BACKWOODS BOUND BULLET
Vol. 2, Iss. 4
Greetings from the team at BACKWOODS BOUND and Welcome to April's issue of the "Backwoods Bound Bullet". Spring has sprung in Central Illinois. (Actually with a record 92 degrees last week, I think "sprung" is putting it a bit mildly! To our friend Ben in North Dakota - We shipped some of that heat your way. Your ice won't have a chance.) We start a couple of new monthly features in this issue of "The Bullet". Each month we'll include information on an "outdoor" health concern and a "Kids Corner" activity. Let us know what you think of these features! We suggest you review this issue andcheck out the links, then print to read the lengthy articles at your leisure. Pass the copy on to a friend when you're through or leave it in the employee lunchroom. The more Backwoods Buddies we have contributing their stories & ideas, the more exciting this site becomes!
Highlights this issue include:
~ Newest Feature: Susie's Kids Corner
~ Article: "Bees Givin' You The Blues?"
~ Prize Info
~ Article: "Gator Huntin' in Louisiana"
~ Fun Fact / Fishin' & Huntin' Tip / Products
~ Recipe: Baked Wild Turkey With Wine & Honey
~ "Kenny's Corner"
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Introducing...Susie's Kids Corner! Each month Susie shares one of her favorite activities. All are kid-tested and Susie-approved! This month's activity: Coffee Can Ice Cream
Looking for something to occupy the kids now that the weather is getting warmer? Here's a way to get them out of the house while making a delicious treat at the same time! This is also great for camping. I mix the ingredients before in the small can and keep it in the cooler on ice.
Here's what you'll need:
* Supplies:
1 - 1 lb coffee can with lid 1 - 3 lb coffee can with lid
duct tape for lid crushed ice rock salt
* Ingredients:
1 cup milk 1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla
(chopped nuts, or pieces of fruit, optional)
~ Combine ingredients in a clean 1 - lb coffee can with a tight fitting plastic lid. Tape lid for added security. Place 1 - lb coffee can in 3 - lb coffee can.
~ Pack crushed ice around the smaller can. Pour almost 1 cup of rock salt over the ice. Replace lid on 3 - lb can.
~ Roll the can back and forth on the floor or sidewalk for 10 minutes. Remove the inside can carefully. Keep salt solution out of the small can. Remove lid of small can and stir ice cream with a rubber spatula. Replace and retape lid. Drain ice water from larger can and place smaller can inside. Repack with ice and salt. Roll back and forth 5 - 10 minutes more depending on how firm you like your ice cream. Makes about 3 cups.
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Article: Bees Givin' You The Blues?
These busy little insects can be quite a bother, but there are a few tips you can use to avoid the pain caused by the "business end" of a Hymenoptera.
First of all, stay alert to your environment. If bees are present try to avoid the most populous areas. If this is not possible, move calmly and casually. Unless they see you as a threat, they'll show little interest in you.
Avoid dressing and smelling like a flower! Nature is quite practical in it's thinking. There's a reason for the beauty of look and scent to a flower...procreation. The flowers attract bees so the bees can pollinate them. Bright spring-colored clothes and floral scents naturally attract bees looking for nectar.
Avoid loose clothing. A refreshing breeze during your hike could result in a trapped stinging insect up your sleeve, pants leg or shirt. Pony tails, braids, and buns help avoid long hair from netting or snagging an innocent bee on its way home to the hive or nest.
Wear shoes. Sandals are cute and cool, but offer little protection from honeybees working on clover and dandalions.
Stay calm. The bee that's convinced you are a flower and lands on you, quickly loses interest and will leave if not startled. You can be sure, however, swatting at a bee can promote a defensive counter attack.
If you're an outdoor lover, the odds have it you will be stung at some point. The first thing you should do is get the stinger out as soon as possible. Don't pluck it out or you'll end up squeezing the contents of the venom sac into your skin. Use a credit card, dull knife, or thumbnail to scrape the skin under the barb and flick the stinger out.
Once the stinger's removed there's a variety of after-sting treatments you can use. These do not replace a physician's care if you are allergic to bee stings or have a severe reaction with hives and swelling to a sting. These are merely treatments that have helped others and may help bring relief from your simple bee sting.
~ Place an ice cube on and off the site every few minutes for the first 10 minutes. This can help minimize pain and swelling.
~ Apply baking-soda paste to help relieve pain.
~ Dab calamine lotion on the sting to relieve the itch.
~ Apply a small amount of aluminum-based deodorant to the site. (I've seen children screaming because of several stings instantly stop crying when deodorant with aluminum is applied to the site. The deodorant also did not interfere with normal healing.)
Do what you can to avoid the "business end" of these little guys, but if you happen to get stung, just remember, odds are you'll live to see another day and enjoy more activities in the great outdoors! Maggie B
Backwoods Bound Contest:
March's winner was Stephanie Bell of Missouri. Stephanie won by submitting the great photo we're using for the "Crazy Caption" feature this month.! Stephanie won a FREE "Table For Two" squirrel feeder from Backwoods Bound! Congratulations Stephanie!
If you haven't visited our "Crazy Caption" page, stop by now! The captions are adding up and are hilarious. I'm sure there's at least one that will give you a chuckle. Send us one of your own while you're there! The url is: http://www.backwoodsbound.com/funphotos.html.
The April contest is already in full swing! The FREE prize this month is a Camo Folding Chair with Pouch from Cheaper Than Dirt. (Heavy duty camouflage folding chair with a zippered pouch. Chair holds up to 300lbs and comes with an attached shoulder strap.) See this on our site at http://www.backwoodsbound.com/prize.html
How do you win????? It's easy and FREE!
1. Submit one of the following on an e-mail or the form found on the prize page:
* wild game recipe
* an unusual outdoor photo for our "Crazy Caption" Feature
* hunting or fishing tip
* hunting or fishing photo
* suggestion for a new feature or other improvement to our site.
2. At the beginning of each month we evaluate the past month's entries and select the most outstanding entry.
3. The winner receives the prize of the month FREE. (Includes FREE shipping and handling.)
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Article: Gator Hunting In Louisiana
Fourteen years ago Clyde, Douglas, & Dudley Hutchinson discovered a new sporting opportunity...alligator hunting! Combining the skills of fishing, trapping, and hunting, this challenging sport offers a new kind of intense outdoor experience for the outdoor lover.
In 1987, Louisiana opened hunting for the once endangered American alligator. The season opens the Saturday before Labor Day and runs for two weeks. Public tags are won using a lottery method. Private tags are granted according to the amount of water surface area on the property. Clyde's family owns a Louisiana farm bordering the Mississippi where gators are plentiful. Clyde's current record catch is 11.8. ((Visit our hunting photo page to see this huge alligator.http://www.backwoodsbound.com/huntphotos.html))
Alligator hunting is highly regulated and mandates each hunter attend an evening class two weeks prior to the season. The class covers topics like how to set the hooks, how to catch the alligators, and specifically where to place the tags for the current year. Each year a specific scale on the alligator's body is selected as THE spot to place the tag. Alligators are typically hunted for the skin. The state changes the scale each year to help cut down on poaching in the off season. Selling a skin with an incorrect tag placement indicates an illegal catch and results in severe penalties. Although skins have brought revenue as high as $65 / per foot, the rise of alligator farms have greatly reduced this price.
Alligators caught legally must be caught on a hook. The day before the hunt Clyde and his brother, Douglas (Dudley was fatally wounded in a car accident in 1989.) take pieces of 30 foot, 1,000 test nylon rope, tied to stainless steel alligator hooks and baits them with chicken leg quarters. The chicken is clipped with a clothes pin to a low hanging tree branch, about two to three feet above the water. The end of the rope is secured to something sturdy on the bank.
Hunting begins the next day with checking of each bait. The team use binoculars to check the baits from a distance. The gators are usually resting on the surface so the team can get an idea of their size. The gator must be at least four feet long to be a legal catch. Interestingly, the number of inches from the tip of the nose to the eyes is equal to the number of feet from nose to tail.
Upon the boat's approach the gator submerges and the team goes to work. One person slowly pulls the line up, bringing the alligator to the surface. This person must be sure the line does not wrap around their arm or cross the boat. A large gator can easily overturn the boat if it begins to struggle. Clyde warns to never try to "muscle" a large gator. When agitated the reptile begins to spin and thrash...a jon boat can easily overturn and empty it's team of hunters in the water!
As one person pulls the alligator up, a second person holds a 44 magnum ready. This person must shoot the gator directly in the brain for a clean kill as soon as it hits the surface. There are no safe second chances with a wounded gator spinning and thrashing this close to the boat.
Occasionally hooked alligators become tangled in a submerged stump. Without the ability to rise to the surface for oxygen they drown. Clyde recalled an instance when an alligator had become tangled and the team assumed it was dead. Douglas attempted to reach in and free the line but couldn't reach the snag. As he used the paddle to follow the line down, the anything-but-dead alligator suddenly took a chunk out of the paddle!
Once the alligator is dead, the team secures it alongside the boat and heads for the nearest, truck accessible bank. It is then loaded, tagged, and taken to the barn where it's hoisted with a hydraulic lift for skinning. Since the back of the gator is covered with hard scales it is the belly skin that is considered prime. Cuts are made on both sides of the belly all the way down the reptile. The skin is then carefully whittled away from the body. No easy task, the job can take several hours to complete. The belly skin is then shaved to remove any remaining fat and flesh, salted down, then rolled and placed in the freezer until ready to sell or tan. Skins cost about $100 to have tanned. The head typically is mounted for about $150 and becomes a unique addition to one of the team-mate's trophy collection.
The meat usually eaten from a gator include the jaw muscle and the strip of meat along the tail. Clyde says this meat is similar to deer tenderloin. The meat is marinated in milk prior to preparation to reduce the "wild taste"and is enjoyed seasoned and fried in nuggets or in a hearty Alligator creole.
Born in Mississippi, Clyde recently moved to Millstadt, IL. An avid deer (bow and shotgun) and turkey hunter he currently seeks to lease some hunting ground in the area. If you have any information about available hunting ground to lease in Illinois or Missouri please send us a note. We'll be happy to pass the info on to him.
The Backwoods Bound Team heartily appreciates Clyde's willingness to share his adventures! His love of the outdoors and friendly nature makes him a true Backwoods Buddy!
If you have a unique hunting experience and are willing to share your adventures, please drop us a line. We'd love to hear your story and share it in the Backwoods Bound 'Bullet' for all our friends! "
p.s. I found a few alligator guides / outfitters you may want to visit. See them at http://www.backwoodsbound.com/guideshunt.html
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HUNTIN' TIP: Because gobblers will approach jakes from the front to fight, place your jake decoy facing toward you. For more huntin' tips check out the site at www.backwoodsbound.com/tipshunting.html
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PRODUCT: GunMate Bore Snake, 20 Gauge Shotgun
World's Fastest Gun Bore Cleaner. Simply a better way to clean Handguns, Rifles and Shotguns. Brushes and swabs bore in one quick pass. Built-in bore brushes. Multiple short brushes embedded in the floss pass easily through the shortest action or port. Find this and more great products at www.backwoodsbound.com/huntprduct1.html
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BACKWOODS BOUND VISITOR SURVEY:
Results of March's survey questions are in..................!
**70% of visitors surveyed prefer minnows over jigs. I wonder why. I recently helped catch 120 crappie using jigs. I thought not having to re-bait was great!
**According to our visitors the box call is the preferred turkey call with 57.1%
**36.4% of visitors surveyed choose fried potatoes as their number 1 side dish with fried crappie fillets.
~~~There are 3 new questions waitin' for your vote on the fishin', huntin', and recipe pages. Stop by soon! Let us know how you think!
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Please take a moment to rate this newsletter.
Click here: http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/ra20190.rate
High rating = higher list rank = more new Backwoods Buddies = more ideas and fun features!
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PRODUCT: Columbia Henry's Fork II Fishing Vest
Henry's Fork II Vest(tm) is made of 60% cotton and 40% polyester and is ideal for the seasoned fisherman who needs several pockets to hold lures, a cell phone or lunch. See this great gift idea on our site at www.backwoods bound.com/huntprduct1.html
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FISHIN' TIP - If you are only catching smaller crappie, lower your bait a little deeper. The larger fish are usually on the lower part of the school. See more fishin' tips at www.backwoodsbound. com/tipsfishing.html
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Don't forget to stop by and visit our affiliates. Shopping for that certain someone is easier on-line! No drivin' or footwork! Spend more time browsing different products. Save your time for the real important things like grilling trout, huntin' turkey, weedin' that garden out back. Oh, and don't forget spending time with the family.
Have you been studying your huntin' videos? Need some new ones? Check out Half.com. They have pages of huntin' videos at half price (or less). This site is also great to use if you're looking for certain CDs, cassettes, or videos. I know my kids love to hit this site when they have a few dollars in their pocket. Try Half.com once. You'll be back!
Visit our shopping page at www.backwoodsbound.com/gifts.html
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FUN FACT: 280 million years ago, dragonflies had wingspans of up to 28 inches--the largest insects known to have lived on Earth. They say a dragonfly landing on your rod is good luck. I wonder if the luck goes up in direct proportion to the size of the dragonfly? See more fun facts at www.backwoodsbound.com /funfacts.html
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Need a birthday gift for your deer hunter? Pick up a BACKWOODS BOUND state-shaped antler plaque! These unique, hardwood plaques are hand-crafted into the shape of the state or Canadian province of your choosing! These plaques not only proudly display favorite antlers, but let everyone know in what state your hunter bagged their trophy! These are a must for anyone hunting several states and will make a wonderful addition to your hunter's trophy room! Replace those pressed wood plaques you purchased at the discount store. Your display antlers deserve to be mounted on this unique, hand-crafted, state plaque. You'll be the envy of your buddies!
Visit our home page to order yours now! http://www.backwoodsbound.com
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RECIPE OF THE MONTH:
Baked Wild Turkey With Wine & Honey:
~2 small turkeys, cleaned and quartered
~1 cup white wine
~1 cup chicken stock
~1/2 stick butter or margarine
~1/2 cup chopped onion
~4 Tbsp honey
~1 tsp parsley flakes
~salt and pepper
Brush each turkey quarter with honey, salt and pepper, then place in a shallow baking dish.
Bake in hot oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with butter.
Mix onion, chicken stock, wine, and parsley flakes. Pour over turkey.
Reduce heat to 250 degrees. Cover. Continue baking turkey until done. Approximately 1 - 2 hours. (Until juices run clear and meat thermometer registers 185 degrees.). Great with wild rice, salad, and warm bread! Enjoy!
---For more recipes and a variety of wild game cookbooks visit our recipe page at www.backwoodsbound.com/recipe.html
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PRODUCT: Hen And Jake Set.
Order now! Turkey season is fast approaching. This set can be planted in your favorite location to entice mature gobblers to defend their territory. Buy it today on our site at www.backwoodsbound.com/ huntprduct1.html
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KENNY'S CORNER: An editorial view of the Backwoods Bound experience!
Kids in the Outdoors
We have all heard the hunting and fishing pros on TV encouraging us to take a child hunting and fishing. This is some very good advice and I agree with them 100%.
I have been blessed with three daughters: Nicole, my oldest daughter (15), enjoys camping, hiking, exploring, etc. But hunting and fishing is just not her cup of tea. Lucy, my new 6-month-old, is too young to know what she likes except a dry diaper, a bottle, and lots of love and attention. Rebecca, my 11-year-old, has a desire to hunt and fish that rivals my own. From a very young age, she has always wanted to accompany me on outdoor adventures. She has a B.B. gun (shoots tin cans with the best of them), a youth bow (shoots bullseyes at 20 yards), and some very savvy ways of looking at things.
Last summer we decided to go bluegill fishing. We were fishing 5 to 6 feet off the bank at about 1˝ to 2 feet deep. We were catching a fish now and then, but nothing seemed to really be happening. I watched as Rebecca repositioned her bobber to about 6 inches from her hook and started fishing about 6 inches to a foot off the bank. Now, being the fishing and hunting expert that I am, (Note: that seems to be my opinion of myself, nobody has ever called me an expert) I was about to explain to Rebecca that her method wouldn’t work, but before I could open my mouth, she yanked out a nice bluegill and continued to catch about 5 fish in a row. Guess where I started fishing? I asked Rebecca what made her start fishing that way and she simply said, “Dad, I just thought I would try something different since we weren’t having much luck.” How refreshing!
When was it that I lost my zest to try new things? Then, just last week, after weeks of pleading with me to go fishing, we packed up our gear and headed for the pond. After observing some deer tracks and explaining to me what direction the deer had come from to get a drink of water, Rebecca cast out a ˝ inch long pink grub on her ultra light setup and caught a 3˝ pound catfish. A little later that day, we weren’t having much luck and I watched as Rebecca went to her tackle box. She put on a blue and white tube jig and tipped her hook with a small trout power bait nugget. Once again, I was about to tell her that her method might not work when she caught a crappie. I asked her what had made her come up with such an interesting bait combination and she said, “Dad, I figured the crappie could see the jig, but needed to smell something so they would bite.”
How great was that? Rebecca has no pre-conceived notions of what not to try. She just has fun. I will no longer suggest to Rebecca what bait or methods to use while fishing unless she asks me. I plan on taking the hunter education course with Rebecca this year and getting her out on some squirrel hunts this fall. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with!
I have learned a couple things while being outdoors with Rebecca and I plan to put them into practice from now on. One is, not to be afraid to try something new or unconventional, and two is just to relax and have fun. Take a child hunting or fishing? You betcha! You just might regain some of that youthful zeal that you once had years ago. I know I did.
I’m Kenny, and I hope I have all of you in my corner.
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**We're working hard to develop this site into something for the whole family. We want to earn first ranking in the sites you frequent...your input is important! Do you have photos (fishin', huntin', or humorous) you'd like to share with the world, favorite web sites you'd like us to link with, tasty recipes you'd like to share, new topics for our site, etc? E-mail us anytime at editor@backwoodsbound.com The best photo, tip or recipe, most exciting suggestion, hobby, or craft idea each month wins a free gift! Remember, this month's prize is a Camo Folding Chair with Pouch from Cheaper Than Dirt. See it on the site at http://www.backwoodsbound.com/prize.html. Get your entry in now!
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Visit us today! Select a squirrel or venison recipe to make for dinner, make up a new caption for our "Crazy Caption" photo, review the fishin' tips, shop at our affiliates to restock your boat and tackle box, stop by the Fish and Game Agency to order your fishing license on-line, post an announcement for that local fishin' tournament or share information on our bulletin board, check the weather, answer the current survey question in our hunting, fishing, & recipe sections, browse through our guides section to start planning your next fishin' trip, visit yourself or your Backwoods Bound Buddies in the photo gallery, and don't forget to pick up an Missouri antler plaque to finally mount those great antlers from that buck you picked up in Northern Missouri last year. Wow!!! As you can see, you've helped us come a long way from when we started this site! Thanks alot!
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**To all our Backwoods Bound Buddies: We sincerely appreciate all your support! We hope you'll continue to help by forwarding this newsletter to all the people in your address book. Give them the opportunity to participate in our site! In addition, if you know of someone that shares our interests, why not sign them up for our newsletter? They are always free to cancel. But, hopefully, they'll be glad you signed them up. We'll do our best to meet their interests!
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