Happy Thanksgiving

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Today We Be Chillin

Happy Thanksgiving From the Hoy 7 Hunting Team

Bob D. and Fred G.

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Day Seven East Side

Oh thank heaven, for day seven. While Bob was away slaying Cardinals, way to go Bob, I left for the east side at an early 11pm. To my surprise the line was even longer than the first time we did an overnight. I awoke at 5 am to a brisk clear morning. As the line was moving I could sense Lis was not feeling right. Anyway I get to the shack and not much was left believe it or not, I was lucky enough to land Mudhen 7. What a beautiful morning it was, the moon and sun rising in the same sky, and brisk . Remember how every year we bitch and moan about Sauvies Island, well here it comes. As I'm walking out I pass by blind 6, I give them a "morning" and a dog barks, then a guy says "quiet!" then "here!" "OFG", I think I could see how this morning is going to go. Sauvies is a great place to hunt, lots of water, nice blinds, and a lot of action. Problem is birds are weary due to the constant shooting and calling. People taking shots at 70, 80, and even 100 yards. Today was no different. But there was one difference today, today I was able to work some ducks into my spread, until a dog barked every time and make the ducks flair. I think the dogs name was God Damn It, cause that's all I heard from down there. " God Damn It get back" "God Damn It be quiet". Here's a little something to all you people who think it would be great and cool to bring your dog hunting with you. Yes it would be cool if your dog was trained properly before you bring it out to a large populous area. Bring it out to a small out of the way area like Twin Falls and train the dog properly. I was fortunate to land a nice Pintail today, with one shot, committed to my spread, and also two more solid shots but missed. But those shots were two committed ducks. After a great morn- ing the sky was blue and calm. I called it. I get back to the shack and check out and driving away I notice Lisa was still not feeling well, I asked her if she could make it off the island and she said she couldn't. So Lis is back at the doctors. May Heston lay his hands on her. Get well Lis. That's my day, day seven, Bob was away and I did slay but he will be back with the team on Wednesday. Stay Tuned.


Fred G. Out From the East Side

Thumbs Up Bob!

This picture is old...VERY OLD! Look at that haircut for Heston sake. I also think Bob was on the "Fruit Punch" diet. Anyway this picture was a long time ago, but it still holds meaning. Two BFL's hanging out on a fine summer day getting in a round, swinging the sticks together. But what the picture does not say is, those are not my sticks and also why is Bob not wearing shoes? Well truth be told and I know it's kind of unbelievable I lost that day. I lost that day and there was a betski on the line. Simple, who ever looses has to clean the others sticks and shoes. Well like I said, I lost, I lost THAT DAY, I paid up, begrudgingly, I paid off that bet that day. (see day2) What a great day it was. Two BFL's, one bet, one guy cleaning sticks and shoes.

Because of this? Part II

How is this fair?
My Boss Man has called an all staff meeting for this Wednesday morning at 7:30 am. My day off. The day I should go hunting with my H7HT teammate Fred G. (See his picture last Monday at the Old New spot taken by Cecil B. DaFolder) I must take pause and ask "How is this fair?"
It's not.
We don't have many chances to hunt the Sandy River delta without the company of lesser hunters any more and this one is slipping through our hands. If only we hit the Megabucks jackpot like we are supposed to have done by now we would be much better off. No more interruptions to the hunting schedule, no more sharing with the masses, no more 'down days'. Oh well, just wait till next week eh?
Not so fast my friends. Next Monday I will be traveling back from New Mexico where I am slated to have a sit down with H7HT member Stevearino to try to talk him into hunting with the H7HT this season. Isn't it sad the legenths we must go to in order to get our friends to hunt with us? You should be ashamed. Of course I will also be there in the desert to watch the Super Bowl champion New York Football Giants beat up on the Arizona 'angry chicken' Cardinals. See you next time around.
GBCH

Day Six

Some times pictures and videos are worth seven words

Because of this?

I'm missin' it?
Just because I work at a ski shop and just because this is the time of year and just because I must earn a living I'm missin' it? Not fair at all.

Wednesday has come and gone and I should have gone hunting with my H7HT pal Fred G. But NOOOOOO. I have to go pack up my shop and drag all the crap to the Expo Center and sell it to cheap bastards that want to haggle with me. The only haggling I should have to do is with the warden when I shoot 8 ducks instead of the bag limit of 7.
"Sir, I swear that I shot the last two with one shell. How could I know I was going to shoot two with one shot? That's nearly impossible."
All because of this?
GBCH.

Day 5 West Side

Low and behold a burly sound coming down my street at 4 am. I am in my basement packing and it sounds like a tank stops outside my house! Bob my buddy will be doing the driving today, so I'm in my basement filling my bottle to the rim, not with Brim. Bob has a fine new to him Bronco II. It is perfect and he loves it, why? "I love this truck cause I don't even have to wash it" or "hey if you need more space to pack that bag just do it on the hood" or don't worry about the mud on your boots I'm not gonna vacuum anyway" are just a few things he utters. We arrive at the West Side Yo! at 5 am. The West Side is the poker chip side, where as everyone in your truck picks a poker chip with a number on it and you keep the lowest number. I always pick the lowest number, not this time. Bob draws 26 which is good for 6th pick of blinds. We choose Mud lake 4. Mud Lake is a fairly large lake with about 12 hunting areas spaced about 150-200 yards apart. We hike out to the blind, it's rough, there is not much set up for you like on the East side where they actually have set blinds. On the West Side you are assigned a pole, and you have 40 yards on each side of the pole to set your blind and throw out your blocks. We discuss what the pattern of the blocks should be, and where a blind would best suit us. We get to work, Bob throws out the blocks I get to work on a blind, per usual. The morning was beautiful, hard to beat a sunrise over Mud Lake with about 100,000 geese taking flight with a smattering of ducks, the noise is sometimes deafening. Killing time is 6:33. The screaming geese now transforms into the sound track of Saving Private Ryan. Silhouettes of birds flying overhead, grown men blowing into toy horns trying to sound more real than the next, and the bang of 12 gauges. The slight rain is a welcoming silence. After a few morning chances, all taken with no results Bob notices that no one is using a "roto" duck. So Bob unpacks it and sets it out, the sun now breaking through the clouds and shinning upon our spread, we call it being "all lit up," we look good. It's early afternoon now and things are starting to slow down, we coheres in a few ducks with the rotto and a few more chances are blown. Lunch is had and it is delicious. My mouth is alive with flavor Bobs eyes are filled with sleep. I move down and pick a post under a tree along the water. After a few some speedy Teal fly in, bamo! 1 shot fold. Bob awakes to find me wading out of the lake with a Teal I called Face. After a friendly visit from our local game warden a little more whikey we pack it up. Another great day, sunrise, sammy, folding and weather...in that order.

From the West Side

Fred G.

George W. Bushisms

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"I'm honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen

who just had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein"

------Washington, D.C.; May 25 204

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BOCA NEGRA

12 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup bourbon
1/2 pound unsalted butter, cut into pieces
5 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons flour

all ingredients at room temperature

Pre heat oven to 350. Line a 9 inch round greased cake pan with parchment. Place chocolate in a medium bowl. In a saucepan combine 1 cup sugar and bourbon, cook over medium heat stirring until sugar dissolves and bring to a simmer. Add butter piece by piece off heat until all butter is incorporated. Pour over chocolate and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit 3-5 minutes, then stir until incorporated and smooth. In a medium bowl whisk together the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar and eggs beat until slightly thick then incorporate into the chocolate mixture. Whisk in flour. Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for 30-45 minutes in a water bath. A dry thin crust should be apparent. When done remove from water and chill for 20 minutes then cover with plastic wrap and invert cake onto a flat plate remove parchment paper and invert again onto a serving platter. Serve at room temperature.

And now a message from....

The secret police. We are coming for your guns. Now that you have elected your Liberal Anti Gun Leader we are forming our ranks. We are getting our funding. We are coming to YOUR house. Gimme your guns, they will be illegal soon anyway.
Love,
The Secret Police.








This message has been brought to you by Mr. President.

Happy Birthdday Cliffy.

Sure enough, the man you see hiding behind the bulletproof glass of his hunting vehicle is none other than Cliffy V. Not only is he a Charter member in good standing of the world famous HOY7 Hunting team, he is also a year older and wiser. When asked what he wanted more than anything else for his birthday Cliffy responded "I want to slay ducks with my H7HT teammates." Good choice Cliffy!

We proceeded to the Old New spot on day 4 for some huntin' and killin' action. A few morning fly by ducks and a few shots later there was nothing to add to the leaders board but a good time was had by all. I think we all especailly liked the naps as it was quite a good party the night before. Thanks for sharing your birthday with us at the HOY7 Hunting Team, and thanks for making lunch for us too.
GBCH

Cliffy V. Is On the Board

Andy Vershaw, he's a member of the Hoy 7 Hunting Team. He hunts, he reads the blog, he participates. Today Andy made it rain on Sauvies Island, he actually made it pour. "Sure I used a half box of shells today, It's been a long time since I killed, I didn't even hunt that much last year" he said. "I felt a little rusty at first but once the slay happened I could feel it all coming back. I think I'm going to be a contender this year, I'm feeling pretty strong."

Knowledge From Cliffy V.

Male ring-necks have a black breast and back. The glossy purple head appears black. The sides are gray (sometimes appearing white), and the chestnut neck ring for which ringnecks are named is only visible in hand. On the water, drakes show a vertical white crescent in front of the wing. Hens are brown with a white eye-ring and an indistinct white area near the bill. The most notable characteristics on both sexes are the dark, white-ringed bill and peaked triangular head-shape. The speculum is bluish-gray, and the belly is white. Flying ringnecks can be distinguished from scaups by the black back and gray wing-stripe. They fly swiftly in compact wedges and often land without circling.

Packing Sand

It must be pretty easy being Jiggity Jeff. Never having to prove your greatness to anyone, hunting in a park in the middle of a city, basically using pop corn to get ducks and geese. How hard could it be? He never has any stories or pictures to share about his excursions, no facts to back anything up. How hard could it be being Jiggity Jeff? Has he ever "bagged" a duck? no. Has he ever posted any pictures? no. Has he ever journeyed to the great NW to hunt with the greatest team ever? no. Jiggity if your out there, if you ever read the blog, or if you could even read, read this RESPECT MY AUTHORITY! I have "bagged a duck" I have done everything, and you? nothing. I am the greatest hunter. I have all of the knowledge. Respect my authority.

Making it rain on the East side,

Fred G.

Packing Sand
1. A seafaring insult. When one was told to "pack sand" it was considered a huge insult often resulting in a heated exchange of salty language. Also see pound sand

For example:
Arrrgh pack sand mate..wait yer turn like ye others." Typical Response: Arr go f***k yerself you coc*suc*er son of a whore.

And Now A Word From Jiggity

Brother Bill,

I am certainly going to watch. I looked at the last video and it was dam good. Should I expect anything less? My life is hectic, but guess what? I am one day closer to getting my class 2 manufacturers license from the ATF. To sum it up, I can build full-auto weapons-any of them, own them, and also import certains explosives. I am going to try to import Bulgarian grenandes. More on that when I talk to you. I almost had to pistol whip some old man in the parking lot of Wal-mart. This Fucker pushed his cart right into my truck, and then when I called him out on it, he said "who cares". My response was swift, " hey old man, you want get get rolled like a cheap burrito"! He got the hint. I just aquired a room-mate after getting shit canned by Dayna. He name is Angela and she is an awesome chick. I work 8-6 and fucking hate it. I am trying to figure out how to work very little, and play a lot. I will call this week. Tell paige hello, the brother congrats, and Fred and Ed to pack sand!

Out
Jiggity

That Crazy Andy!

Today I received this picture from old friend of the HOY7 Hunting Team Crazy Andy Bykowski. As no explanation was forthcoming I have included a story that I believe to be the only proper explanation to what we see here.

"last week I traveled to Niblerstanzy to help the recent victims of the ethnic cleansing of the native tribes of the Azblerians. My group brought them food, water and hip hop CDs to ease the suffering they have incurred. We also built them new huts and a school to learn more about the American way of life. The first class will be called 'It's pronounced O-Ba-Ma, people.'

I also had the chance to run in their Jungle Marathon. I would have taken a solid second place behind Hussein Bolt but on the 22nd mile I saw something utterly disturbing. Insurgents were shooting at this Bengal Tiger with their Russian made shotguns. If they were using Benelli shotguns this fine animal would be finished but he was merely wounded. I was hardly winded so I chased the insurgents off by shouting the only thing I knew they were afraid of, H7HT...H7HT...H7HT. They ran like scared girls.

The tiger was fading fast so I put him on my back and finished the marathon route back to Zignonstsy, the capital of Niblerstanzy. After finishing a dismal 28th I nursed the tiger back to health and fixed all the wounds he suffered. The government officials were so happy they gave me the key to the city (a stick with some notches cut into it) and told me to keep the tiger as putting him back in the jungle was a certain death sentence. It took some finagling but I finally got the tiger a seat in coach on Southwest Airlines and some peanut butter crackers, they gave him gas.

He now lives happily with me at home. I have named him Mr. Stripey. There have been some challenges but we have reached a daily routine that seems to work for both of us. The downside is finding 20+ pounds of fresh meat every day to feed him and we apparently can't watch Animal Planet on TV ever again. On the plus side though my neighbors dog never seems to bark at me anymore. Come to think of it, I haven't even seen my neighbor recently, although I did find his shoes and pants in my backyard. All in all a good trip. I'm planing on returning next year to see if I can find him a Water Buffalo to play with, I hear tigers love Water Buffalo.

Peace to all,
Crazy Andy"

Poetry moment

It all happens in the blink of an eye
Summer unfolds itself into the quiet season
Thoughts turn to the slower pleasures of life

Scorching days are well behind us now
The cool crisp air has returned to change the landscape
Pumpkins and cornstalks dot our porches

The shades of green once so vibrant now gone
Replaced by the brilliant hues of red orange and yellow
The fall season graces us with it's bounty

Christmas Eve Story In October

Christmas Eve. Remember? Waking up super early can't sleep, not allowed to go downstairs until the clock strikes seven. So you sit on the top stair waiting, and if you got up before your sibs. you're the first in line to jet down the stairs when the clock strikes 7. Well imagine that every night, the night before the hunt. You wake up at 3:45am even though the alarms are set for 4am and 4:15am. Why do you set two if you always wake up early? You don't want to miss it.

In the old days you might be able to sleep in until 5am if you're hunting at the Old New Spot. Now you have to be there at 5am. It's like the old days when you were the first one to tie your sneakers that cool way, or the first R rated movie you saw and there was some minor nudity and adult language. It was fresh and new. Then everyone knew how to do it, everyone saw the movie...you learned how to swear. We used to be the only ones to hunt these spots, they are not great, but special to us. Now we are forced to share. "Get off that top stair let your little sister sit there!" " Maybe if she got up earlier she would have the spot" you think to yourself. That's what we have to do, we are the best, the smartest, we just learned to tie our sneakers a new and better way.

Chicken Salad

For the Chicken Salad:
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Kosher salt
About 1 cup mayonnaise
1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 celery stalks, small diced
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves plus sprigs, for garnish
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups shredded chicken meat, roughly chopped
8 slices sourdough bread, cut 1/2-inch thick
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup cranberry sauce
1 green apple, thinly sliced
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
5 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, chopped

Day 3

It sure was a blustery one today.

Day three started just as you may expect after reading this blog for four seasons now. Being picked up at 4:30 am has it's drawbacks but there can also be some unintended fun that comes along with it. Sitting on my well lit front porch waiting to hear the rumble of good ole American V-8 power that is Lisa, I saw my neighbor lady. She's kind of an odd sort. Maybe she keeps strange hours too or maybe, just maybe, she's up to no good. But when she walks by my house and sees me sitting on the stoop holding a shotgun I know one thing runs through her head, don't mess with his shit.

So sure enough Lisa arrives with all the gear needed for a great day of early season folding. We drive off to the Old New spot a little earlier now. See, everyone seems to be hunting there now. Apparently there is a thread on some hunting web site that tells people to go to this area and that the hunting is good there. We officially hate this web site. How dare they share the public lands with the Public. We all know that the H7HT was here first. We all know that we're the best. But still people are invading our space so now we have to get up before everyone else. You know what they say "The early bird gets the ducks", or something to that effect. Maybe it's"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice I'll shoot your decoys". Whatever.

So out to the newest spot we go. Rebuild the blind. Set the blocks. Tell some other hunters where to go. Wait for sunrise.

Well that's it. Today's video shows the windy conditions that should have brought the ducks right to us but unfortunately there were no ducks today. Never fear though because next time will be GREAT!
GBCH