IA Born

I realized recently that I did hardly any, if any at all, fishing in 2014 and I usually get at least one weekend of small-stream fly fishing in. I'm planning for a busy hunting season in 2015, again, but I will be making more time for fishing, especially fly fishing. I've convinced my wife to take off for the Juan for the last half of spring break this year. I'm sure that's the only trip it will take to ensure future trips! I can't wait to be standing side by side with my 10-year old daughter with her new fly rod and waders ripping lips on the Juan. One 17-19" bow or brown and she'll be flying high! Thanks for the Monday morning motivation!

I wasn't the lead for the telemetry study, just a lacky. But it was a great time! I've done a couple of presentations on my work over the years, but nothing big. Its been years since I've done any research. Now I'm neck deep in other conservation work. I still chase herps when I can, though!

Yep, Chiricahuas. Was on a research permit, so I got to help install transmitters in the little buggers! Here's one from the Huchcuas all tucked up I studied the venom and evolution of venom in scutes for my actual MS, but I was into all kinds of venom studies. It was the Mojave toxin and lack of in some areas that sparked my interest. Here's a pdf of my one and only publication to lull you to sleep at night. Wooldridge et al_2001 Mojave Toxin.pdf

Excellent post and one of my favorite subjects! The subject of my MS work at UETP: Crotalus scutulatus (Mojave) Another all-time favorite (your moniker): And a personal favorite pic that my wife took of a Ridge-nosed:

Saturday, March 7 will be the 27th annual Northern Arizona Chapter NWTF Hunting Heritage Banquet in Flagstaff. The flier with location, time, and ticket prices is attached below. PM me with any questions or you can call the contact on the flier. If I wasn't out of town for training the two weeks before the banquet, I'd be listed as the primary contact. Thanks for looking and hope to see some of you there. Banquet Flier 2015.pdf

Bump for a good seminar. We currently have 8 registered, so there is plenty of room!

Both boxes are spoken for. If anything falls through in the next couple of weeks, I'll bump it up. Thanks!

I have a full box each of once-fired Winchester Supreme brass for .243 WSM and .270 WSM. I keep moving these two boxes around on my my reloading bench and, for whatever reason, I hit my breaking point this weekend. I'm not even sure how I came to have them. I don't own a rifle chambered for either and don't see myself getting one; therefore, I don't need them. So here's the deal. I will be down in the west valley this weekend (31st) for a soccer game. My daughter has a game at the Camelback Park, which is near Camelback and Dysart. If you want/need either box, you can come pick them up from me between 0930-1015 Saturday morning or I can meet you somewhere off the 101/17 (going north of 101) after her game and lunch or on our way to eat. If you want to make me a reasonable offer for either box, that's fine. If not, I'm content helping out someone who genuinely needs these and/or you can make a donation to Amanda. The only catch is my limited availability due to the day trip and desire to get back to my family up here in Flagstaff after the soccer game. At the same time, I will be in the valley again for two soccer games on 7 February. Our first game is at 1030 in the far SE (Higley and E. Williams Field Rd) and our second game is at 1440 at the CCV complex up by Happy Valley Rd and 67th Ave. You'll have to work around game times because I don't answer my phone during games and can't go too far out of our way to/from games.

I'd have gladly helped you pack that sucker out! .243 WSSM and .270 WSM they are. Both appear to be spoken for!

I should have clarified that the cost is double if I've ever helped anyone pack out an elk! I will verify my haste and fat fingers that they are, in fact, both WSSM. Thanks for asking about that, Mike! Its been a long day of meetings and phone calls.

I'll second the Hoyt Ruckus. My daughter will be 11 in April and she's been shooting a Ruckus since she was 8. She's pulling 32.5 lbs and that will go up as soon as we adjust her draw length. Its a solid bow, very lightweight, and easy to work with. Bowtech is apparently coming out with a new line to replace the Infinite Edge, so you might look into that when they are out, if they aren't already. Or look into a closeout on the Infinite Edge.

Great buck! Your dad emailed me a couple of pics this morning. Congrats!!

That's awesome!

Yep. I would have said shrub live oak or barberry based on your description and original pic. Looks like shrub live oak to me.

Definitely cryptobiotic soil, cryptogrammic soil, or biological soil crust (a few other common names, too). Its a key component to holding desert soils together and keeping them from eroding. They are also key in keeping nonnative plants from establishing in those areas. I have tons of scientific literature regarding their ecological importance and what happens when they are disrupted.

Finally got ours yesterday. I had forgotten all about them. When I saw two tags in the mail box, I thought we'd gotten our left-over turkey tags! I was a little bummed when I opened them. Guess I'd forgotten that we hadn't gotten our javelina tags yet.

You should be able to get them at Petsmart, Petco, or any online pet supply place. There are different versions and brands (Gentle leader, Halti-coller, etc.), but they all work the same. Our trainer recommended one for our first German shepherd 13 years ago and it was amazing. She hated having it on at first and tried constantly to get it off, but after a few days, she was excited because she knew it meant walking, hiking, running, or just working. All four of our GSDs over the years have hated having them on at first, but came around after a few days. Good luck!

Odin is a Czech GSD from champion lines. He's very driven and determined. A good yank on the gentle leader slows him down for a bit, but then he's back at it! I will say its nice when going up hills or quick, steep climbs!

Ooohh...keep me posted on that one!

Great pics!! We run German shepherds and a gentle leader is an absolute must! When our daughter was 3-4 years old, she could walk our 110lb white male with absolutely no problems. All have hated having that on at first, but they get quickly excited when we pull them out. They know what it means. Your gentle leader was the first thing I noticed and I smiled. We lost our white boy to cancer after a long, hard battle two years ago this coming February at 10 years old and our old girl to spleen cancer this past July at 12 months old. Enjoy every single minute you can with that beautiful boy! Our current "puppies": Odin (all black in background) is 85 lbs and will be two years old next Friday. Being a true GSD, he has two more years to finish growing! We're hoping he tops at no more than 120lbs! Venus (foreground) is almost 4, (adopted, so we don't know for sure) and is a dainty, yet powerful 67 lbs. Gentle leaders are required for trail hiking in popular areas and while running with them!

I mailed the app for me and my daughter Friday. Fingers crossed because, apparently, 15 points isn't good enough for a Gould's tag even with increased tag numbers.

Congrats on a great bull to you and Taylor! What a great story to follow along with!

Another bump. Will be in north valley (Reach 11 Complex) 12-13 December. Probably staying at Drury Inn off I-17. Slight chance of being at a gun show at Fairgrounds this coming weekend.

I have 2.5 boxes of CCI 200 Large Rifle primers (256 total primers) that are just sitting on my reloading bench taking up space. They've been sitting there for quite a while and I need to quit lying to myself that I'm actually going to use them, so I might as well see if anyone else can use them. $10 for all three boxes or I'll trade for a couple of boxes of Federal 210 LR primers. Located in Flagstaff and I won't be down in the Valley until Nov 8 for a late afternoon soccer game in Gilbert. Next trip to the Valley will be a soccer tournament 13-14 December, likely in the north near Reach 11 Sports Complex.

You're killing me, Smalls!!!