Chocolate Quail

Sun rise

           Candie and I post hunt

release

Quail, a passion to many southern outdoors man and I am one of them. It's late in the season,end of January early February. Three am the alarm rings only to find your already up getting the truck loaded for the two hour drive to the promise land. I load my favorite side by side 12 gauge safely in the back seat protected like a newborn coming home from the hospital, then the high boots and briar pants, now you load the dog. My aggravating hard headed Boykin named Everglade's Sugarcane Candie.Eleven months old and a veteran with five or six good hunts under her coller. A house dogs she is not, a pet, I want her to be but hunt dog to the core. Chase em flush em, you knock em down and little brown will bring em back.this is where she shines.

 It is a release day at the hunt camp where the camp owners pepper the fields with bobwhite. Now most hunter in the area try and try hard but their success is limited to a handful of birds and a lot of lost birds due to thick grass and palmetto. I meet up with my hunting buddies reload his truck and trailer and his dog Rebel, a pointer from a long list of great pointers, oh this is going to be a day. We arrive at camp as the sun is rising to a pale blue and pink sky. Dew on the grass little breeze 67 deg who could ask for better anything, paradise found. First hunt Rebel hits the ground and is off, nose down tail up and moving, five mins in hard on point, little bushes tall grass. Open box and send in the Candie and up come three bird, four shots later two birds down. Candie picked up the close one brought straight to hand, no for the blind mark. I get her a heal pointing I send her off two hits on the whistle and she is on the second bird. Awesome awesome. We hunt the next four hrs to shoot three limits.

Lunch

Good girl

Hold, hold hold good girl

Love my little brown

 After lunch on the edge of a beautiful oak hammock we let the dogs play some and swim in canal for reward. Now of to front gate to check out with pride in our hunt. Ok, now what you are waiting for,My chocolate Quail recipe

Chocolate Tomato Quail

4 Dressed split quail ( 1 cut up roasting chicken)
1 small sweet onion
1 tbl spoon fresh chop basil
2 pints crushed tomatoes
1 pint tomato sauce
1 1/2 tbl spoon coco
2/3 cup sugar
3 cloves chopped garlic
creole  seasoning ( everglades, zaterans ect)
good cooking oil for saute
1/2 stick unsalted butter
sea salt and pepper to taste


in medium dutch oven high heat, brown seasoned split quail to near fully cooked and set aside an a warming plate,reduce heat to med and  in same pan add butter to deglaze flavors, add onions garlic and basil, saute till translucent, now add coco and sugar,stir in to coat well add tomatoes and sauce. stir and bring to temp.
set Quail on top cover and simmer  med/low heat to finish quail.

Serve over rice and garnish with green onion tops and enjoy  serves 4

Well, it's been a year since the Grammar incident. But I am back. Changing directions a bit but I am back! I plan on taking you along on my Bodacious trip of hunting, fishing, gathering, growing a new life. I may take a seven year old duck with me I may even bring you along to help. As we provide hints on the hunt for fresh food, we will also learn new ways to prepare and serve. New recipes of my own and some modified traditional ones. So hang on and stay tuned. Gator hunt, deer hunts, frogging, tubor and root harvesting, seed grains you can harvest in your area. Prosess meat, preserve your food in many ways but most of all we will have fun and get back to natural living. Ya ya yaaaaaa

Whats this?

     This past weekend I had the privilege of taking a seven year old duck hunting. Amazing is the first word that comes to mind. Myself and a seven year old in the woods for quiet time and good freezer filling experience. Wrong, question after question after question. Is there no end. Well the trip was the best and successful to say the least. Trent my 7 yr old second cousin Killed his first bird, a great shot it was, and I harvested my limit. The evening came and laying in bed digesting the afternoon hunt in my wondering mind it hit me. The questions, all the questions began to make sense. When a question is ask is it the answer that is being sought or something greater. I do believe its something greater. While what kind of bird is that? what kind is that? Why do we do this? and why why why why? The answer seemed to pass right by him but the intensity of the question never wavered. Its because the questions are to test the mentor. Testing your mentors or bosses or a highly regarded professor is important. As an adult we do this and I feel this is brought from childhood. The desire to learn is within all humans but the passion of learning can be taken away by lack of trust or wrong information. Stopping or ignoring the learning desire stops the questions. We can not do this. I find I still ask why is or why did all the time but I ask myself this now. Its the power of learning. Knowledge what keeps us moving in a positive direction. So next time you are ask whats this? take the time to answer fully. You are being sized up as the mentor.     

Family

Some days all you need is to know you have family. Old family that has been there since day one and new family. New family are the ones you have in your life but never really knew them. I have some that just astonish me with their love for others and the beautiful lives they lead. You know who you are and I really love learning more about all of you. One has been part of my life for years but off to the side and never really known as a person till recent. I watch how you live, love and raise your children and how you compliment my brothers life. I am so happy your lives crossed and the happiness you bring to the family. Then there is a special one that has come into my life I admire as an amazing person that just shines with life. Thank you! This summer the two of you took my little girl and helped her cross over to a young lady with aspirations of learning and the value of family. She had these in her but the two of you brought it out shining. I have never been an open book. Sometimes this feels strange but also good. thank you

Sat. memories

Some times You have a day to yourself and things come back to you. Today was one. The Keys trips will always top the list

Takes lots of concentration

and lots of love

PRIDE

pain

ouch

and Florida sunsets

GOD I LOVE MY LIFE

Summer time with Jack

Summer time at nine should be fun. I believe Jackson had fun. Jack spent time with Kylee, Gramma and myself this summer. This Boy can surf

and the shirt says it all

Thinkin bout Sept.

Here I am at starbucks having a venti carmal mach upside down. Damn am I going ever get my man card back. Just left the gym sitn here dreaming of the glades. Beautiful sunrises and ducks cover the sky

Its not New York but I think I like it more!