Eric Outside

Happy B Day To My Best Friend, and My Attempt At Baking

2009-11-06T12:22:00.001-08:00

We are finally the same age! This girl makes me happier than I have ever been. She's the best example of kindness, smiling, and fun that you could ever imagine.

So when she said she wanted a chocolate cake for her B-day I decided I better do my best to get it done.

How hard could it be right? Well it turned out to be damn Hard!

I immediately thought of this cake, that I found on my, gourmet cook, sister's blog.

Well two days, lots of curse words, three times the amount of frosting to patch all the holes, and a dozen phone calls to my sister later we had this!
J shares her B-day cakes with her twin brother who is pretty cool too!

Doesn't quite look like my master chef sister's cake, but I thought it was pretty good for a first time cake baker.

Special thanks to my big sister for listening to me rant and curse on the phone for two days.

North Dakota Pheasant Hunting

2009-10-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

Day three was as great as day one and two. We hunted some great CRP. The birds were really running, but Lady still managed to pin a few of them down. She also managed to bump a few of them too. One of the many highlight was when Lady made a retrieve on a pheasant that dropped in a pond.

We hunted with our friend Tom on Thursday and he just went on and on about how well Lady obeyed, worked the cover, relocated on moving birds, and found downed birds. Needless to say Dad and I were pretty proud of our little GSP/Brittany mutt this trip.

North Dakota Day 2

2009-10-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

Every day we hunt Lady does fantastic, today was no exception. Point after point after point. The weather was a tad bit warmer and the birds were running on us. Lady did wonderous at locating birds and relocating birds after they would scoot on us. We must have had close to thirty points.

It took us a little longer to get all our birds, I guess our shooting luck wore off a bit. We also let a lot birds fly so we could keep hunting and working the dog longer. I limited out first so I became the camera man.

Below are some pics of two of my favorites, Dad and Lady.

Look at Dad's smile and tell me he doesn't just love it!

p.s. I have a confession to make. The only thing that could make this trip more perfect is if my fiance J were here. I really miss her.

North Dakota Update

2009-10-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

Dad and I we used a total of 7 shells for our 6 bird limit today. We are typically really bad shots and that is why we drive twelve hours to hunt in an area with hundreds of pheasants, we need lots of opportunity. We started hunting at about 10 and we were finished by 12. We started passing up roosters and only shot birds that Lady pointed.

Here is a pic taken from my dad's Blackberry.

Gone Hunting

2009-10-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

My Dad goes on one pheasant hunting trip a year. Years past we have always headed to South Dakota (dad likes to see lots of birds). Because of my school schedule this week made better sense to head out looking for pheasants so we are heading to North Dakota. I know you're probably thinking "that is a stinking long drive", or that "the bird numbers are way down this year in North Dakota." That is okay with us. If we see a handful of pheasants that will be more than we have at home in the great state of Utah.

We have some private ground lined up to hunt on and we are pretty darn excited. Years past we have hunted with neighbors, uncles, and cousins. This year it will just be Dad and me. It should be a great opportunity to spend some quality time together.

I almost forgot our dog Lady will be with us too.

If I can I'll update you throughout the week.

Hopefully we see a lot of this...

Endings

2009-10-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday was one of the worst days. My horse, Echo, that I raised and trained since he was born, eleven years ago, died. Echo was a horse with personality and was in his prime. Not many horses actually want to be ridden, but Echo did.

When we were together in the mountains there was a connection, peace, and understanding between the two of us that cannot be explained.

I have never felt so free at anytime in my life than I did when I rode on the back of Echo. I hope heaven has a place for a good horse.

In Search of Grouse, Trout, and Autumn Leaves

2009-09-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

September is about as glorious as could be. I've spent some days Dove hunting, Grouse hunting, Trout fishing, water skiing, working at my job, and also attending classes and doing school work. Hence my lack of posts on this blog.

My roommate pointed me in the direction of some Grouse "right out the back door of my parents cabin." Is what he said. So I scoured the hills for hours and no grouse. Later that day he called me and said he shot two with his bow in the front yard of his cabin. I guess I was just too ambitious and hiked up the mountain behind the cabin. Grouse were a bust but take a look at the view of where I started hunting.

Last friday I had the day off so I spent the afternoon chasing cutthroat trout up the canyon. Holy Cow! They were hungry for my fly. My fly was a mixture of a Beetle and an Ant with a green stripe down it's body. The fishing was incredible almost every other cast they would try to attack the poor thing. Just as I thought to myself "it couldn't get any better...", and I was right. At that moment I lost my half Beetle half Ant fly in a tree. So I tied on the next best thing an Ant. I spent the next hour flogging the stream with no luck! Here is a pic of the fly that didn't catch any fish!

For our last official Saturday of summer J and I took a ride up to Jackson Lake hoping for some Autumn leaves. We found a few leaves, but we couldn't believe how great the weather was sunny and eighty degrees. We laid a blanket out on the rocky shore and soaked up summers last rays of sun. Then we snuggled up and watched, as an afternoon thundershower bounced it's way over the Tetons. When the rain came we left, otherwise we just might have stayed in that spot and time forever.

Tonight starts the Utah Muzzleloader Deer hunt, wish me luck!

Dove Mignon

2009-09-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

Food and hunting are two of the three things I absolutely love!

A family tradition we have is that on New Years Day my Mother wraps bacon around chestnuts and then she smothers them in her homemade bbq sauce. We only have it once a year, because it is so unhealthy that if you ate it often you would die of a massive heart attack.

Today I invented a little dish I like to call the Triple Bypass! I took five of my doves that I shot on Tuesday, wrapped each breast in a whole piece of bacon, and then I stabbed them with a tooth pick. And then I smothered them in homemade bbq sauce which I invented up (after a phone call to my Mother). This would be a great appetizer and a great way to cook up your doves.

Recipe is as follows:

3 parts catsup
2 parts brown sugar
1 part soy sauce

Cover bacon wrapped doves with bbq sauce and bake at 375 for one hour.

I guess if you use enough bacon everything tastes good, but I have to say that these little buggers were spectacular. My big sister Lisa would be proud.

This week I heard a rumor of a spot in Southern Idaho that is infested with Grouse! I'll be checking it out tomorrow morning. Good luck to all of you chasing birds tomorrow!

Sunrise and Doves

2009-09-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent the day chasing doves with my uncle Dan! We had a fantastic time! We were three short of a limit, but we weren't in it for the the numbers.

The dogs worked great! Lady did a fantastic job retrieving, better than she has in years past. It never ceases to amaze me how she improves every year.

My dad started feeding a cup of Eukanuba mixed with Iams this week, so I guess that means it is officially my favorite time of year. I believe Eukanuba helps Lady's scenting ability in amazing ways. Even though it was hot and dry she found all my downed doves.

The dogs taking a dip in a watering trough and enjoying a mud bath.

This is the sweetest girl in the world helping me carry my gear inside after the hunt. I could get used to seeing her with a gun in hand and an orange vest. I really am the luckiest guy on earth.

Fresh Water Surfing

2009-08-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

P.S. We are engaged!

Weekend In Idaho!

2009-08-15T18:16:00.001-07:00

New Hunting Rig

2009-08-04T15:36:00.000-07:00

Apology to all my hunter readers, lately my blog has looked like a, "fun date ideas" blog, but today I'm sharing some pics of my newest purchase. It should haul me and the dog on many adventures.

It isn't new, but it is to me. A 1994 Toyota extended cab with a V6. Story has it that this 15 year old truck only got driven once a week, by an old guy who only drove it to the store and back. Hence the truck only has 52,000 miles. I got a sweet deal on it and sold my car the same day.

Making the switch from my car to this truck was a smart choice. Especially since my previous car was German made and I felt like I was donating my left testicle every time I had to pay the repair bill. So here is to keeping my left testicle!

Rope Swings and Teeter Totters

2009-08-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in Idaho...

Girl Can Ski!

2009-07-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to my sister Lisa and Bro-in-law for letting us join their family vacation. The water was amazing and so was the food my sister cooked while we were there!

Dang we're cute!

Playing Cowboys and Indians

2009-07-26T08:29:00.000-07:00

LOVE MY GEORGE

2009-07-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

I have loved George Strait music for as long as I can remember. I think I can sing-a-long with almost every George song (and there are a ton of them). George is coming to Utah this friday night for a concert at the Usana Amphitheater. It is rumored that he hasn't played a concert in Utah in twelve years.

A bunch of buddies and I have tickets and we are all getting pretty excited. Sunday night we all sat on the porch and tried to think of what songs he might play and we have no idea which handful he'll pick. One thing is for sure we'll be singing-a-long in the cheap seats (but the cheap seats were pretty damn expensive).

Fishless Fishing!

2009-07-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

My cousin Andy invited me up for an evening of fishing near Bear Lake, about two weeks ago. We fished Bloomington creek. It was a great time and really good to spend some quality time with my cousin. No fish for me, but Andy caught one and had a few on! Here are some pics Andy snapped of me flogging the stream.

Things We Do For Love!

2009-07-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

I love anything outside, but if there is one thing I don't do it is golf. In fact I have not been golfing since I was twelve years old. It was so bad my brothers made me stop half way through 9 holes because we were running out of balls.

Anyway things with my best friend j are going pretty good and this morning I went golfing with her brother. I told him I would go if he needed a caddy or if he wanted a good laugh. He got the later today!

Par was 35 and I scored a very generous 58 and lost about 15 balls! Needless to say we laughed a lot. I think i'll stick with shooting birds and fly fishing.

The BEST Day!

2009-07-07T10:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those days that I could sense everyone who saw j and me wished they were us!

j is my best friend and she has been away for a year and a half and now she is back, and we are making up for lost play time.

Sick Day

2009-07-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

I'm taking my first official sick day and the best part is I'm not even sick!

There are a few things in life that come before work on my list of priorities.... (okay let's be serious my "More important than work list" is pretty damn long. As it should be, right?)

Tomorrow I'll be heading to Jackson Hole.

In ode to my skipping work I want to include a snipit of a book I've been reading recently, and that was highly recommended to me by my cousins Andy and Shawn. The book is titled "Legends Legacy", by Mike Gaddis.

"... suddenly it was July. For grown-ups there was little escape. Maybe a few stolen moments under the shade of a maple tree, but there was livelihood to be won and always a thing to be done... One of the blessings of boyhood was freedom from such convention. We promptly stripped to cut-off pants, less when out of sight, and relegated hard soled shoes to the hall closet. For us the curtain was rising on another joyous season, and we answered it almost instinctively."

This is a picture of my Oldest sister Lisa and me answering the call of summer instinctively...

Here's to summer!

2009-06-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

It must be July! I'm trying to go to bed and I'm sweating because my roommates and I are too cheap to turn the AC on. I love summer!

Hang Time!

2009-06-23T22:57:00.001-07:00

Do you know the feeling you get between jumping and actually hitting the water? That is how I feel right now, and I can't sleep again!

Below are some random pics of my family's favorite rope swing. The last picture was a dare last fall...night swinging is the best!

Run!

2009-06-23T15:13:00.001-07:00

Today was one of those days that makes me want to pack my shiz and run away, to somewhere far from the reaches of cell coverage.

This morning my phone started ringing before my alarm clock went off and has yet to cease. Work was so busy I had to actually pass up a morning water ski trip with my Sister and Brother-in-law.

Now rather than continue to rack my mind with work, I'm day dreaming about where I might go to get out of cell service. Here are my top three choices (in no particular order).

My first choice is a remote back country spot on the North Slope of the Uinta Mountains. I've been going on summer fly fishing/ horse pack trips there since I was twelve.

My second choice would be a water skiing trip to Flaming Gorge. There is a little island, called King Fisher Island, that we boat out to and set up camp. Then we water ski next to a back drop of orange cliffs. At night we cook in the dutch ovens and sip Mountain Dew while we lounge in Coleman camp chairs.

My third choice would be a remote camp on Jackson Lake near the Tetons. My Sister's family and my Brother's family made this trip last year. They were kind enough to let their little brother tag along.

Where would you go to get out of cell coverage?

Sleep? What's that?

2009-06-22T23:28:00.000-07:00

Even Nyquil has lost its magical power to inflict sleep on me!

In a few rare instances do I have trouble sleeping. For example: the night before the deer hunt opens, or the night before an out of state pheasant hunt, and maybe Christmas Eve (when Santa still visited my house). Otherwise I sleep, and I do a darn good job of it.

According to me, loss of sleep only occurs the night before an adventure.

This week I'm still days away from the excitement and sleep has already lost its appeal.

Burton L. Spiller

2009-06-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to read some of the bird dog books my cousins Andy and Shawn recommend. My favorite so far is "Drummer In The Woods" by Burton L. Spiller. My favorite excerpt is the following.

Just recently an aquantance took me to the task of spending so much time afield. "Did you ever count the cost of your hunting?" he asked. "Of the time you have lost and the money you have spent?"

I replied and truthfully too, that I had never lost a moment's time in hunting: that I counted only that time lost which I spent working.

My aquantance is the type who believes every arguement is won by the person who shouts the loudest; so after he had become sufficiently out of breath to listen for a moment I told him the truth.

"You" I said, "have tended strictly to business for more than a quarter century. Sick or well, winter and summer, through storm or shine, you have missed hardly a day. You have acquired a lot of money. More money than I can ever dream of having. I hope you enjoy it, for you have paid a high price for it. A mighty high price. You think the days and weeks and months I have spent afield were wasted. Well, let me tell you this. If such a thing were possible, I would not trade even the memories of those glorious days for all the money you will ever posses."

... Can memories be measured by gold? If so than I am rich indeed.

As I read I couldn't help thinking about my first Pheasant, Lady's first point, my nephews first pheasant, my first deer, my first brook trout on a fly rod, and the list goes on and on. I wouldn't trade my memories afield for any amount of money.