Creating a Lake

[pat32rf]

Eddie- Been lurking for weeks but I just had to ask, what do the hogs taste like? I can envision a monthly hog barbeque for the guests....(what caliber is Steph's hog gun?)

 

[EddieWalker]

Wild hog doesn't taste like domestic pork. It has a totaly unique flavor from a very lean meat. It's one of the few wild game animals that you can just cut a stake out of and though on the grill and enjoy eating it. Of course, that's a nice young hundred pounder or less. Once they get much bigger, it's hit or miss as to what you end up with. I've had 200 pound boars that tasted great and 150 pound sows that were tough. She was still better than venison!!! hahaha

Steph shoots my Remington .30-06. It's a 700 BDL with a Hogue stock, Timney trigger and Redfield 5 Star scope. I bought the Redfield right after I got out of the Marines because they were on sale, a friend said they were great and I didn't know what a good scope was. It's failed on me twice, and Redfield has repaired if for free both times, but I don't trust it.

I shot Expert in the Marine Corps and feel I'm fairl competent with a rifle. My brother went through Sniper School and was an instructor for awhile in the Marines. He's a great shot. Steph is close to being as good as he is, and if we worked at it, I think she could be great too. It's easy for her to shoot sub MOA at 100 yards.

I use Federal Premium ammo with 165 grain bullets.

We're still getting pics of hogs on our game cam, but we've moved it to another location with tracks of coyotes and deer. We've only been seeing hogs at nighttime, but you never know with them. They can be out anyday.

Eddie

 

[RobJ]

Wild hog doesn't taste like domestic pork. It has a totaly unique flavor from a very lean meat.

Still funny about this I guess out taste buds are different. We just had some country cut ribs from a 80# boar i shot with a bow. Cooks up white and tastes just the same as the store. If my wife can't tell the difference then something is amiss (and she does not eat beef). I could only detect a slight hint of game when getting close to the bone. I just cooked them on the grill with some BBQ sauce. Same night I cooked some small backstrap ( I think, small round cutlets) that were pure meat, they cooked up like a pork tender. My wife buys a pork tender at the store 3-4 times a month. I haven't tried the ham steaks yet.

Last weekend up there I cooked some tenderized venison backstrap. Since we use to grind everything, these tasted real good. Very little game taste (people forget venison is not beef). We added a little A-1 for good measure. I think the processor has a lot to do with things. On a quick visit he agreed that cooking game without the bones will remove some of the gamey flavor. I'm not sure if thats 100% true but it works for us.

Rob

 

[john_bud]

Venison fat is nasty stuff. If you get all that out of the meat and let it age properly it melts like butta.

jb

 

[schmism]

so the lake is full? lets see some feb pics

 

[donais]

7 days im starting to shake man i need a hit.. any changes or just a new pic to shut us up???? jon

 

[EddieWalker]

There's really nothing new to report on the lake. It's a short walk from the house and impossible to see from here, but I haven't even been down there since last weekend. We've had a few small showers, but not enough to cause an runoff. Every time it rains, the first thing I do is look at the dirt to see if the water ran off of it, or if it just soaked in.

The water level seems to be droping a steady one inch per week. This has been going on for about four weeks now and is a steady decline. I'm confident it's from evaporation and no longer worried about a leak.

Every weekend Steph and I go for walks on our trails. She's an amature birder and is always trying to get a better picture of the birds on our land, or idnetify a new type.

She spotted this one along the shoreline of Lake Marabou on Saturday. It's a Savanah Sparrow, which is only here in winter. It's rapid running along the edge of the water was so strainge that she took a bunch of pictures of it. This is the 51st type of bird we've positively identified.

The forecast is for thunder storms this weekend with the possibility of severe weather. That usually translates into allot of rain coming down real fast!!!

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[BTDT]

Eddie, do you have any Inca doves at your place? I have seen several around our place in the last few years. Here is a link to a pic, they generally stay a little farther south.

Inca Dove

 

[EddieWalker]

Last August Steph spotted this pair of Inca Doves. She didn't know what they were at the time, but knew they were much smaller than the other Doves we have here. They also have some very unique markings, but neither of us realized that until she downloaded the pictures.

They were here just a few days and most of the time we saw them was when they took off. The pictures are from our front porch.

Eddie

 

[rico304]

I just noticed that your first posting was on 02-23-2005, at 06:56 PM .

Happy anniversary a day early Eddie! I'll be gone tomorrow, so I thought I should write it now. That picture of the swampy area seems like it was taken yesterday! hahaha Ok, I'm sure you don't feel that way, but it doesn't seem like 2 years ago.
Congrats on everything. Looks awesome.

 

[have_blue]

Last August Steph spotted this pair of Inca Doves.
Eddie

Eddie,

Some new little doves showed up around here 4-5 years ago. For the first 2-3 years they were very scarce, but now they're very common. They have rusty red wing tips and tail feathers, and are about half the size of a mourning dove. Would you have any idea what they are?

 

[BTDT]

Eddie,

Some new little doves showed up around here 4-5 years ago. For the first 2-3 years they were very scarce, but now they're very common. They have rusty red wing tips and tail feathers, and are about half the size of a mourning dove. Would you have any idea what they are?

Mourning Dove

Down toward the bottom may be a description of the dove you mention.

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie,

Some new little doves showed up around here 4-5 years ago. For the first 2-3 years they were very scarce, but now they're very common. They have rusty red wing tips and tail feathers, and are about half the size of a mourning dove. Would you have any idea what they are?

Bob,

I took a quick look in one of Stephs bird books and it sounds like a Common Ground Dove. They are 1.1 ounces and has flashing rufous-red primaries and wing linings and a black tail with a white corners. They said that it's considered tame and will not fly away until almost stepped upon.

The book shows there range into the very Southern, Eastern corner of Lousiana. Is that where you are?

The Mourning Dove weighs 4.3 ounces.

Let me know if that's it,
Eddie

 

[have_blue]

BTDT: The new doves are very small. My local mourning doves could nearly swallow one whole.

Eddie: I live in SW Louisana. The ground dove's size is about right, but the body shape and coloration aren't very close. The new dove doesn't have the chubby looking body of the ground dove. The body is slimmer, and shaped more like a cockatiel. The wing tips and tail feather tips are the rufous color.

I guess the local coloration can vary widely, and it well may be a ground dove or Inca dove.

This picture of a diamond dove's wing sure looks right. Maybe some went feral?

http://www2.ups.edu/biology/museum/DIDOwing12329.jpg

 

[wfontjr]

inca doves have showed up around the orange, lake charles area in the last few years, similiar to diamond doves without the diamonds

 

[EddieWalker]

The water is still dropping. It's increased from an inch a week to two inches a week. The weather has also warmed up quite a bit and we've been in the 70's. Grass is starting to show up and there are a few areas that actually look like it's turning green!!!!

Steph and I were at Walmart on Saturday and I noticed that they had minnow traps. Hmmm. There's an idea!!!

Peyton is 6 years old and my little buddy. We put some fish food in the trap, tied it to the dock and he threw it in the water. We waited a few hours, which really killed him, and pulled it up. There was over a dozen minnows in it!!!!

Now his reward for getting a "green bear" at school is to pull up the minnow trap and then let them go in the lake. So far so good, every day has been green bear days. hahaha

We've been averageing over 30 fish per day in the trap, but decided to move it around the small pond to keep the preasure off. Some of the minnows are small, but most are very large and at least two in every catch has been pregnant.

It's Payton's job to let them go. He catches them in the bucket, looks them over real good to see if it's pregnant or not, then he puts in in the water and lets it swim away.

Pics are of him with the trap, fish in the trap, fish in the bucket and Peyton letting them go one at a time.

Eddie

 

[Michael_E_Tx]

Hey Eddie! Most inspired! What an excellent idea. Man, you can see the enjoyment in his face and body. Good for you guys.

Mike

 

[Bird]

It won't be long before Peyton will not want to turn those minnows loose; he'll want to put them on a hook for bait for bigger fish. And yep, Spring is getting close. I mowed today for the second time this year, and I noticed the buds are just starting to open on the Bradford Pear trees; ought to have white blossoms soon.

 

[gemini5362]

It won't be long before Peyton will not want to turn those minnows loose; he'll want to put them on a hook for bait for bigger fish. And yep, Spring is getting close. I mowed today for the second time this year, and I noticed the buds are just starting to open on the Bradford Pear trees; ought to have white blossoms soon.

Eddie if he is like my boys at that age. Between me and their grandparents serious money was spent on them at christmas. From the look of enjoyment on his face we could have bought them a minnow trap

 

[meadowlarkponds]

Eddie,

Have you been able to find any wet areas behind the dam?