Camera

As if I don't have enough hobbies I am interested in picking up yet another one...photography. All I have right now is a point and shoot Kodak. While it is good enough for close up shots and family parties, it is not good for a lot of other stuff. I like to take it with me when I go to the farm hunting but I can't get the shots I want. The other night the moon and clouds looked really awesome and I tried to get a picture of it and it did not come out so good.

I have been looking at the Nikon D60. It seems to be a decent entry level digital SLR although I must admit I do not know much about cameras...yet. I have seen this go for around $500 to $700 (some body only and some with 1 lens). I did see on ebay.com, Sunshine Electronics offer the Nikon D60 with 3 lenses, bag, hard case, 2 tripods and a lot of other accessories for $629.00 + free shipping. I do not know anything about them and they have a 99.4 % Positive rating so I read some of them. It seems they take a long time to ship orders out, very slow customer service response and the biggest is the accessories seem to be junk.

If anybody has dealt with Sunshine Electronics or knows anything about them, let me know. They are located in Brooklyn NY. It may be worth my while to get the Camera and lens from a camera shop and slowly get the accessories one by one so at least I know I will not be getting junk.

Another deer hunting bust

Got into my stand on Friday @ 7 am for some bow hunting. It was about 23 degrees and didn't get any warmer all day. I left the woods at 4:30. I didn't see or hear anything the whole time. I even sat through the snow fall, thinking that would get things going. I waited and waited but still nothing. I hunted out of my tree stand, my friends tree stand and walked the property to no avail. I have until the end of the month so I will be going back for sure.

While I was hunting at the farm, I had my camera and took some pictures. I thought I would post them here. There is about 59 acres so this is just a few areas.

My buddy's truck on the left and mine on the right. In the back is the building where they sell fruits, vegetables, plants etc.
This is the area I saw the buck. I will be back there real soon.

This is where we saw all the does first thing in the morning.

The building in the background is the old chicken coop. This is another heavily traveled spot for the deer.

Nature Wins.......Again

My day started at 5:15 AM when I got to the farm. It was about 27 degrees. I suited up and my hunting buddy and I headed into the woods at about 5:40 or so. The legal hunting hours are ½ hour before sun up to ½ after sundown. Sunrise today was at 7:17. At about 5:45 we saw 8 to 10 does, too early and way too dark for a shot. I got into my tree stand at about 6:10 and settled in. At 10:30, I had to get down and stretch my legs. I found another spot and stayed there for about an hour.

At 12:00, my buddy and I went and got lunch. When we finished, he went home and I went back out. Only this time, I brought my stool because my back couldn’t take the tree stand anymore. I set up right under my buddies tree stand. It is about 3 to 5 yards off the main trail, which is also used by the deer. As I sat there, dozing on and off, I saw and heard nothing.

At 2:00 I heard a noise behind me. I turned around and saw the ass end of a deer! The head was behind a tree. I figured it was a doe. As I got my bow ready for the shot, it took off sprinting down the path, about 3 yards in front of me. That is when I realized it was not a doe, but a 5 point buck!! It was too quick for me to get off a shot so I just sat there and watched what turned out to be my one and only shot, run off into the woods. I can’t believe how close he was to me. I finally gave up and called it a day at 4:00. My back had called it a day about 2 hours earlier.

On the way home I saw two does in someone’s backyard. I though about pulling over and getting the bow out and taking a shot but came to my sense quickly. At least I know he is out there and I’ll get him next time.

Bow Hunting

Although I have been hunting on and off since 1995 I have never gone bow hunting. I will be going for the first time on Friday. I am going to a private farm in North West New Jersey. I have a Hoyt Trykon parallel limb bow set at 50lbs. It is set up with a Toxonics 3 pin sight, although I only use 2 of them, 1 at 10 yards and 1 at 20 yards. The sight has a harmonics dampener. I am also shooting with a Whisker Biscuit which I have never used. I used to use a Nap Smart Rest. If anyone who reads my blog is a bow hunter, let me know if and how you shoot a Whisker Biscuit. I have heard most people shoot the cock feather up, but a few shoot it down. I had it installed at Simon Peter in Newton NJ, and was told it is best to shoot it up.

Anyway, like I stated in a previous post, I have yet to get a deer so I am looking forward to Friday. I have never hunting this early in the season. I’ve always had to wait until December for the permit shotgun then the regular shotgun in January and February. I was at Cheesequake Park yesterday and I saw a 4 point buck and 3 does. Hopefully I will see the same on Friday from my tree stand.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Four the past four years my wife, daughter and I went pumpkin picking. My daughter would pick which pumpkin we would get and I would carve it. OK, maybe I picked the first two. Here are the ones we did. Happy Halloween!!

Is there any good TV left??

All summer I waited for the Fall TV Line-up. I have my favorite sit-coms that I watch every week and since the Yankees didn’t make the play-offs I was looking forward to watching them. Well, so far I am very disappointed in them. The following is a list of the ones I watch and what I thought of them;
My Name Is Earl- Waist of my time. It used to be funny in the first 2 seasons.
How I Met Your Mother- Getting less funny each season.
Two And A Half Men- Losing interest. Like watching a comedian who is doing the same routine over and over.
The Office- Probably the biggest disappointment of them all. Although I found it to be the funniest, I don’t think it was as good as it could have been.

I also watched two new shows;
Worst Week- What could I say other than worst show.
Gary Unmarried- Has potential. There were some funny lines.

I also watch 30 Rock but have not seen it yet this year. From the looks of it I will be watching NASCAR, golf, football, hunting/fishing shows and the Food Network a lot this fall and winter.