BilletHead

Bummer Justin. We have been eating them for years. Where did you read that 5% of people get sick on them? I have many books and never have read that. How do you fix them? You will have folks scared of trying them. They are one of the most prized finds and easy to ID. BilletHead

Checked on the hens I had found yesterday. They had grown some overnight. The comb tooth had not and I also found a beard tooth very fresh. I ended up picking three hens and the comb tooth and beard tooth. Tomorrow we will do hen soup and jar up some pickled hens and peppers maybe grill some hens too. Still have hens to pick. Today we made some Hericium salad out of the beard and comb tooth. This is the first time we have tried that. Turned out like a crab meat salad. Very good and it will be a keeper. Some photos of the haul and finished salad, The BilletHeads love shrooming in the Fall

That sounds tasty Wayne. What I like about jam is its more chunky as apposed to jellies, BilletHead

We worked up some gooseberry jam yesterday. If you are going to make a mess it might as well be a big one. So we made two batches and each batch was a double size the recipe called for. So this netted eight pints and seventeen half pints. I think we might of lacked a bit of pectin in the pint batch as it did not set up too solid. Who cares it will be more spreadable. This sweet / sour treat is my favorite jam for sure. Some photos. First one the Mrs. BilletHead needed a stool to get some more height. BilletHead

Because, The hens are in. I usually wait until the middle of this month to look for hens. Sometimes I found then too far along. So this year I started a week ago. Nothing. Today was different. Found four. They are all pretty small so I will watch then and hope they will grow. One is very small. I still have three trees with nothing yet and another to be checked. Here are three of them, I also found a comb tooth, There are two on the log. I have eaten beard tooth before and this is related to them. Fixed basically the same way. I will give this one a day or two and pick it. It is only about six inches across and they do not get too large. I have waited for them to grow before and in a couple of days they have gone beyond prime.. Both of the comb tooth and beard tooth are Hericiums. Comb is coralloides and the beard erinaceus. Have picked some puffballs a couple of weeks back but they are pretty bland. I think puffballs might be a good filler stacked in a casserole as a filler. Too bland of a flavor for me, BilletHead

Will do young Man, BilletHead

Ness used the beer to marinade and then the reserved liquid added to the pot. Rps yes I am too very glad I tried it, BilletHead

Exemption Chief. Shoulder is shot. Got to do what I have to do to keep going, BilletHead

Ok I cross bowed an old doe last Sunday morning. Got her skinned, quartered up and in the spare fridge to cool down. Of course did the tenderloins up that day. Seared and nice and rare. Melt in your mouth rare and oh so good. Just a coat of olive oil and rosemary from the garden, Now to the task at hand. The tough stuff. While working up one of the rear hindquarters I just separated the muscle groups like normal. You have your generic roasts and then the lower roast like what I would call the upper shank or just the shank. Normally I would fillet out this piece in pieces working out the sinew or leaders. This would go into the grind pile. Did not want to mess with one deer right now to grind so what to do with this tuff stuff? I did not even work out the leaders this time. I am a fan of Steve Rinella the Meat Eater http://themeateater.com/category/recipe/ . I had watched a show where he had braised some shanks. So I thought I might try it. I did a search for braised venison. A plethora of recipes showed up on the internet. The one that caught my eye was posted on game and garden, http://gameandgarden.com/cooking/wildgame/braised-venison/ Now I did this pretty close to her instructions but did deviate a bit. Maybe more meat, guessed at the potatoes and also used minced jar garlic. The fresh button mushrooms were a bit big but half them I did and where the heck do you get the size of tomatoes ounces canned? So I did two small cans. also instead of red wine I used some pumpkin beer, two bottles worth overnight marinade. I like seasonal pumpkin beer like pump kick. The stuff I used was Schafly and it was a good use for it because it did not trip my taste buds. On the above recipe it is just cooked a couple of hours plus thirty minutes. I had read that to braise you need low, low heat for a longer period so I did my batch for almost six hours, yes six on the stove top. We have a simmer burner and I put it as low as it would go. The results were amazing! All of the tough cut leaders/ gristle / sinew just gelled up and disintegrated. The dish melted in your mouth. Served it with pan toasted crusty bread. This dish is a keeper and my belly is full and satisfied and Mrs. BilletHead is happy I cooked while she was at work! I should of done a step by step but did not so this is what you all get, BilletHead

You always have something neat to share with us all. Thanks for letting us make the trip with you two. One place I hope to visit, BilletHead

That Bigfoot BirdWatcher left behind did not eat much nor did it take up much room. I gave him a bath from where the cattle had played soccer with him and I did feel pretty sorry for it when those big goose tears rolled down its feathered cheeks when it was reunited back to it's flock and owner BilletHead

The hambulance, I love it. Now everyone get off my rear because I am just preparing for the porkapocalypse now. Forget the zombies. Bacon is way more scary and good. Missouri wants them eradicated, I'm just doing my part, BilletHead who loves to tape thirty rounders back to back. In all seriousness I have killed deer and coyote. AR's are fun to shoot and own. There would not be so many out there if some folks would quit saying they shouldn't be owned. Remember when you all were young? How many times were you told no but you went ahead and did it? People are getting tired of being told no,you can't and you shouldn't.

I am going to tell her you called her an ATV. Oh maybe you are referring to he as a pack mule? BilletHead who tries to keep her from not looking over my shoulder. BUT when she sees me grin she knows I'm up to something.

A decoy cart? Ness don't listen to him on that idea. We drive right to our spots by atv and trailer. Well most of the time

Yes BirdWatcher you can come. Ness would learn more from you. He may even get intrigued at some of our discussions. He may even determine we are a bit touched. Oh the possibilities.

Yes I am serious. All you would need is you and your weapon. Ask BirdWatcher I may even supply shells once and a while Drive over to Rogers sporting goods in Liberty if you haven't already. Leave money in vehicle, better yet leave money at home where it I harder to access. Keep the offer in the back of your mind, BilletHead

Ha Ness, once bitten you got the bug. Everything everyone has said. I started on geese with a half dozen decoys and one layout. It kind of snowballed from there. Just start picking brains and go, just go. Be where the birds want to be. I had a good start and was doing a pretty good job and then got to visiting with Bird Watcher. Like you have ground to go to is a big plus. I don't do the duck parks unless early teal or like last year when the middle zone opened I got desperate and crossed that line. Won't be making a habit of that. Like not to fight the crowd. Not sure what forum members are close to you up there. I may be the closest one. You can come down here and try with me. Won't even have to get your feet wet, maybe muddy though. Plus you can laugh you rear off watching me the clown in the waterfowl circus. Then you will be able to decide if this is for you before investing. As far as calls what you have and chances you will call better than I do. I bet my birds hear me and say what the heck is that and investigate. Curiosity killed the cat I mean waterfowl. Camo? All you need is Camo Bibs and a jacket. Bigger than you think you need. Wear anything under them for comfort and warmth. I tell Mrs. BilletHead this is no fashion show and who else is going to see us? BilletHead Three foot or less on my texas rigs. I'm not going any deeper. The dead birds are going to float to the other side or the do the rod and reel retrieve. Kayak if needed. I do wish Mrs. BilletHead was quicker when she gets to go to retrieve the field birds when they try to run/walk of. A duck or goose can move pretty fast on those webbed feet!

Looks yummy Scott, Will have to try it out. I may lay off the quarter cup of salt and use a tad less. We had chicken fried goose, mashed taters and goose gravy yesterday. Tonight Goose fajitas. Man we got to use this stuff up. In a couple of weeks we will have our early season. Don't have the local numbers we had from last early season but enough to get after them! Thanks again for the recipe, BilletHead

Now that is a birthday present(s) BilletHead

Two walleye, oh my what will I do? Has to be a tough situation to be in, well done and it looks yummy, BilletHead

Seen in the todays Birthdays this is Phil's Birthday, I think we should all wish him a good one and thank him again for letting us gather in this place. I see he hasn't been active since the 12th. Don't know where he is hiding but hope all is Ok. So Mr. and Mrs. BilletHead will raise a glass of (iced tea)and make a toast to our leader. Wishing you many more Phil and glad you caught up to the age of the BilletHead The BilletHead's

Fall, it almost upon us. We got our lettuce in and it looks good but a bit sparse in places. Other than that some turnips in the deer food plot. Many peppers on the assorted plants and more coming on. Hoping they hang in there so if and when the hen of the woods mushrooms come on I can pickle some and add the peppers. When I quit putting off it I am going to add another set of boards to the big planter I have the lettuce in. They are 12'X4'. I want to make a cover so I can have the greens into the upcoming winter. I have the plastic dome cover but the plastic needs replaced every couple of years and the plastic is not too cheap. The span is pretty large. I have priced Plexiglas. About 70 bucks a 4'X8' sheet. Thinking I could do three 4'X4' frames to cover the bed. I know two sheets will be pricy but last long. Have enough wood here to make the frames. I know a guy who kept lettuce all winter a couple of years back. He surrounded his bed with small bales of hay and then covered, BilletHead

Well done John P. I got out yesterday morning. Went to the duck park. Lots of birds flying too early, then a lull. After the lull the killing began. Shot five in six shots. Another lull and I picked up decoys. Paddling out it happened again. A feeding spree started. Why can't I sit still? There were groups of a hundred or more. I was the only one there too. I may go back Friday morning and then again I may not. With the temps. going up again you would need a gallon of bug spray. Maybe a thermacell? BilletHead

Hey Chris BirdWatcher, I love you too man, The BilletHeads

Sweet success JD, BilletHead