Saturday, April 17, 2004

Links problematic again! Oops!  Some of the links in my recent posts go nowhere.  Sorry about that!  I'll fix them tomorrow.  Beddy bye now. Later... 10:39:08 PM    comment []

Who said writers can't shoot? HOLD THE PRESSES! If you have read this post already, take another look, as I incorrectly reported Gary Martin's score as 45X90, when it was actually 45X50. I have made the correction in the post. If you are reading this for the first time, you're getting the straight scoop. DS One common belief about outdoor writers is that many of us are writers first and outdoorsmen a distant second. I have heard rumors about some colleagues that suggest that may be the case in a few instances. I am happy to report, however, that my friend Gary Martin, a prolific freelancer and co-owner, publisher and editor of Wishigan Outdoors, is one who can walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Today, Martin took top honors at the 6th annual Northeastern Wisconsin Technical College Scholarship Shoot at Little Creek Lodge in Little Suamico, with a VERY respectable score of 45 out of 50. In typical modesty, Martin said, "I was lucky the really good shooters didn't show up today, so my 45 was good enough for top gun. Heck, I could have missed a few more since the runner-up shooter scored only 41." The event raises money for needy students. A quick Google search for "scholarship sporting clays" turned up more such events. One is slated for April 23 at Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays in Coplay, PA. That event raises money for students at Lehigh Carbon Community College. Another, held recently by the Lafayette, LA chapter of the American Association of Drilling Engineers, posted scores only slightly better than Gary's. The two top guns there each broke 92 out of 100 clays. Another, sponsored by the Houston Electrical League Scholarship Foundation, will be held May 12. And that's not all! The National Shooting Sports Foundation website lists more sporting clays events where young shooters can compete for scholarships. Locally, the Sheboygan County High School Trap League holds interscholastic competition in that sport at several shooting clubs in the Sheboygan, WI area. That may have been who I heard shooting today at the Random Lake Rod & Gun Club. It's refreshing to see so many schools and organizations encouraging kids to shoot responsibly, especially now that it is so un-PC to mention guns and education or guns and kids in the same breath. Today's climate is a far cry from my high school days, when my pals Dick Tracy, Pete Roeck, Mike Pankow and I shot on the rifle team for Clarence Central High in the Erie County (NY) Athletic Conference. We were undefeated in league competition for several years. Our senior year, we ranked fifth in the nation for non-military scholastic teams. Clarence had a good bowling team, too. Heck, either team would have given Columbine a run for its money. Later... 10:29:06 PM    comment []

Thinking Inside the Box OK, I know last Saturday I said I would check my wood duck box in two days to see if there were any more eggs in it. As you may recall (see post for 4/11 if you don't), when I checked the box that afternoon I found 23 wood duck eggs, along with a fringe of new down. For no good reason other than I was busy all week, I put off checking the box until today. When I unscrewed the top and peered in, a hen woodie looked up at me, so I quickly put the top back and climbed down. Some of those eggs did look fresh last week, so she must have already had her clutch started. Assuming she began sitting on them in the last few days, they should hatch about the middle of May, which seems rather early. I found some interesting natural history info on woodies that said dump nests can contain as many as 50 eggs. The box no doubt contains eggs laid by more than one hen. Some are probably from last year. I'm curious to see if she can actually incubate her dozen or so while they are sitting on top of those old eggs. Can she cover that many? I'll let you know in a month or so! Later... 9:38:05 PM    comment []