Deer at the lodge

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!

Gone to the Dogs

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 Brittanies are holding a field trial this week at Pyramid and are enjoying evenings at The Hunt Club. Tonight is their Saturday night dinner at the lodge, so I thought a post was in order.

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!

2009-2010 Season Comes to An End

A PICTURE WORTH A HUNDRED WORDS

Jim Metter, Ken Saum, Trevor Moore, Larry Schaab and Jeff Rector had a long day, but a productive one. Now we can all clean off our decoys, hang up those waders and start dreaming about next year. Jill has already changed the sign to "Duck Hunter - Gone".

Snow Day

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!

What a pretty end to a perfectly great day. The morning goose hunters had limits of geese. It remains to be seen if all that artillery I heard this afternoon was actually productive. It is a good night for a big pot of -- bouillbase?

Missing for a while

Welcome back Brittanies. Ron enjoys a beer with Brittany Hall of Famer Ray Trimble (by the way, happy 83rd birthday, Ray) The Brittanies support The Hunt Club during their trial in late January and we appreciate it! More later on The Hunt Club member, Jerry McGee and his wife, DOG OF THE YEAR.....

Frozen Weekend Buck

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.

Trapshooters ARE Tough

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.

A couple of years ago, they shot at the Grand American in 107 degree heat. They have survived the extreme weather Southern Illinois can offer up! Tough they are!