Geese counts going to be low in Idaho next season!

Taken from Fox News:

About 2,000 migrating snow geese died recently in Idaho from a disease that could kill birds in mid-flight, wildlife officials say.
Staff and volunteers from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game picked up dead birds over the last several days at wildlife management areas near the towns of Terreton and Roberts.
The agency said the cause of death is likely from avian cholera, which can cause convulsions and erratic flight.
Authorities said the snow geese, which are known for their white bodies and black wingtips, were migrating from the Southwest and Mexico to their breeding grounds in Alaska.
It's unclear where they picked up the bacteria, said Steve Schmidt, a regional Fish and Game supervisor. "Outbreaks of avian cholera have occurred sporadically in the region over the past few decades," he said in a news release.
"The important thing is to quickly collect as many of the carcasses as possible, to prevent other birds from feeding on the infected birds," Schmidt said.
There were also about 20 eagles in the Terreton area as well, Mud Lake Wildlife Management Area biologists said. However, it was unclear if they were exposed.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center, avian cholera spreads so quickly in infected birds that some with no previous signs of illness can die while in flight and fall out of the sky.
Health experts say humans are not at a high risk of infection from the bacteria that causes avian cholera.
Nearly 10,000 snow geese pass through Idaho each March to rest at the state’s wildlife areas, Schmidt said. They usually spend 2-3 weeks to feed on waste grain at nearby wheat fields.
He said Tuesday he had no reports of deaths of other snow geese from similar areas in other states.
Schmidt said among the dead birds was a dead trumpeter swan, which he said likely also died of avian cholera.

Viva Sayulita! (Finale)

The last few days of this trip was pure silliness.  It started off with an all inclussive eating/drinking trip to an island.  Yup, on a 56 ft. catamaran to a protected island that is the breeding ground for Boobies.  Blue Footed Boobies.  We set sell (sp.) at 9 a.m. with margarita's/bloody mary's in hand.  Moments later we were in the mix of a Humpback Whale breeding pod.  Absolute craziness having this size of an animal literally 'fucking' around your boat.  Not to be rude, but I was seriously to hard to go grab my camera.  The boat submerged an underwater microphone for a few moments to listen to the 'justice at hand' and we continued offshore (country regulations).  2 hours later, we arrived at the island and were given strict instructions on our impedement.  We swam through a cave that gave us access to the beach (of the center of the island) and were surrounded by the cliffs of the 100 yd circular island that is the breeding ground of the Blue Footed Boobie.  All I could think about was my shotgun.  To have this endagered species stuffed and mounted next my Bald Eagle is the dream of all white trash Americans!  Because the tourism money is so fierce, the crew disbanded the 'no drinking zone' and continued back to the mainland.  This is where it get's sappy for a second......on the way back, we were encompassed by a pod of dolplhins.  Ya, I had a drink in hand while sitting on the bow (trampoline section of the catamaran) and the dolphins were right underneath me surfacing and playing.  Totally 'gee', but I'll remember for the rest of my life.
Out for drinks on the last night, we ended up at the favorite Italian/Mexican Fusion Restaurant of our picking.  Luca, the owner of the restaurant, fed us his own prized tequilla.

We made a bet....we ate fermented Agave (texture of membrillo)

and deciphered a cheese pairing.  I said triple cream....he rallied with Pecorino Remano.  I lost.

Therefore, I drank 6 oz. of his tequilla with a spoon.  Who lost?

Not many people enjoy coming back from a vacation like this, but I did.  I got back back at 10 p.m. knowing I had to be at work at 4 a.m. the following morning.  But when I got back, I was showered with 2 hours of love by...

.....Cliffy's best friend.

Viva Sayulita! (part dos)

After day 3...2...7...whatever, I had secured a 26 ft Panga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panga_(boat)) to take Johnny V and I out on the open ocean. We arrived at the beach at 7:15 a.m. and watched our 'panga' get pushed into the ocean, off of the beach, by an F150 that had a surfboard attached to the bumper for cushioning.  Our guide Francisco (or something like that), took us to little inlets and threw out his circular net to catch sardines to use as bait for the day.  His casting motions for live bait were unmatched by today's technologies of lures and flies.  A sight of pure impressiveness!  He took us out and explained that Mahi Mahi fishing had been slow this past week with the amount of commercial nets that had been raking the ocean.  He suggested that we go for Mackeral as the action was 'bueno'.  Being hung over and speaking no Spanish, Johnny V and I gave the nod.  A 25 minute boat ride put us in the heart of the Mackeral catch (along with the other 50 pangas that were in the loop) south of Sayulita.  As I was loading up a 10 weight fly rod for my first cast, Francisco (or whatever) screams Mahi Mahi..Mahi Mahi!  His buddy (on another panga) called him on his cell phone (yes, cell phone) and said he spotted a pod of Mahi Mahi outside a school of tuna that was surfacing on a bait ball of sardines about 4 miles offshore and north of the town of Sayulita.  50 minutes later, we were in the heat.  Hundreds of Bonito Tuna (tuna about 2-3 feet long) were salivating and going nuts.  I've only seen this kind of shit on the Discovery Channel.  Francisco (or whatever) baited us up and we were on the hunt.  I say hunt because that's what it is was.  He was throwing live sardines from the panga all around our line, screaming Mexican slures....pure amazement I was in.  Next thing I know, Johnny V and I have 3 Bonito Tuna and 1 Mahi Mahi in the boat on ice.  As the fishing slowed and the bait ball was devoured, I could only think about the dinners I was about to cook.....that's when Francisco (I think that was his name) said "eh, let's go fish for some Red Snapper".  Um.....ok!  So, we caught 5 Red Snapper's and headed in.  He carved all of our fish to my specifications and we headed up the hill to throw the fish in our fridge.  The next 3 night's were:
-Chip's, Guacamole, Mahi Mahi Ceviche and Tuna Sashimi

Grilled Red Snapper con Salsa Verde (in foil) and Rojo Caliente (whole) with all the taco fixins'

And Seared Tuna Ensalada

All this food absolutely sucked by the way!
Also during this time frame, I took a surfing lesson.  Because I'm so cool, I surfed!  Ya, I landed my first 2 of 3 waves and then face planted the next 90.  If you gave me 4 cups of sugar, I'd been the perfect gringo brine.  Serial holmes.

Viva La Sayulita! (part uno)

Well, last week I boarded a flight to good ol' Mexico where I intended to slay many Pacifico's, Margarita's, Taco's and the endangered Humpback Whale.  My amigo's and myself arrived in Puerto Vallarta late in the afternoon and all met at a local 'drinkeria' where we had the COLDEST beer I have ever had in my life next to the bus station as we waited for our bus to the small town of Sayulita.  Now, was it really the coldest beer I have ever had in my life, or was it just the 90 degree temperature outside?  Nope, it was definately the COLDEST (not to mention the juicy'est limes).  I mean, you took one sip and the beer was gone........empty.  That means it was FRIO holmes!  As we watched our bus pull up and drive right by, we decided to order another round...of course...and some guacamole.  Our 9 year old waitress informed us that the cook had left for the day, but that she would make sure we got some kind of snack.  About 10 minutes later, freshly made guacamole and fried chips arrived.  We said 'que pasa?'........our 9 year old waitress went to the store and bought avocadoes and made it herself for us.  You can only find that kind of service at 3 Doors Down (unless you want a Chix Ceasar).  We scarfed, slayed a few more cervezas' and hopped on the next bus to arrive at our destination about 90 minutes later.  
Once in Sayulita, we met our gringo contact, Gabby (who was straight out of living from underneath the Hawthorne Bridge).  He picked our luggage up from the bus stop (on his golf cart) and instructed us on how to get to our Casa....kinda'   This was the Casa of all Casa's!

Views of the 1 block downtown and beach were overwhelming.  Views of the outdoor bar (top right in pic) were overwhelming.  No view, including of the bar, was obstructed.  For the next 3 day's we went to the beach and ate/drank dolmas (hispanic pronuciation of donuts), coco's frio (cold coconuts with straws in them), fruit cups, grilled fish/shrimp on a stick.....around town we ate every kind of taco known to man kind.........and drank mucho Pacifico's/margaritas' of course!
The rest of the 8 day's get's better......stay tuned!