle fiction. and Louis La More. Alexander Thom, many more. Would love to travel to Ireland and explore my “Roots”. Built a couple of small boats since I retired and am working on a hickory board bow. machinist all my life so I like making things.:)
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Nutmeg wrote: Really good bourbon 😀
Bourbon is a beautiful thing 😀
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Until about a year and a half ago I flew hawks. I did falconry for a number of years. But the time commitment to do it right is a lot. It’s an everyday ‘hobby’. So in the interest of God and family I put down the falconry glove and decided to do something else.
I love to fly fish. I recently decided to make it a little more difficult on myself and just use dry flies. Which is what I’m in it for, that top water action from a nice looking trout. I don’t get to hung up on fish size. Don’t get me wrong I love to catch big fish but in my opinion 100 little fish in one day far exceeds one salmon every few days for me. Plus I like the little wilderness streams. Beautiful fish but not much size.
I love God most. He’s my main interest. I love praying for sick people and watching Him touch them. He’s just a lot of fun. Next to Him is my family. I have two daughters that I try to get them out hunting and fishing as much as I can. My wife is and has been pretty supportive of all my pursuits.
I recently got my first trail cam and move that around once a week. I think I could become a ‘trail cammer’ later down the road as finances allow. It gets me outside and playing around in the woods. I like it.
I just ordered my first custom longbow from a local bowyer. I so very excited to get it. I had been shooting my buddies bow but his bow he was using broke so I had to give his other one back. I managed to shoot big gapping holes in one of those self healing targets. Guess they quit self healing after 1000 arrows or so. I was shooting 30 to 60 minutes or more a day. I love it. But now I am ‘patiently’ waiting for my new bow. And am still waiting…
I grew up out in the woods. In grade school I would check traps before catching the school bus. I’ve loved bow hunting from a young age but never tried traditional as much as I wanted to. But after not having hunted big game for 7 or 8 years, because I chased critters with a hawk, I’m ready to get back into it full swing.
So I guess if I listed my interests in order it would be God,family, archery, fishing. Outside of those I really don’t have much playing around time left.
You all seem like a good group of people and the trad guys I’ve met at a club meet were cool so I’m excited not only to hunt with a stick and string but to also experience the culture of who you all are.
Blessings,
Shane
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Shane,
Always wanted to know more about falconry. How do you get a falcon? Are there breeders? Anyway, if you could gove a quick rundown, I’d really appreciate it. You can PM me, or if it’s something others in the group might be interested in, just here on the forum. Nothing too indepth, but what’s a usual day like, what are they capable of/used for, where to get them, how long is the certification program, things like that. If you have the time, of course. Thanks. Be well.
Alex
❓
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Alex,
I see you are from PA as well and I have looked into falconry.
Here is address for the PA game commissions web site. They have all the info needed for PA.
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/Falconry/11362
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The falconry rules have changed a bit recently and differ state to state. But typically you trap your first couple of birds from the wild. It is either a redtail or a kesteral. You need to be sponsored as you will be an apprentice for 2 years. Fish and game will come to your house to check out the facilities you have for the bird. After 2 years if your sponsor signs off on you then you will be a general falconer and can have a couple birds. Then you can trap more exotic birds and also buy from breeders. It is about the most fun a guy can have in the world of hunting in my opinion. But to be good. You know the person everyone else looks up to, you need to hunt everyday of the season. So say for 6 months out of the year you will be trying to kill rabbits with a goshawk. Or if you fly ducks with a peregrine then you need to be out everyday. Now sometimes you can miss time. It happens. But if you are a weekender you’ll kill some game. Your hawk will do ok. Your dogs will be kinda ok. But if you hunt everyday you will rock and so will your hawk and dogs. Some, maybe even many, falconers won’t like that statement but it is very very true. It’s like the guy who shoots everyday and one who puts in 20 minutes on Saturday… Hunting property is premium. If you kill 100 rabbits in a year with a hawk you need to spread those out. Well where I live I do. We don’t have tons of bunnies so you kill a few here and move to the next spot so you have breeders left for next year. A good flushing dog or a beagle is needed. Some people get by without a dog or a ok dog, they don’t kill much. It is frustrating to the core and fun to the max. But it eats time like a fat man in a buffet line. Most falconers are happy to have people tag along. Google your state and they will have a club and go from there. If you pursue this take a season and hunt with folks. Pick the best one to be your sponsor. All sponsors are not the same. Any specific questions?
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All,
Thanks for the info. Definitely an interest, but not one I will take up anytime soon. It just wound’t be fair to the birds. I have very little time between work, kids, etc. But one day, definitely. Honestly, I didn’t even think about the dogs as well. Wow. Sounds intense. Thanks for the info. Be well.
Alex
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Fly fishing/tying since I was 12. Was fishing full time and working part time 9 years ago. Then my constant companion arrived. Now that she is older, she is learning to cast a fly, and perhaps…
I’ve had 4 or 5 careers, learned the first in college, taught myself the others.
We go to church Sundays, and I read a lot, Tolstoy is my favorite author.
Oh, and I take naps when she lets me.
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[quote=ShaneHarley]Until about a year and a half ago I flew hawks. I did falconry for a number of years. But the time commitment to do it right is a lot. It’s an everyday ‘hobby’. So in the interest of God and family I put down the falconry glove and decided to do something else.
I love to fly fish. I recently decided to make it a little more difficult on myself and just use dry flies. Which is what I’m in it for, that top water action from a nice looking trout. I don’t get to hung up on fish size. Don’t get me wrong I love to catch big fish but in my opinion 100 little fish in one day far exceeds one salmon every few days for me. Plus I like the little wilderness streams. Beautiful fish but not much size.
I love God most. He’s my main interest. I love praying for sick people and watching Him touch them. He’s just a lot of fun. Next to Him is my family. I have two daughters that I try to get them out hunting and fishing as much as I can. My wife is and has been pretty supportive of all my pursuits.
I recently got my first trail cam and move that around once a week. I think I could become a ‘trail cammer’ later down the road as finances allow. It gets me outside and playing around in the woods. I like it.
I just ordered my first custom longbow from a local bowyer. I so very excited to get it. I had been shooting my buddies bow but his bow he was using broke so I had to give his other one back. I managed to shoot big gapping holes in one of those self healing targets. Guess they quit self healing after 1000 arrows or so. I was shooting 30 to 60 minutes or more a day. I love it. But now I am ‘patiently’ waiting for my new bow. And am still waiting…
I grew up out in the woods. In grade school I would check traps before catching the school bus. I’ve loved bow hunting from a young age but never tried traditional as much as I wanted to. But after not having hunted big game for 7 or 8 years, because I chased critters with a hawk, I’m ready to get back into it full swing.
So I guess if I listed my interests in order it would be God,family, archery, fishing. Outside of those I really don’t have much playing around time left.
You all seem like a good group of people and the trad guys I’ve met at a club meet were cool so I’m excited not only to hunt with a stick and string but to also experience the culture of who you all are.
Blessings,
Shane
Wow, falconery! That just sounds cool! Many years ago I was working in the bush, and was driving home one day with 3 other guys in a truck, when we spotted a injured bald eagle. Long story short, we managed to get it, and one guy had a jean jacket over it’s head while it was perched on his lap in the back seat of the truck while I drove down the highway thinking ,please God, don’t let this bird freak and go ape shit in here at 60 mph!! It remained
totally calm, we dropped it off at a local vet, repaid a vist there 2 weeks later to learn that it had made a total recovery and was released back where we found it! I was impressed! Could not believe the size of this bird! we had a binder on the lap of the guy holding him, and the size of his feet and talons was quite impressive! Beautiful eagle!! Glad he made it!!
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Hey all,,,Fly fishing, fly tying, but also love crappie. Fish when I can. The Arkansas has a fabulous B W O hatch on right now. Muzzle loading,,flint,,real black powder, and cast my own balls. Getting ready to build a Trade gun, with a 16 ga. barrel. Primative Archery, just cut some salt-cedar shoots for arrows, and in the process of making “trade Points” for em.Varmint calling and Trapping. I also enjoy making items out of the animals I harvest. Almost done with a “Bear Cult” knife from a Bear I harvested in AZ. going to make a Quiver from the hide, and maybe a pair of mittens. When I kill deer and elk, I have the hides tanned. Made my set of Ron-D-Vue skins from my elk hides. Waiting for one with the hair on from last season. Should be here any day now. Also enjoy metal detecting for gold nuggets, and desert quail, hunting.
Hey for you artifact hunters, you need to hunt AZ. during the Hava-julina season, the stuff is all over the ground. And it is justplain fun anyway. (if ya kill one, don’t gut it. just carve off the quarters, hide and all. Toss the rest.Then skin the legs with rubber gloves on. Soak in Cold saltwater 24 hrs. Then marinate in soy sauce and grill with butter basting. It is in how you take care of animals that makes them taste good. Another AZ. tip. You can hunt state trust land during all game seasons, just go right by the No Treas-Passing signs, and hunt, you can camp on S.T. land with a 25.00-yr permit up to 14, days also.
Better go for now,,,Ernest.
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