Sorry I have been missing this past week. There has been a lot of things going on, some good and some bad.
The majority of the events involved family and extended family. Everyone is fine but taking care of things meant coming home from work each day and leaving to go and help family members and not getting home until very late.
This left me with no time to post and since I didn't have anything written ahead of time, I was left with no new content for the blog.
But, that is okay. Blogs come second to family needs.
I think that one thing all of us have in common is that family comes first and all else is secondary.
I hope to get back to work posting next week.
See you all soon.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Greatest Enemy of Women Whitetail Deer Hunters?
What or who is the greatest enemy of women whitetail deer hunters?
TIME!
Our lives are so busy and hectic that finding the time to hunt deer can be a real challenge.
I think that women hunters find it more difficult than our men counterparts.
Women, by nature, are the caretakers of the family. We take care of the children, our partners, the family pets, shop for groceries, cook, do laundry, clean, balance the checkbook and in many cases, work a part-time or full-time job.
Now guys, before you get mad at me, I know that you work hard too and that you have your own chores that need to be done to insure that the family functions like a well-oiled machine. You shovel snow, cut the lawn, perform maintenance on the house, take out the garbage and work a part-time or full-time job.
But, someone has to keep the home fires burning during hunting season and it is usually the woman who stays home to take care of the kids while Dad goes deer hunting.
It is easy for me, I have no children, no pets, and nothing except my job to compete for my time. I take at least three days off during firearm whitetail deer season. Combine that with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and normal weekends and I usually get to hunt between 8 to 10 days of the 15 day firearm season.
I consider myself one lucky woman.
So, my question is, who takes care of everything while you go hunting? Let us know.
See you next week "Around The Campfire".
TIME!
Our lives are so busy and hectic that finding the time to hunt deer can be a real challenge.
I think that women hunters find it more difficult than our men counterparts.
Women, by nature, are the caretakers of the family. We take care of the children, our partners, the family pets, shop for groceries, cook, do laundry, clean, balance the checkbook and in many cases, work a part-time or full-time job.
Now guys, before you get mad at me, I know that you work hard too and that you have your own chores that need to be done to insure that the family functions like a well-oiled machine. You shovel snow, cut the lawn, perform maintenance on the house, take out the garbage and work a part-time or full-time job.
But, someone has to keep the home fires burning during hunting season and it is usually the woman who stays home to take care of the kids while Dad goes deer hunting.
It is easy for me, I have no children, no pets, and nothing except my job to compete for my time. I take at least three days off during firearm whitetail deer season. Combine that with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and normal weekends and I usually get to hunt between 8 to 10 days of the 15 day firearm season.
I consider myself one lucky woman.
So, my question is, who takes care of everything while you go hunting? Let us know.
See you next week "Around The Campfire".
Monday, June 15, 2009
Whitetail Deer Hunting - Scent Control
You may notice that I called this post “Scent Control” not “Scent Elimination”. It just is not possible to totally eliminate your scent.
Years ago when my Dad and Grandpa hunted whitetail deer, they never even heard of such a thing as scent control. Sure, they hunted with the wind direction in mind but there was very little that they could do to mask their scent. Grandpa probably didn’t even concern himself with it as he liked to puff away on his pipe while hunting. The deer must have like the smell of Prince Albert because he usually got a deer.
Today, scent control products and clothing are a multi-million dollar industry but do these products work?
My answer is YES, because I’ve used them and found them to be very effective. But many hunters would argue that they really don’t work all that well and are just a big waste of your hard-earned money.
When I first began bow hunting, I read everything I could find on the subject. The main point of every article was that to be successful the hunter had to take steps to control and eliminate as much of his/her human scent as possible.
So I religiously washed every single piece of clothing (including underwear) that I was going to wear hunting, in scent-free detergent. I stored the clothes in an air-tight container with these dryer sheets that smell like dirt. (And yes, they really smell just like dirt, it is amazing.)
The day I planned to hunt, I washed my hair in scent-free shampoo. Just before I was going to hunt, I washed every inch of my skin with special scent-free soap designed to kill the bacteria (that make you smell like a human) on my skin. I used scent-free deodorant under my arms and on my feet to keep them from sweating in my hunting boots.
I dressed as quickly as possible in my scent-free hunting clothes. I then sprayed the bottom of my boots with cover-scent and also my hunting backpack and bow and arrows.
I went out to my hunting spot and sat on a stool in a ground blind I had made out of some brush. I had set out some corn and apples about 12 yards in front of my blind.
I had been sitting for awhile when I thought I heard something walking behind me and to my left, the dry fallen leaves crunching with each step. As I sat perfectly still, not daring to breathe, a small doe passed by me within about eight feet. She walked directly to the spot where I had put out the corn and apples and began to eat.
Finally, after sitting so still for so long, I had to move just a little to ease a cramp in my back.
The doe either heard or saw me move and stared right at me. I froze.
Suspicious, the doe walked toward my blind and stopped. She kept staring at me. Slowly, she began to walk to my left, circling the low brush of my ground blind. Every few steps she would stop and look right at me.
She passed out of my sight but I could hear her walking slowly behind me and then to my right as she circled me.
Ever so slowly, I turned my head to my right and found myself eye-to-eye with the doe about five feet from me. I didn’t even dare blink.
For what seemed an eternity, we stayed that way. Finally, she moved back to her meal of corn and apples and I could breathe.
It was then obvious to me that it was my slight movement that had triggered her suspicious response and not my smell.
She had circled my blind and was never further away than six to eight feet but she didn’t smell me at all.
The scent control products that I had used had really worked.
The experience had taught me a valuable lesson about whitetail deer. They use all of their acute senses to alert them to danger; sight, hearing and smell.
To be successful, a woman whitetail deer hunter must do her best to eliminate her human smell and blend into the forest.
If you choose to hunt from a ground blind rather than a tree stand, it becomes even more important. Some experts believe that a whitetail deer can detect human scent from as far away as a half a mile.
There are many scent control products to choose from but I prefer Hunter's Specialties Scent-A-Way™. They make a complete line of products to help you control your human scent without breaking the bank.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The Deer Cam
Send me your favorite photos of whitetail deer
at whitetailsforwomen@live.com and I'll publish them
on Saturday's "The Deer Cam".
at whitetailsforwomen@live.com and I'll publish them
on Saturday's "The Deer Cam".
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Venison and Noodles
This recipe is one that my friend Arlene created and she makes it for big gatherings of her family. It will feed about twenty people.
Ingredients:
Venison Roast or Venison Steaks
Garlic Salt
Three Large Onions, quartered
No Salt Seasoning
Noodles - homemade or two or three packages of the big fat ones you can buy in the frozen section of the market.
Put the venison roast or steaks and the onions in a crockpot and add seasonings. Cook overnight on low.
In the morning, break up the roast or steaks into small pieces and put it back in the crockpot. Add water to cover the meat and cook on high for two hours to make a nice rue. (I had to ask what rue is and it means like a gravy).
Boil the noodles and when the meat is done, put the noodles in a large roaster and pour the meat and rue over the noodles. If you don't have enough rue to sufficiently cover the noodles, add two beef bouillon cubes to a cup or two of water and add that to cover the noodles.
Heat in the oven at 200 degrees until you are ready to serve.
I can't be more specific about some of the amounts because like all great cooks, Arlene prepares dishes by how they look and taste along the way. She tastes it and adds a pinch of this and that until it's just right or looks at how much meat and rue she has and then decides if it needs more liquid or not.
But, this is a great dish and Arlene's family really loves it. She took a big roaster full to her family reunion and it was completely gone in a heartbeat.
Many thanks to Arlene for sharing this great recipe.
Ingredients:
Venison Roast or Venison Steaks
Garlic Salt
Three Large Onions, quartered
No Salt Seasoning
Noodles - homemade or two or three packages of the big fat ones you can buy in the frozen section of the market.
Put the venison roast or steaks and the onions in a crockpot and add seasonings. Cook overnight on low.
In the morning, break up the roast or steaks into small pieces and put it back in the crockpot. Add water to cover the meat and cook on high for two hours to make a nice rue. (I had to ask what rue is and it means like a gravy).
Boil the noodles and when the meat is done, put the noodles in a large roaster and pour the meat and rue over the noodles. If you don't have enough rue to sufficiently cover the noodles, add two beef bouillon cubes to a cup or two of water and add that to cover the noodles.
Heat in the oven at 200 degrees until you are ready to serve.
I can't be more specific about some of the amounts because like all great cooks, Arlene prepares dishes by how they look and taste along the way. She tastes it and adds a pinch of this and that until it's just right or looks at how much meat and rue she has and then decides if it needs more liquid or not.
But, this is a great dish and Arlene's family really loves it. She took a big roaster full to her family reunion and it was completely gone in a heartbeat.
Many thanks to Arlene for sharing this great recipe.
B.O.W. - Becoming an Outdoors-Woman
What is B.O.W. and why is it important to women whitetail deer hunters?
According to the B.O.W. home website at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, "Becoming an Outdoors-Woman is an educational program aimed at making women more comfortable and more aware of the outdoor world around them. We encourage a supportive environment conducive to learning, making friends, and having fun."
The History
On an historical evening back in 1989, a few women were enjoying a backwoods campfire when a question was posed.
"Why do fewer women than men participate in outdoor activities like hunting, fishing and camping?"
At that campfire that evening was Dr. Christine Thomas, a natural resources professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
To try and answer the question, Dr. Thomas brought people together for a workshop in 1990. The group met for three days and identified 21 barriers that they felt prevented women from participating in outdoor activities. They found that at the core of these barriers was the fact that many women had no basic outdoor skills and as a result, women lacked the confidence to engage in hunting, fishing or other outdoor pursuits.
To try to help women learn these skills, the very first BOW workshop was held in 1991. The 100 woman workshop quickly filled and there was a waiting list. That first workshop taught basic outdoor skills for beginners, with a focus on hunting and fishing.
The first BOW workshop was a huge success and since then, at least 44 states and most of the Canadian provinces have implemented the BOW program. Over 20,000 women attend BOW workshops each year.
BOW Director, Peggy Farrell, says that "the growth of BOW means we are reaching more women and providing them with a venue to learn not just outdoor skills, but also more about themselves. Women all across the country have told us, BOW changed my life."
Beyond BOW
BOW is expanding as program coordinators are offering actual pheasant turkey and whitetail deer hunting experiences, guided fly fishing tours, caving excursions, sea kayaking and more.
The idea here is that while a BOW workshop may teach a woman how to shoot a shotgun or a rifle, where does she go from there? Beyond BOW offers the next level of outdoor experience in the form of an actual guided hunt.
Support for BOW
Funding for BOW is provided by state natural resources departments. the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Shooting Sports Foundation and other organizations. Additional funds come from the fee paid by women to attend.
Outreach
BOW is also researching ways to involve women with disabilities in outdoor activities. "We know that women who attend BOW workshops gain self-confidence and self-esteem in addition to outdoor skills".
Workshops
A typical BOW workshop offers a mix of outdoor activities spread over a three-day weekend. Meals, lodging, equipment and instruction are provided for the participants as well as some type of evening entertainment.
Here in Michigan, for example, the Upper Peninsula Summer Workshop for June 5 - 7 has been filled for quite a few months. The cost is $175 and that includes instruction, materials, lodging and meals. Participants choose six activities from a list of 28 and are asked to rate them on a scale from 1 to 6 based on preference. The program coordinators then attempt to place each woman in her top four preferred activities.
Choices include shotgun, handgun, muzzleloader and rifle, wilderness survival, outdoor cooking, birding, rock climbing/rappelling, and many, many more. They all sound like great fun.
Why is BOW important to women whitetail deer hunters? Because BOW workshops and Beyond BOW give women the skills and confidence to actually try deer hunting and join the ranks of the women whitetail deer hunting nation.
How can you help? If you know a woman who might be interested in learning a new outdoor activity tell her about the BOW program and encourage her to try a workshop.
Finding A BOW Workshop Near You
More information on the BOW program can be found on the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman website. The information provided here was taken from the BOW homepage and from the Michigan DNR website-Becoming an Outdoors-Woman webpage. My thanks to those websites for the use of their information
According to the B.O.W. home website at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, "Becoming an Outdoors-Woman is an educational program aimed at making women more comfortable and more aware of the outdoor world around them. We encourage a supportive environment conducive to learning, making friends, and having fun."
On an historical evening back in 1989, a few women were enjoying a backwoods campfire when a question was posed.
"Why do fewer women than men participate in outdoor activities like hunting, fishing and camping?"
At that campfire that evening was Dr. Christine Thomas, a natural resources professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
To try and answer the question, Dr. Thomas brought people together for a workshop in 1990. The group met for three days and identified 21 barriers that they felt prevented women from participating in outdoor activities. They found that at the core of these barriers was the fact that many women had no basic outdoor skills and as a result, women lacked the confidence to engage in hunting, fishing or other outdoor pursuits.
To try to help women learn these skills, the very first BOW workshop was held in 1991. The 100 woman workshop quickly filled and there was a waiting list. That first workshop taught basic outdoor skills for beginners, with a focus on hunting and fishing.
The first BOW workshop was a huge success and since then, at least 44 states and most of the Canadian provinces have implemented the BOW program. Over 20,000 women attend BOW workshops each year.
BOW Director, Peggy Farrell, says that "the growth of BOW means we are reaching more women and providing them with a venue to learn not just outdoor skills, but also more about themselves. Women all across the country have told us, BOW changed my life."
BOW is expanding as program coordinators are offering actual pheasant turkey and whitetail deer hunting experiences, guided fly fishing tours, caving excursions, sea kayaking and more.
The idea here is that while a BOW workshop may teach a woman how to shoot a shotgun or a rifle, where does she go from there? Beyond BOW offers the next level of outdoor experience in the form of an actual guided hunt.
Funding for BOW is provided by state natural resources departments. the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Shooting Sports Foundation and other organizations. Additional funds come from the fee paid by women to attend.
BOW is also researching ways to involve women with disabilities in outdoor activities. "We know that women who attend BOW workshops gain self-confidence and self-esteem in addition to outdoor skills".
A typical BOW workshop offers a mix of outdoor activities spread over a three-day weekend. Meals, lodging, equipment and instruction are provided for the participants as well as some type of evening entertainment.
Here in Michigan, for example, the Upper Peninsula Summer Workshop for June 5 - 7 has been filled for quite a few months. The cost is $175 and that includes instruction, materials, lodging and meals. Participants choose six activities from a list of 28 and are asked to rate them on a scale from 1 to 6 based on preference. The program coordinators then attempt to place each woman in her top four preferred activities.
Choices include shotgun, handgun, muzzleloader and rifle, wilderness survival, outdoor cooking, birding, rock climbing/rappelling, and many, many more. They all sound like great fun.
Why is BOW important to women whitetail deer hunters? Because BOW workshops and Beyond BOW give women the skills and confidence to actually try deer hunting and join the ranks of the women whitetail deer hunting nation.
How can you help? If you know a woman who might be interested in learning a new outdoor activity tell her about the BOW program and encourage her to try a workshop.
Finding A BOW Workshop Near You
More information on the BOW program can be found on the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman website. The information provided here was taken from the BOW homepage and from the Michigan DNR website-Becoming an Outdoors-Woman webpage. My thanks to those websites for the use of their information
Monday, June 8, 2009
Great Software for Organizing Your Whitetail Deer Photos
We women whitetail deer hunters love anything that's free, easy to use and saves us time, and Google's Picasa photo software sure fits the bill.
What is Picasa? Picasa is a free software program, that organizes, edits, and shares your digital photos.
I found Picasa totally by accident.
Overwhelmed by the hundreds of digital photos stored in various locations on my computer, I longed for a simple and easy way to see and find all of my photographs.
I had tons of photos from my digital camera and hundreds of whitetail deer photos from two different trail cameras. When I needed to find a photograph to use in a blog post or to share photos with family and friends, it was nearly impossible.
The Kodak Easyshare software that came with my digital camera was supposed to help me organize my photos but I found it to be a piece of junk, sorry Kodak. Kodak has great digital cameras but the software that comes with them is horrible.
So while surfing the internet looking for something that would help me store and easily find my photos, I stumbled on a review of Picasa. It sounded like exactly what I needed so I went to the Google Picasa site to check it out.
The program download was simple and easy. When I opened Picasa for the first time, it instantly found all of my photographs and pictures and indexed them.
Picasa displays your photographs almost like you were laying them out on a table. In the large right-hand pane you can see 20 to 30 photographs at a time and you can easily scroll up or down through your photos. In the left-hand pane is a list of the folders where those photographs are stored on your computer. Clicking on a photo in your right-hand display highlights the file folder where the photo is stored.
Picasa has many great features.
It is fully integrated with Google Blogger and you can instantly upload photos to your blog posts from the program through the "Blog This" icon.
You can publish your photos online to share with family and friends and Picasa Web Albums gives you 1 gigabyte of free online storage.
You can backup all of your photographs to a CD or a DVD (if you have lots). Picasa remembers which photos were previously backed up so you don't store them again.
Although Picasa doesn't have the photo editing power of Adobe Photoshop, it does a great job and doesn't cost $700.
Picasa has other neat features like Geo-tag to integrate with Google Earth and show your photos on a global map.
Picasa is really powerful and easy-to-use software and best of all, it's free.
So check out the Picasa Features and Download Picasa.
What is Picasa? Picasa is a free software program, that organizes, edits, and shares your digital photos.
I found Picasa totally by accident.
Overwhelmed by the hundreds of digital photos stored in various locations on my computer, I longed for a simple and easy way to see and find all of my photographs.
I had tons of photos from my digital camera and hundreds of whitetail deer photos from two different trail cameras. When I needed to find a photograph to use in a blog post or to share photos with family and friends, it was nearly impossible.
The Kodak Easyshare software that came with my digital camera was supposed to help me organize my photos but I found it to be a piece of junk, sorry Kodak. Kodak has great digital cameras but the software that comes with them is horrible.
So while surfing the internet looking for something that would help me store and easily find my photos, I stumbled on a review of Picasa. It sounded like exactly what I needed so I went to the Google Picasa site to check it out.
The program download was simple and easy. When I opened Picasa for the first time, it instantly found all of my photographs and pictures and indexed them.
Picasa displays your photographs almost like you were laying them out on a table. In the large right-hand pane you can see 20 to 30 photographs at a time and you can easily scroll up or down through your photos. In the left-hand pane is a list of the folders where those photographs are stored on your computer. Clicking on a photo in your right-hand display highlights the file folder where the photo is stored.
Picasa has many great features.
It is fully integrated with Google Blogger and you can instantly upload photos to your blog posts from the program through the "Blog This" icon.
You can publish your photos online to share with family and friends and Picasa Web Albums gives you 1 gigabyte of free online storage.
You can backup all of your photographs to a CD or a DVD (if you have lots). Picasa remembers which photos were previously backed up so you don't store them again.
Although Picasa doesn't have the photo editing power of Adobe Photoshop, it does a great job and doesn't cost $700.
Picasa has other neat features like Geo-tag to integrate with Google Earth and show your photos on a global map.
Picasa is really powerful and easy-to-use software and best of all, it's free.
So check out the Picasa Features and Download Picasa.
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