Bright Idea Outdoors Weblog

Three Years of Blogging

Good thing I'm not married to this blog...  I missed our anniversary; two weeks ago!

It was way back on June 15 of 2006 that I wrote my first post.  Today's post is # 614.

I've had a hard time sticking to many things in my life, and I often wonder how things would have been if I hadn't given up on this or that.  I'm glad though that I've stuck to this and look forward to my next three years of blogging.

Author's Note: I was reminded of my blogging "anniversary" today when Arthur mentioned in this interesting post that he's been blogging for almost two years.  Arthur is just one of the many interesting people I've "met" through blogging.

I Need A Camera

I realized yesterday that one of the things really holding this blog back is that I don't carry a camera around with me anymore.  Without photos, a short post is just a short post.  And when I open my main page, I'm just looking at a bunch of words.

If I still carried a camera, I could show you before and after pictures of the clearing/tree cutting work the Cowboy and I did yesterday along the road leading to the Lodge.  Or I could post some photos of the campfire we had Friday night at the Evergreen Church property.  I'd probably even put up some images of the deer that were feeding outside my office door every afternoon this past week.

Why I no longer have a camera is a long story that I don't have time to get into.  I will say, however, that one way or another pictures will become a regular feature on this blog again starting this week.

Heavey Email Mystery Solved

I've figured out why I keep getting emails addressed to Field & Stream columnist Bill Heavey.  The Google search linked here tells the tale.

Take a look at the second link listed.  If you search "contact Bill Heavey" on Google a post that I wrote about Heavey a couple years ago pops up.  For some reason the Google listing contains my email address.  Looking at it, I can see how the person who did the search might think the email address belonged to Heavey.

As I said in my previous post, I don't mind catching an email to Bill Heavey once in awhile.  More than anything, I'm flattered that the Bright Idea Blog comes up so high in Google searches containing the great columnist's name. 

Blog Notes

It seems like about half the posts I'm writing these days are short "notes" posts like this one.  No hunting to write about yet, and I haven't been fishing in a couple weeks; no more camping trips either.  Work remains busy, but I think the summer slowdown is finally in sight.  As you can imagine, that's both good and bad...

I got an email addressed to Bill Heavey today.  That's the second time that's happened.  Strange that Heavey is my favorite writer and a fellow Northern Virginia resident.  I've never had a chance to speak or correspond with him, and I guess there are others who can't figure out how to get in touch with him either.  It's interesting to read what people might have said to me if I were the great Field & Stream writer Heavey is...

I got some interesting feedback from a reader who found fault with my last post.  Please check out the comments left by the Rambler.  It seems that the tick removal method I linked to is a bad idea.  Sorry if I was passing on bad advice...

Summer's finally here; the kids are out of school and in the pool.  I hope that you're having a good summer, and that I can come up with something good to write about soon...

Lyme Disease Update: A Tick Removal Tip

The best way to keep yourself and your family from getting Lyme disease is to avoid being bitten by deer ticks, also known as black-legged ticks.  Insect repellants containing Deet, long-sleeved shirts and long pants tucked into your socks or boots all help with this.

The second best way to prevent Lyme disease is to find and remove deer ticks before they've been attached for 36 hours.  These ticks are tiny, so finding them is tough, and removing them is not much easier. 

I found this interesting tick removal tip on Kevin Paulson's HuntingLife.com.  Looks like it might be worth a try; but remember, before you can remove the tick you've got to find it.  That's the hardest part!

Lyme Disease Update: Be Particularly Careful This Month

Right now, probably more than any other time of year, it is important to be careful about deer ticks and the Lyme disease they carry.  This is especially true if you live here in Loudoun County or the surrounding region, where Lyme disease has become a near-epidemic.

I heard today that two people I know (both residents of neighboring Clarke County) are currently being treated for Lyme, and it was around this time last year that I last came down with the infection.  Apparently the deer or black-legged tick that carries Lyme disease is particularly active in the late spring and early summer.

The people I know who recently contracted Lyme are lucky in a way: they both had the "bullseye" rash that is a dead give away for Lyme infection.  I had the rash the first time I got Lyme disease about seven years ago but last year didn't realize I'd been bitten by an infected tick until I came down with flu-like symptoms a couple weeks after the bite.

Left untreated, Lyme disease can lead to serious long-term health problems.  But caught in time, it is effectively treated with antibiotics.

Be careful.  Check for ticks and see a doctor if you think you might be infected.

Blog Notes

Hard to believe I've gone the last week with no blog posts.  For a week or so before that I thought I was getting back in the game.  Then came a post-Memorial Day rush at work, and I've once again just been too busy to keep up with this blog and the reading of other outdoor blogs.

I have, however, stuck to book-reading as this is the way I get to sleep at night.  Somehow lying in bed with a laptop doesn't have the same effect. 

In the last week I've finished reading George Pelecanos' new book The Way Home and have started Jeff's God by Hershel Howell.  I also finally got a copy of Bill Heavey's If You Didn't Bring Jerky What Did I Just Eat?  I've been wanting to read this book since it came out in 2007 but never got around to getting it until yesterday when my mom dropped off a used (and autographed) copy she'd bought.

I'll definitely review Jeff's God when I finish it (it's great so far) and Heavey's book after that.  I may review The Way Home as well; it doesn't have anything to do with hunting or fishing, but Pelecanos is my favorite writer, and the book really kept me on the edge of my seat (my strategy of reading as a sleep aid backfired with this one!)

I like doing the book reviews, and some of the ones I've done in the past have driven a fair amount of traffic to my site.  The traffic and comments generated by my recent review of Chris Hansen's To Catch a Predator were a little disappointing to tell the truth, but I still think book reviews may be a good niche for me.

We'll see if I have time to get to one or two of them this week...

Summer Hunting Prep Piece Published

Here's a link to my most recent column on the hunting "expert" page on bizymoms.com.  I hadn't been sticking to my two articles per month schedule with BizyMoms, but they sent me a reminder last week that I needed to submit something.  Enjoy!

Random Thoughts on Fishing v. Hunting

Having gone fishing with my kids three times in the last few days--and with plans to go again Saturday morning--I am reminded of how much I love the sport of angling.  Even if it is just hauling bluegills out of a farm pond, I think I may be happiest with a rod in my hand; it's even better with my kids and their custom-made BIO Rods at my side.

But it is with some regret that I look back on the past couple months and wonder why I didn't start fishing this year until the end of May.  Actually, I know exactly why: work, bad weather, kids' sports, work and work.  But still, I would never let two months of deer season pass by before I started hunting.  Why is this?

At least I know I'm not alone.  Two of the comments on the first fishing post I wrote this week were from other outdoor bloggers who said that they had not fished at all yet this year.

I'm almost ashamed to say that I hunt more than I fish.  It's so much easier to go fishing, and I can do it almost any time of year.  Perhaps that's part of the reason why I've neglected in recent years.

Hunting season has a well-defined beginning and end.  I know each year that a day will come when I can no longer hunt until the next season begins.  Here in Virginia, I know each week that hunting on Sunday is not an option either. 

With fishing on the other hand, it's a little too easy to say "I'll go tomorrow."  But tomorrows come and go, and before I know it it's June, and I've barely fished.  A few summertime tomorrows slip by, and suddenly it's fall, and all I can think about is when I can get back into the woods.

I also have to admit that the whole catch-and-release thing has taken a little of the excitement out of fishing for me.  I understand why it's a good idea: to keep from depleting fisheries and because a lot of fish these days aren't safe to eat.  But somehow it's just not the same when I don't plan to kill and eat the species I'm after. 

In fact, I feel more remorse after stabbing a fish in the mouth, yanking the hook out and then tossing it back than I do after dropping a deer that I know will make many a meal.  The occasional fish that is thrown back only to float to the surface dead a few minutes later makes me feel a lot like I have felt after arrowing a deer and then being unable to find it.

Still, fishing was my first outdoor passion, and I love sharing it with my kids as my dad shared it with me.  Maybe I'll go tomorrow...

Return to the Troll Bridge

The boys and I went fishing yet again after supper last night, this time returning to the tried-and-true spot we call "The Troll Bridge."

We rarely catch any big fish there, but we always catch a lot of small (many of them tiny) ones, and we went there mainly because my eight-year-old wanted to practice removing hooks from the mouths of fish.  This has long been a hang-up of his--he doesn't much like grabbing the fish--but this year he is determined to get to a point at which he never needs to ask me for help.

Upon our arrival, we were dismayed to find that the fishing platform has been removed.  I'm not sure why the Ashburn Farm Association did that, although I never thought the thing had been built that well.  Perhaps the association management felt it was getting dangerous.

Even though the platform was gone, the fish were not, and the boys landed fish after fish until almost dark.  I'm so glad that they enjoy angling, and I too have enjoyed every minute of the three fishing exursions we've made in the past four days.

Also, for those of you who are local, I'm going to give up my fishing hole.  The Troll Bridge pond is located on Hay Road in Ashburn Farm between the library and the swimming pool.  The spot we fish--and where the bridge is--is located on the back side of the pond, and you can access it from an asphalt path that leads from the pool parking lot to the library.

This spot holds many wonderful memories for me and my boys, and I look forward to taking my youngest there sometime soon.  It is the best place I know of in the Leesburg/Ashburn area to teach a young kid to fish and hopefully to get him or her started on a lifetime of enjoying this great sport.