Bright Idea Outdoors Weblog

First Week on the Job Comes to a Close

Wow; here I am at the end of the first week on my new job.  I think that's the case anyway; not sure if I'm supposed to work Saturday my first week or not.

Looks like we've got another rainy weekend ahead of us.  Of course, I'm hoping to get some hunting in, but I'd also like to spend some time in front of this computer if it's raining too hard to hunt.  If that's the case, I'll write an update on what I'm doing and what my new job actually is.  I'll also work on some new pages for this site that I've dreamed up this week.

Good luck to all who are hunting this weekend.  Stay safe and be patient; if the bucks aren't already on the move in your area, they will be soon.

Good luck also to anyone who will be engaged in a sport other than hunting.  My son's football team has its first playoff game tomorrow, and we're hoping the rain holds off for that.  He's still a young kid playing "C League," but, no matter what level you're at, have fun and play hard!

Happy Anniversary Honey

In a break from my usual policy of not disclosing important family dates online, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish my lovely wife a happy anniversary.  Tommorow marks 11 years since that beautiful day we tied the knot at Oatlands Plantation.

Since then we've had three kids, one dog, two houses, a handful of cars and trucks, a few jobs and even a couple gigs some people might call careers.  I became a hunter and blogger, and she became a photographer and started her own business.  We've had some sad days, some mad days, some hard days and a whole lot of great days.  I just hope that sometime, before we leave this world, we get a chance to experience a day as perfect as July 11, 1998.

Happy Anniversary Honey.  I love you and am looking forward to the next 11 years with you.

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

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...

Blog Update

I've remained incredibly busy at work this week and am still having trouble getting back into the swing of blog reading and writing. 

I do have a new Internet Safety project in the works though.  It will include a review of Chris Hansen's 2007 book To Catch a Predator: Protecting Your Kids from Online Enemies Already in Your Home, and  I'm attending  an Internet Safety seminar next Monday.  I look forward to passing on more information on this important topic to my readers.

Meanwhile, I've also got something new cooking with Kevin Paulson and HuntingLife.com.  More on that as it develops...

Back to Blogging (I Hope)

Things are settling down a little in my life, and I hope to return to blog posting regularly beginning this week.  I also plan to see what's going on with the OBS and what the member bloggers have been writing about during the several weeks that I've been out of touch.

I've really missed blog reading and was reminded of this during a phone conversation last night with Kevin Paulson of HuntingLife.com.  It sounds like Kevin's business is really taking off, and his site will be one of the first ones with which I try to get re-acquainted.

Meanwhile, I finally finished reading Hershel Howell's book Lim.  A review of this exciting adventure tale will be one of my first orders of business as I return to the world of blogging.

Blog Notes

It's been a week since my last post, but it feels like a year.  The last several days have been a blur of activity that included a trip to the Eastern Shore of Virginia, a turkey hunt, a memorial service for a fallen hunter complete with 21-shotgun salute, and sunrise service on Easter where I was responsible for getting a campfire going.  What these last few days have included more than anything else is work, work, work!

That's a good thing; it means we get to eat and stay in our house for at least another week.  But it also means I just don't have time to blog, and I really don't have time to read other people's blogs.  I keep saying I'm going to get caught up on the weekends, but the weekends end up being just as busy as the rest of the week.

At some point things will get back to normal, and I'll be able to return to a normal writing and blog-reading schedule.  Until then, bear with me.

A New Blog and a Good Book

Bright Idea Outdoors special correspondent Tom Elliston finally got his own blog!  Check out the Trellis Outdoors Blog now and leave a comment encouraging him to keep it up.

Tom is accomplished outdoorsman, who, despite being about 16 years my junior, has taught me a lot about hunting.  I know he has a lot of great stories to tell.

Meanwhile, speaking of great stories, I recently received and am about halfway through Hershel Howell's book Lim.  I'll do a review of this humorous adventure story when I finish the book, but so far I'm really enjoying it.  Order your copy now!