This should delight all of our duck hunters - our newest duck hunting blind should be a real treat to hunt out of!
Reid Frederking harvested this bearded hen with Donny's help as guide last weekend. Reid is from Steeleville and at age 11 this is his first turkey! Congratulations Reid.
Clyde Neely, from Houston, Texas is on a quest to shoot a turkey in 49 states! After his Illinois bird, he has 5 states to go. What a cool accomplishment that will be. 
If I had been quicker with my camera, I would have been able to show you close to 30 deer on the east lawn! I was alerted to their presence by Gemmie's howling through the glass on the deck doors - see, Ron, she is good for something!
Jerry McGee (trainer and handler) and his wife, Ruth are shown above at the International Brittany trial a short while ago. His dog, Rujems Touch of Bourbon, aka Chug A Lug" recently secured his place in history winning the Purina Dog of the Year Award!! Jerry brought Chug to The Hunt Club about 6 years ago, where he promptly earned the nickname "Mud Dog" because he loved to roll, and roll in the mud! Well, just look at Mud Dog now!
The menu: sauteed portabellos and other mushrooms and pancetta wrapped beef tenderloins. Also, a surprise Valentine's Day dessert. Perhaps the dessert will serve to jog the urge to run out and buy a Valentine??
The beef tenderloins are being served with a bleu cheese sauce instead of the ubiquitous, boring and so predictable horseradish sauce. Happy V Day to all!
A PICTURE WORTH A HUNDRED WORDS
Check this out! I was trying to photograph the setting sun in the beautiful snowy landscape from the south deck when these ducks flew over close enough to catch them with my crummy camera! How great is that?
Only 1 more day until the end of the goose season, and the word is that the ducks are pouring in by the thousands all afternoon. Once again, photographed from the south deck.
These may look like snows to you, but cross my heart, they are ducks. I probably panned the camera a bit trying to keep them in the lens. If I had any kind of lens at all, we could have gotten a shot of their green heads!
Bill McCall of Full Draw Adventures hunted with us in October 2009 and was unsuccessful. He was in southern Illinois the last weekend of duck season 2010, which will go down in history as the coldest and the most frozen in many a year. Every lake, pond and pothole was completely frozen over. With duck hunting at a standstill, Ron said, "Come On, and give it another try!" This buck is the result of a 3 day hunt in single digit weather!. Brrrrrrr... A nice 10-pointer (missing a brow tine) Ron thinks it is a mature 4-1/2 year old. Congratulations, Bill.
Dave Zofko, Rick Stortz, Ross Warren, Steve Stedman, Curt Dutton, Tom Brittain, Jerry Danuser and Pat McCarthy spent 3 days with us during what may be the longest cold spell Southern Illinois has seen in 25 years. This morning they braved -4 temps and bravely made their way to goose pits. Admitting defeat, they trooped back to the lodge for hot coffee about 9:00 a.m. 
Pat McCarthy, & Co, from Ohio, arrived early enough for a late afternoon hunt and they had a great one. The big question is? how long were those shots and how much did the fact that they are world class trapshooters contribute to their success? How great is that?
Gemmie has got to be the bravest dog . . .You can't see him, but Ron is in the background! Dave, from Taggart, just finished a morning hunt.
The Taggart group has had a couple days of good shooting -- lots of snows and some canada's. This morning, on the heels of some snow, they had great shooting!
Julian had to help carry all the snows from the vehicle to the tagging station. He says being back to work is a good thing and many thanks for all the kind messages.
