JP's 1st Upland Hunt

 

One of my best friends from JMU that lives in Boston came into town for the Steelers v. Ravens game.  We had some time to kill on the weekend and we decided to get out to a local hunting preserve (where he didn't need a license.)  He had never hunted before and only shot a gun once in his life.  It was a beautiful day and he wanted to see Cooper in his element and try his hand at wing shooting.

 

 

 

Be very, very quiet, we're hunting wabbits

 

 

 We started out with some clay pigeons and Johnny hit a couple - probably batting around .200. But when we moved onto the birds, it was a whole new game and he was dead nuts.  One after another, he didn't miss a single bird.  The first few birds Cooper flushed were chukar and he smoked them. 

There were pheasants all throughout the property, but man were they running.  These birds were really wily and rarely held.  It was also warm with little wind, which made it tough for Cooper.  But he stuck with them and tracked them really well. 

This one flew my way

Looks like a Bond video game...for birds

Wait....Labs can point?!?

Towards the end of the hunt, we finally put a couple ringnecks up for Johnny and he was lights out on them too. There were some pretty difficult crossing shots and I was super impressed with how he swung on these birds very naturally.  Cooper did his work and fetched them quickly up. 

All in all it was a great hunt and I think we have a new wing shooter whenever he is in town.  We finished up with a couple cold Two Hearted Ales on the tailgate of the truck and then headed home.

Johnny was absolutely lights out shooting.  Didn't miss a bird!

Helltown Brewing from Mt. Pleasant, PA

Earlier in the day, we were down in the Stript District and picked up a growler of Helltown Reserve Stout.  I'd never heard of this brew, but we come to find out that it was a new local brewery in my old hometown of Mt. Pleasant, PA!  I had no clue. 

So with a few Stouts under our belt, we decided to get a little exotic and plucked the pheasants (which is a pain in the ass) to keep the skin on and then spatch-cock them so they could be grilled whole.  I'd had never prepared a bird of any kind like this and Johnny showed me how to cut the breast bone out so it could be grilled flat.  I would never have grilled pheasant breasts because they would be too dry, but the secret was that you grill it with the bones in and it keeps the bird MOIST and flavorable.  You really get the taste of pheasant and they were delicious.  Birds, beer, grilling...good day.

Here We Go Steelers!

We made our annual pilgrimage to Heinz Field, home of the greatest franchise in all of sports.  When we go, we like to go BIG, so we got end zone seats, 3 rows up and picked a hell of a smash mouth game against the hated Ravens.  It's always a tough game, but without Ben we knew it was a tall order.  I'm not going to breakdown the game,...we all know the final score, but I figured I'd post a couple pics.  We had a great time.

Pheasant Hunting with the Mud Lab

I took Cooper out for a couple hours to get him some exercise and some field work.  Even though he knows life has changed with the twins, he also knows the air is colder and its bird season.  He gives me those 'take me hunting' eyes all the time, so I am happy to help when I can. 

 

He's 5 years old now, so he really has hit his stride and we just work together in an unspoken manner.  He put up this first bird on the top of the field and made a nice long distance retrieve.  

 

It was unseasonably warm out and after the first bird, Cooper was pretty overheated.  Leave it to him to find the only mud pit on the property.  He wallowed around like a warthog and I could only laugh.

 





Cooper as a chocolate lab!

Further up the tree line, Cooper got birdy again and pointed a rooster which he flushed within range of the Benelli.  He finished up with another retrieve right at dusk before the long walk back to the truck and a cold beet. It was another great little guys outing.

Annual Sauerkraut Stomp!

Classic picture of my Pap getting cabbage for the 'kraut.

 

Late October brings the annual family sauerkraut stomping.  It all starts with finding the densest cabbage in the high country of Somerset County and my Pap and Dad's cousin, Joe, do the leg work.  This year they got 650 pounds.  My crock holds almost 50 pounds of cabbage.  I seriously have no idea what they do with the rest.

After doing some prep work for the cabbage it's ready for the shredding and then the stompin'.  Add some salt and that is pretty much it :)

Just a couple months and we're ready for some New Year's Day kraut

 

Aside from the fact this is by far the most delicious sauerkraut ever (seriously, its not even close,) the coolest thing is we have at least five generations following the same family recipe making sauerkraut.  From talking to my Pap, he made kraut with his father, who was a coal miner back in the days of the Great Depression.  Back then, preserving food for the cheap for months on end was more the necessity than having a New Year's Day pork roast feast like we use it now.  I find this pretty interesting to think about on different levels. Either way, its a tradition I hope to pass along and we'll be eating good and naturally healthy.

My Pap (Jack) and me back in 2010

 

 

My boy Jack continuing the tradition this year.  Take notes son!

2 Birds with 1 Stone

I took Cooper out for a run after work at a local State Game Lands.  The birds were really scattered and the hot weather made the conditions extremely tough.  We did more exploring than anything, but on the way out, Cooper got birdy and moments later put up a rooster that quickly fell to the 12 gauge  for an easy retrieve. 

Cooper continued to work the area and got hot again.  I wasn't sure if he was on the same bird, so I gave him some leeway.  After a couple minutes, I realized he was hot on a trail and out of my range.  I whistled for him to come back and hit him on the collar when he didn't come right back.  I was pretty mad at him and when I climbed to the top of the hill to meet him, he was running towards me about 60 yards away with a pheasant in his mouth that he caught.  Two birds with one shot.  Not bad.

Pheasant Opener!

 

 

 

Cooper locked up on point on a perfect Pennsylvania fall day

 

Cooper and I snuck out of baby duty for a little morning hunt.  We started on the water in the morning hoping to get into some wood ducks, but we didn't end up seeing one duck!  This little honey hole was always a producer, so we were a little disappointed. 

 

We then went over to the club property to do a little pheasant hunting.  It was the first day, so we waited until most of the guys were wrapped up before getting out there to avoid the other hunters.  We ran Roxie (German Shorthair Pointer) first, but we didn't get any birds in the usual spots.  We took Cooper out second and he did an awesome job.  He got hot on a rooster in the cut corn and then locked up on point.  He stayed on point for over a minute, in time for us to get set up for the shot and take a picture!  He was rock steady and the best part of a pointing lab is releasing him for the flush.  This is what separates him from the pointers.  Its so great to watch!  Cooper followed up the performance with a fine retrieve.  What a sight. 

 

We worked a treeline next and Cooper locked up on another bird and then put it up to wrap up our first morning with two birds on two shots.  Great way to start the season.

 

Early Duck Season

Cooper and I scouted out a little puddle that held some wood ducks in the evening.  We got up early and set up before first light.  The wood ducks flew in in predictable fashion and we let the first few land before finally getting two to drop in near us and we got one duck.  It was a one and done setup and the hunt was over after the shooting.  The duck I hit proved to be quite elusive and Cooper had to do quite the track job to make the retrieve. But he's one heck of a tracker and quickly found the duck.