I thought it might fun for everyone to post their favorite memories of our most gracious hosts. Mine, without a doubt is that Uncle C is the first one up. Getting the fire going in the wood burning stove, warming his hands on the fire or his coffee cup, big smile on his face...of course he was on vacation which is probably why he was smiling. There are not too many people who would take a week of vacation to deal with a group of muglugs (what do they call those kids in harry potter who aren't the chosen ones...but you get my drift...hunting geeks might be appropriate). So there he is, bouncing around the house, fixin coffee, makin breakfast, taking care of HB, you know, the regular morning stuff. I am thinking "its 4:something AM and I just went to bed, I'm exhausted (and probably hung over) and I haven't even hit the field yet...gotta get my boots on to let the dogs out". Then BANG! That would be the 13 degree air hitting your face when you go out the back door. There is no wind and you can look up and see something you don't see in Atlanta...stars. So the dogs do their business and you go back inside...freezing...and Uncle C lets you know the weather for the day and the fact that its a pretty MILD morning. Man, am I getting excited.
Now for you "newbies", click on the comments below the post. It opens a new window. There is a box to place your comments and if you have a google account you can login or you can leave your comments anonymously. Aunt D...I am a horrible speller and my spelling is better than my grammar...I hope you enjoy the blog if you can make it through my english (as a second language) :-)
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15 comments:
LP is right about his Uncle C, he should be nominated for sainthood! Aunt D also, but not for the same reasons.
Uncle C took vacation to cook breakfast for all of us and then he cooked supper to boot!
Aunt D put up with a grubby bunch of guys tracking about 3 tons of Nebraska MUD into her house each day we were there!
I can't really pick one thing that stands out about their hospitality, because it was always SUPERB!
However, I do remember one evening that we were supposed to be back around 5 PM for a spagetti supper, but ended up getting in around 8 or 9 PM and it was not a good scene! Of course we were totally to blame for abusing Uncle C and Aunt D's hospitality and should have had our behinds kicked around the property several times!
BUT, when you are standing around Irv's back yard opening quarts of CC and throwing the cap away, what are you gonna do? Stand there and get snockered, of course and loose ALL track of time!
However, nothing like this should happen this year as we all have personal communicators, are OLDER and WISER, and will let Uncle C know our every move and planned ETA, every day we are there!
Pain is GOOD................EXTREME pain is EXTREMELY GOOD! Also, DRUGS are good, PRESCRIPTION DRUGS are EXTREMELY GOOD!
Respectfully submitted!
HB
Favorite memories with Uncle C and Aunt D... watching Uncle C build a fire with some crumpled newspaper and sticks until it heated the whole house. I have tried that same thing many times and I fail about every time. Uncle C made it go EVERY time. I was thankful, too...cause the wind was howling outside and it was about 24 degrees but, Uncle C's skills helped thaw my toes. Also, I have always been fascinated how Aunt D could scrounge up enough food to feed a group of starving barely sober yahoo's from the south. It tasted GREAT every time...no matter what time.
Oh, I also will never forget when Aunt C had to use a razor blade to remove some #6 shot from the neck of the 'old dog'. The old dog was the victim of a wiley rooster that got up in front of the group and instead of ducking, the bird and the 'old dog' took the hit. The 'old dog' made out a lot better than the rooster. With a couple of martinis for pain killer, Aunt D went to work and removed said pellet. She didn't even flinch in the process. Neither did the 'old dog'. The shooter, however, winces every time he thinks about it... But, paybacks are hell. Seems a nun gave the shooter a full load of #7 1/2 in the back trying to down a low flying quail. Thank God for my Filson Canvas oil cloth coat. It saved Aunt D from removing about a hundred pellets!
The hunting memory I have the most of Aunt D is also about the weather. It could be snowing, sleeting, freezing rain, regular rain, foggy and 90 MPH wind all at the same time and when we're saying "geez, it looks kinda bad today", she would have a comment about our soft living in the city. Well, I must say, I resemble that remark! And then there is that whole goat thing...that has seemed to turn into a great business. One more thing, she does like a little Cornhusker Football. Did NE field a team this year? Didn't see them in the top 25. How bout them DAWGS!
Kinda off track but remember "Dog". Irv's dog. When he would bark, Irv would hit him right in the head with a pair of plyers. Ouch! Talk about man's best friend. You hit me in the head with the plyers one time and I'm looking for a new farm!
Irv has gone to the Big Bohunk Bar in the sky. I'm sure Dog was waiting for him when he got there. There'll be some payback though when Irv discovers that God is a canine.
Pity Irv has gone to the great bohunk bar in the sky! It would be great to stand around in his yard and "toss" tops into the milo behind the "barn"!
That story about dog is a classic! But when he was whacked with the pliers Dog quit barking, didn't he?
Every story reminds me of a different one and all good!
But, enough of the "war stories" there simply isn't enought time or space! And, some, as one already has been, would be too risky to post and be removed by the blog administrator.
Didn't realize that Aunt D had turned her goat hobby into such a thriving business!
I am sure Uncle C is deeply involved in the milking, grooming and cheesing too?
Hope LP and JB "kill" lots of clay birds tomorrow, wish I could be there!
HB
Thirty days is all we have left to get things ready for the hunt. Actually, I have cut that to 28 days because I have to include travel time before we get there. In summary, I have my license ordered, my boots are breaking in, the clay pigeons have been broken and the dog trailer is coming back to life. Basically, I have stripped it back to bare metal and repaired and replaced anything that didn't hold up. So far...the dog box has had to be re fiberglassed in a few places on the bottom. The plywood under the dog box will be replaced completely...no salvaging that. It took the fall for everything. So far, I have replaced almost 100 rivets to stabilize the box. Also, the front box has been given the once over and the only problem discovered was a front lower corner that was damaged by water rot. I am removing the unsalvageable material back to good wood and will back fill the area with pressure treated wood and reseal it with fiberglass. The front of the box has been tidied up with a piece of aluminum angle which helps hold the "flashing" material in place. In addition, all unnecessary hardware has been removed to enable a good sanding and camo repainting to match the rest of the trailer. The lights have been mounted and the wiring has been purchased and I should be able to hook it up this weekend. Still to come, new tires, bearing packing, wiring the lights, and final camo painting. Trust me, it will be ready for the trip. Also, thanks to SP for kicking in on the rehab funds. Even though I don't have a dog in the hunt, I believe we will appreciate the benefits that the trailer will provide during the hunt. UUUUUUUHHHHHHH RRRRAAAAAHHH!
Damn, JB!
Sounds like a labor of love to me!
Sorry I wasn't able to help but if it is as you say it WILL do the job!
I may have to re-evaluate my opinion of "trailer boy" and his abilities!
It is gonna be a blast!
Pain is good and extreme pain WILL BE extremely good! I only HOPE I can stand it!
I purchased 1.75 liters of Ancient Age bourbon, 1 liter of 5 Star and 1 liter of 7 Star Metaxa and 24 bottles of Pilsner Urquell today for the trip!
Also, received by UPS today 2 boxes of 3 inch magnum 12 gauge #6 and # 7 1/2 shot for the new Remington artillery. It is gonna be a "turkey shoot"!
Also, I have MANY boxes of "bullets" for both my "old" 1927 and NEW 2008 12 gauge bullet shooters!
The wily ringneck cock pheasants (and "youn roosters") do not stand a chance with the "old dogs" and Mi CORONEL, USMC Retired, taking the field against them!
Uhhhhhh.................Rah!
HB
eWhile re-reading the posts about Irv, dog and the past exploits of the USOPHT, in and around Wilber, NE., I couldn't help but wonder about Irv's place and his son, Gino, who now owns it!
Does anyone think that we might approach "Gino" and seek his approval to hunt the famous "plum thicket", if indeed it still exists?
It would be my opinion, having met "Gino", that it would be much akin to "urinating into the wind" to try and get his approval to hunt "his" pheasants on the land that once belonged to his father!
I might be wrong but I will acquiesce to the older and more experienced opinion of "old dog" regarding this point!
The "plum thicket" was and will always be a "sweet" spot to hunt the "wily cock pheasant"!
Respectfully submitted!
HB
You know, sitting here tonight reading all the posts to LP's blog, I am apalled at the lack of input from the newbies and "old team" members!
I would have hoped to hear from "Timmy", "The Nun" and the husband of Lisa P! Especially, "Timmy"! A staunch and stalwart charter member of the USOPHT!
Of course, Mi Coronel's "dressing down" of "the husband of Lisa P" could , in itself, be enough to prevent him from participating in the blog, IF invited!
However, I am not sure he has EVER understood the Coronel's vilification of his actions that cold November evening in Martell, NE! Of course, that woulkd be a shortcoming in his upbringing!
It is a sad thing when persons are allowed the opportunity to show their true colors and fail SO MISERABLY!
Sad, also, is the fact that so few, when given the chance, fail so miserably, as did "the husband of Lisa P"!
You can have money and position (?), but seldom do you get the chance to prove your "true" worth and fail SO MISERABLY!
As has been said, so often, "you can choose your friends, but not your family"!
My condolences to Lisa P's parents and family!
Respectifully submitted,
HB
Scribe, USOPHT
The Plum Thicket, alas, was no more the last time I was in the vicinity. Only a huge pile of uprooted brush remained where once stood an Eden of refuge for the Wily Pheasant, the Ubiquitous Quail, and myriad other wildlife denizens of the plains. But my last visit was several years ago; perhaps the pheasant god, in his wisdom, has caused the plum bushes to reconstitue themselves. We should visit the site to investigate.
It is indeed a sad situation that the plum thicket is no more, but while reading SP's latest note i seem to remember that when last we saw Irv he had said something about the "owners" wanting to expand the farmed acreage and he was afraid that the thicket would be plowed under. And, I don't think it will have regrown in just "several" years. I would bet the old thicket was 25 or more years in the making!
However, why would someone simply bulldoze the thicket into a pile and leave it? Doesn't make sense! You can't farm a brush pile and the living thicket is outstanding cover for all sorts of wildlife.
Having met and talked with Gino, I wonder if the thicket situation was his doing as a "gentleman" farmer?????
The "romantic" side of me has always wanted things to stay always as I remember them but the sad facts of life are that is not to be! Life goes on, things change and people go the "great pheasant hunt" in the sky!
You know it might be fun, if we could find it, to pour a libation or two over Irv's "resting place"! I suppose he is resting in the cemetery in Wilbur, where they keep all the "cancelled" Czech's!
HB
We all have great memories of what happened and what we did. However, I believe that this will be the trip that we WRITE history instead of talking about it. We have the knowledge of the "old dogs". We have the energy of the "new dogs" and we have the youth and exuberance of Scooby and Bubba. Believe me...this will be a trip that will be different from the rest. It will be an honor to visit the old spots, but it will be a rite of passage to find the new places (like the Colonel's new 'honey hole'). I believe that we will see new things on this trip. We will remember the great things of the past...but we will look forward to the possibilities of the future. It is not..."Been there, Done that"...it is "we will BE THERE and DO THAT!" Both things are the essence of the hunt with the team.
On another subject, the dog trailer is coming down the 'home stretch' on the rehab. The front box has been repaired and repainted with the camo design. The chassis has been completly repaired and repainted. The dog box has been repaired and has not been completely repainted, yet. Still to come, the repacking of the bearings and the replacement of the tires along with the hookup of the wiring. In addition, I received my non res license today, my new boots are comfy, my ammo cache is full, my guns are cleaned, my clothes still fit and I am ready to POP A CAP IN A ROOSTERS ASS!!!! OOOOOOOOHHHHH RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!!!
A word of caution to all!
While this will be a grand trip, let's NOT get to "over excited" about the trip!
There will be, as JB says, new and exciting events to add to the glorious history of the USOPHT, but over hype and planning could have a negative effect.
I definitely think Mi Coronel's suggestion of having him and "old dog" "scout out" the "honey hole" on the day before opening day is a grand idea. My only hope is that they not take any "refreshment" with them to anoint the field and pour libations to appease the great "cock pheasant", as well as over lubricate themselves while scouting!
I haven't started to get "huped" yet because of our impending departure for Great Britain next Sunday, but I am sure the adrenaline will start to kick in when we return on the 15th.
I suppose you might say it already has, by the amount of shopping I have done over the last several months, with the new shotgun, all the new "bullets", the new camo hunting jacket, and NEW BOOTS, (camo of course) Red Head 600 gram thinsulate. I pretty much feel this is patently riduclous behavior for a nearly 72 year old man. But I have to do MY part to keep the economy sound.
Looking more and more toward making the trip!
Respectively submitted
HB
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