BilletHead

Big ice here. Anything above the dirt is frozen. Ice accumulated all night and this morning. Went to town earlier to visit Mom as she has taken a quick down turn last few days. On the way home high spots on the highway were getting slushy. Canada geese landing in frozen green winter wheat looking for something to eat. Temperature hanging at 32 under the porch. Wind gusts 22 mph. You can hear ice on trees crunching and a limb falling once and awhile. When wind changes to the direct north temperatures will plummet. At five this evening it is supposed to be 19. Welcome to winter finally.

I was fishing! First time I actually went to Bass Pro it was still in the liquor store 🤣.

Friends annual Winter trip to BilletHeadVille. We eat pretty good. Took Brad out today for a gadwall smackdown with a bonus Mallard. So to food yesterday Pat and I made Sichuan fragrant goose, you all have seen that before. Today it was elk. Brad and Pam did a trip to New Mexico and both shot some youngish bulls. Quartered and brought home to hang for two weeks than cut up. So while we were dinking around today in town a backstrap section was in the Sous vide bath for two hours at 131. Fired up the charcoal and crabapple wood fire. As the girls did sides. Oh my goodness so tender and good. First time for Pat and I eating elk.

I've met Kyle at the sowbug roundup in Arkansas. He had one of his boats out there. His brother in law is a really good friend of mine. Randy Haner. Randy is the friend who took us way up a creek in RMNP to catch our greenback. Randy has moved back to Missouri and is working in Springfield.

Way to go Daryk, It was a good day to start your count. You are right on Jim's jigs. Nice clean heads and color patterns. Fish catchers. I have some of them. Very creative in material use. Any of you waterfowlers out there he likes and can use some gadwall flank. I had been pretty good keeping him in some of those feathers. I don't know what is going on but have not shot a gadwall this season or the last one.

Thanks for sharing Lancer.

All these pics are worth a second look😃. Great year for sure for the Folly household. I'm betting the next year will surpass this wrap up.

A duck here a duck or two there until this morning. Permission to hunt a really old pond. Its just a puddle now surrounded by trees compared to what it used to be. There is a small lake half mile away. Big enough it can roost many birds. You can't see what is hanging around there but in your mind you know they are there. Ducks fly out of the lake to surrounding ponds every year. We have tried to hunt this pond last three days. Up at 4:30 each day. Rain or foggy as heck. We are don't have to be miserable so passed until this morning. Actually the sun was supposed to shine early. It did and mallards trickled in for an hour. Four each met their maker and our table. It was the outing we both needed. Comfortable too. We hunker under a pin oak in chairs. View from the pond towards our sitting place, Deepest place in the pond is crotch deep. Loaded up and ready for the ride back to the truck. Way too easy,

Nice Pete!

Hard to follow up the Ness meal! For our daily meal we did dirty rice. Yeah that is all. Meat, veggies and rice in one meal. The dirty part was goose heart gizzard and livers. Big bowl full!

Ummm fruitcake 😂!

Bite your tongue, no rain please. I realize it kept us inside and visiting between the showers though.

Pretty good! Now taking whales will open another can of worms. There are not many countries taking whales anymore. Guess we need something sustainable like a bean or vegetable oil.

Pat says (she's been known to change her mind) we will be bringing venison sauce piquant or venison chipotle meatballs. Meatballs will sauced up well. I have brought the sauce piquant to jig fest before. I know Phil and @Ham liked it down there. I'll try to get some cheese smoked also. Pat said if it's anything like last year nobody is going to starve. 😆

Pressure with percussion as a matter of fact.

That is a fact.

Merry Christmas to my foodie friends, This might tire you but I could eat this weekly if not more. We were blessed once again with some mallards. Time to eat fresh so Christmas meal. The best two drake breasts were seasoned and the skin was crosshatched. Then into the sous vide @130 while we watched the chiefs victory. I started the charcoal as Pat started the sides. Charcoal ready I added some crabapple wood. On went the duck. There is something magical about smoke and fire. A primitive thing. We had the new of the sous vide and that smoke and fire. The transformation to nourishment, Then the neighbor showed up with something sweet she had made, neighbors can be a good thing even though a half mile away. I'm full 😁.

Along the lines of this discussion, I knew it was just a matter of time. 😄

After our body recovery we see things like this in a different way.

Cool! I think they are pretty safe here in the United States as long as they are not close to a coastal natural disaster potential and if we are not in a war. The other plus would be a warm water winter fishing situation.

Great question. This answer is what I want. Harnessing solar and wind is still a good thing. Hydro is pretty clean I guess but depending on precipitation we get. Drought years have a big impact. What does everyone think about nuke plants. Risk vs reward?

I was asked if I would do that, plan is I am. If it rains like it did last year I might need a spot indoors. My antler billets and pressure flakers don't like wet.

Nothing new just going to manage my time for fishing better.

No sir. Many Walmart stores are doing it.

I posted for info for everyone to read. I have no dog in the fight. I'm not sure if it is greener than fossil fuels. I know they need oil and products made from oil so that will still need to be available forever. I do know using wind and solar is a good thing but in the long run does it pay off?