BilletHead

Great photos John. Here are some from our season. I love to watch the day wake up, BilletHead

Nice hunt John P. Gadwall are good, I got two Friday morning on a Sac river hunt setting up on a riffle. They made a nice dinner that evening. Mud you say Duane? hahahah Still iced in on ponds but when the frost and slight freeze goes off the fields it is yucky here too. BilletHead

Ummmmmmmm, looking good and tasty I bet. If I can get my carcass out of the warm bed in the morning I am inviting ducks to breakfast at dawn, BilletHead

I will have to try chard sometime. I know what you say about Anne, like the wild hair though. I am afraid if she got ahold os someone she could snap them like a twig!

Ness here is the recipie Pat used. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/sauteed-kale-recipe/index.html A bit different because we only had one type of kale and no chicken stock (used water) Plus she added some diced onions. A bit modifed from the called for stuff but very tasty. We will be eating this more often for sure. BilletHead

Yes Duane the good old TV has had an impact on our food intake. Cooking shows have been on a long time though. I remember being home from school sick and watching the galloping gourmet on daytime TV. Maybe some Julia Child. Good grief I am old. Our household cooking sometimes gets into a rut. Comfort food is the best especially some meat beat to a pulp like canada goose tenderized. Chicken fried with mashed taters and goose gravy. Side of veggies to make it healthy. I still cannot beleve I have eaten some kale and thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Bird Watcher I will have money in the new year. This thread makes me more hungry to the minute but Mrs. BilletHead has informed me we have bookoos leftovers from company to be cleaned up. Actually though there is a pot of brown beans going on too, BilletHead

Congrads and fishing will never be the same now for you. BilletHead

Sounds much better Chief or should I say with that description Chef? It sounds like we all eat real well. I have seen people literally engluf there food. I enjoy every bite, BilletHead

Yes Bacon! Bacon in the blackeyed peas today.

What a way to start the new year. I am so stoved up from the last few days I needed a day of rest but I am almost ready for more torture . The friends that had visited and hunted with us brought their chocolate labs. They are Too beat up to hunt now. Dogs are brother and sister and would not leave each others side. They have to have help at times getting up and down steps and even getting up after laying down. We have a dog and after the previous dog passed I almosd did not get this one. They become and are family not living near long enough for us. I am glad yours got to go mhowerton. BilletHead

What did everyone have? Seared mallard was our main course. Blackeyed peas and for the first time kale. Kale? When hunting with Bird Watcher yesterday he got a call from his bride to pick up kale on the way back from the hunt. Kale was stuck on my mind all night. What does it taste like or even looked like cooked? I had visions of cooked spinich, yuk can't stand the stuff. While walking in the store this morning picking up the blackeyed peas and then passing through the produce I spied the kale. Said to the Mrs. you ever ate that stuff? No was the answer but I seen Anne Burrell cook some on the food channel while you were hunting yesterday and I think I could do that. Allrighty then you can do it I replyed. This afternoon while I got the duck ready she tackled the kale. Looked ok cooking not at all like spinich, it did turn a darker green though. I decided to do a fruit glaze for the duck and started that. Apricot jam mixed with balsamic vinegar on heat reduced to a think sauce. After searing the duck we let it rest a spell to let the juices redistribute in the breast halves. Pat then sliced the duck and filled the plates and then I ladled on the sauce and the eating commenced. I will be eating kale more often now man it was good. Blackeyed peas still taste like dirt to me but if it gives me luck I will eat them once a year BilletHead

We will go again my friend! So many invited guests, at one time I got dizzy looking up at all the birds coming down. Several layers at once and all going in different directions in circles and they kept gathering materializing out of the fog and drizzle. Noisy bunch too. Good thing we left when we did as they began to gang up on us as it got later. Had to shoot our way out Thanks Bird Watcher BilletHead has cleaned the fattest birds of the season.

Neat photos Scott. I always have a camera handy as you never know what will show up. BilletHead

And we have been getting up at 5AM for what? Good going Chris! Just us guys went this morning and just as you thought no geese using our field, actually we did not see any canadas all morning. Hunted until 11:30 and brought in a group of seven mallards, got two. Then a lone suzie dropped in and did not leave. Ducks flew late. Do you all think with the full moon they had fed during the night? I have so much to learn and I have decided the ultimate is field hunting waterfowl but the window of opportunity for ducks is small. Company leaving in the morning. Will be taking the day off unless Mrs. BilletHead wants to try an evening

The Story, Got a little intel from a trapper friend of mine about a field that had alot of birds using it. So, thanks to Cody for the intel~! I had been watching the field for 4 days, every morning knowing that we had some friends coming in to hunt for a couple of days. Called Birdwatcher for some hints on how to hunt this place, as it was full of ducks and geese. It is a wheat field with some corn stubble and grassy waterways in it. Tip #1 from Birdwatcher: go get a hand cutter and cut LOTS of grass to camo your blinds! A 30 gallon trash bag per blind. I did five just in case. Now to the morning of the hunt: we got the blinds put together and the girls started using their talent to decorate the blinds with the fescue. The guys arranged the decoys-3 1/2 dozen big foots and 2 dozen full body mallards. Did I mention it was 22 degrees this am and the wind was blowing from the northwest at a pretty good clip! With everything just right, we climbed into the blinds. We were expected ducks early, but the geese were first to show up. About 60 or so geese pitched in too far out, and soon more geese and 400-500 ducks proceeded to join in the party! CRAP!!!!!! Now what??? About 20 minutes later some other hunters north of us did some shooting and all these birds got up and left! They flew around and started trickling in, and we got one duck and six geese for the next 45 minutes. Then a huge mass of ducks started swarming and dumping in; we let about 30 mallards land in front of us, and that is all we could stand. We popped up-ducks popped up, and 6 hit the dirt. After picking those up, 3 flocks of Canadas converged in front of us and they proceeded to drop in. Up we came and our remaining 6 birds crashed in front of us; and then BONUS we found two bands; and the girls quickly claimed them!! With 12 geese and 7 mallards, we decided to call it a morning. We did the internet band reporting, and found out about Pam's bird. INFORMATION FROM OUR FILES: Species: CANADA GOOSE Date banded: 07/31/2012 Banding Location: HUDSON BAY COAST, 57 SE CHURCHILL, MANITOBA, CANADA Age: WAS TOO YOUNG TO FLY WHEN BANDED IN 2012 Sex: FEMALE and then Pat's bird INFORMATION FROM OUR FILES: Species: CANADA GOOSE Date banded: 08/06/2007 Banding Location: HUDSON BAY COAST; IN BUTTON BAY, MANITOBA, CANADA Age: WAS TOO YOUNG TO FLY WHEN BANDED IN 2007 Sex: FEMALE Good times with good friends and a hunt I won't forget. First ducks over a field what a hoot! Some photos to share, BilletHead

Greaters, lessers and Richardsons

Yea baby, good day my friend. Billethead

Finally got on this palce again. Two differnt birds Report a bit later, got to wind down. It was a hoot! Thanks Chris for getting this started, BilletHead

Finally worked for me at 12:46 PM Been off for three days, whatever you did Phil thanks! BilletHead

The BilletHeads send Christmas greetings to all, BilletHead

Way to go Duane! Those greenwing with a layer of fat are some good eats for sure. Ponds icing here and after tomorrow it may get hard to hunt. BilletHead

Yep remember those also.. Had one. How about the rocket where you filled it with vinegar, had a little capsule in the bottom you put baking soda in. You tipped the rocket mixing the stuff up and quickly put it on the launcher. Waited a few seconds for pressure to build up and released the trigger. A big woosh and up it went. Oh the memories. Grew up in So. California. Had this big Church on a hill. For erosion control on the hill side iceplant was planted. We used to go to the furniture store and get a big box. Opened it up, rolled the front some like a sled and rode that sucker down the hill. It would scream to the bottom. No video games just pure imagination. I am feeling old now, BilletHead

While walking thru Harbor Freight the other day, I about broke my neck when I saw a display of aero copters. The misses says 'what the heck are those?' I said you shot them in the air and they helicopter back to earth. Heck, I remember them from the early 70's...I'm surprised they were not outlawed by some sue-happy people as you could shoot someone's eye out with them!! I used to tweek the rubber band on them to get extra height shooting them in the air. We HAVE to get those for the grandkids!!!! And we did!! Now back to yesterday when we had Christmas with our son and family...when opening their goodies, they looked at them like what the heck is this!' I told them what they were and said we would play with them later this weekend. They got shoved to the back of the pile and were forgotten. Now, to today, as we ate our goose fajitas for lunch, I told the grandkids as soon as we finished we would go out and shoot the helicopters things. They gave me a funny look, and after cleaning up lunch, we got them out. They each opened their 2 packs of whirly birds, chose a color, stick, and rubber band. They looked at the stick and rubberband like what do I do with this! I showed them how to attach the rubberband to the stick and thought to myself at their age I had made many rubberband guns and beanie flippers terrorizing the neighborhood. Boy how times have changed!! Anyway, of to the field we went; told them what they needed to do; confusion set in and with a little encouragement and further instructions the first one was launched. Giggles and screams ensued, as they rocketed skyward and twirled back down. Next thing I know the son and daughter-in-law got involved....as I realized that my son had never had one of these. I grabbed the camera and shot some photos to share!! BilletHead

Son and family here for a couple of days for Christmas visit. Got some one on one hunting with him this morning. Not many ducks again. A bit like yesterday with the wife. We both wiffed on a lone greenwing at first shooting light. Couldn't beleve it. A bit later three ringnecks sounding like fighter jets rocketed in and landed before us to the right of the spread. I asked if he wanted to take ducks home and, yes he said and with that they took off right in front of us. We dumped the trio. A bit later a single shot in and I told the son take him and with a smooth swing and a shot that bird crashed. He was elated and dad was too with his shooting. Several bunches of geese both canads and snows flying but high and going places. About 8:30 four canadas from way up cupped and came straight down farther out that I wanted but the boy got one of them. Sat a bit longer and called it quits. Picked up and let him jump a pond on the way back to the house, he got another canada to his take for the day.. Good times for father and son. A couple of photos with one missing goose, BilletHead

Big push of ducks here the 13th -17th and now thin again. I figured they would stay a few days here and towards you all more South. Where did they go? Billethead