Pine Donkey

Bill, your point is right on, change is inevitable. Change is a continuous process, but it does not always travel in the same direction. Currently the Santa Rita's comprise a vast area of natural habitat with very few residents. Although there has been encroachment from Tucson, Nogales and even Sonoita, very few people live in the actual mountains. Much of what is now seen as untouched natural habitat had actually been enhabited by thousands of people over the last century and a half. The Santa Rita's has been home to many towns that no longer exist. These include Graterville, Placerville, Helvitia, Solerno, Kentucky Camp, and of course Rosemont. The town of Rosemont existed because of the Rosemont mines. This mining operation was extensive and even included a smelter. Below is a short description of Rosemont from ghost towns.com: Rosemont's post office was established September 27, 1894 and discontinued May 31, 1910. Rosemont owed its existence to a copper mine of the same name. The town had about 150 residents and its own smelter. The original owners, L.J. Rose and William B. McCleary, went heavily into debt and sold the mine to the Lewisohn brothers of New York City. They continued to work the mine for years until they played out. Today, nothing is really left of the town.

Lotta junk happening there! Congratulations on a great buck.

You're killing me.

This will never work. I've seen my dogs get into the garbage can, eat some thing bad, puke it up, eat it again, and puke again. Next time they get the chance they are going through the garbage again. Time it spend our money wisely.

Garrett, my 17 year old son and Mark (MJE1) have been hunting hard in the same area for three years. They scout year around, and have really worked hard to identify all the quality bucks in the area. They have named several bucks they see as potential shooters; one of these they call the bike seat buck because of the unique coloring on his face. They estimate this buck to be between 100 and 105. During the third week of December they packed in ground blinds 3 1/2 miles and set them up. Each of them has passed up smaller bucks waiting for one of the chosen few to show up. Last weekend Garrett passed up a tall 3 x 2 that would score about 85. I told him he is crazy to pass up such a nice buck with a bow. His argument is that last year he took a nice muley, and the year before he took a small coues, both with a bow. He felt with all his and Mark's hard work, and all the good bucks they have seen, he was holding out. Well his plan all came together Saturday morning when the Bike Seat Buck took a trail that passes his blind at 40 yards. One well placed arrow later and an 80 yard tracking job, Garrett had his buck. This buck is 9 inches smaller on his right side than his left. Our taxidermist said this is because he had an injured left rear leg. Due to this injury, his hoof became very thin and long. In addition to the deer he has been seing, he has pigs visit his blind everyday. A week ago he took his 7th pig. This is his 5th with a bow. This sounds like a big number but it is not when you consider that at this rate, in 30 years he will be approaching TJ levels, and in 40 years he will be nearing Quimby levels.

I could not agree with you more Bill. Here is what Allen West said about it. Not many politicians are willing to speak there mind even when it goes against political correctness. UNLESS YOU‘VE BEEN SHOT AT BY THE TALIBAN ’SHUT YOUR MOUTH, WAR IS heck’: ALLEN WEST WEIGHS IN ON URINATING MARINE SCANDAL Posted on January 13, 2012 at 4:47pm by Becket Adams Print » Email » Comments (1026) Rep. Allen West (R-FL), a former Army lieutenant colonel, sent The Weekly Standard an email commenting on a recent video depicting what appears to be four U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban terrorists. The email reads as follows [emphases added]: I have sat back and assessed the incident with the video of our Marines urinating on Taliban corpses. I do not recall any self-righteous indignation when our Delta snipers Shugart and Gordon had their bodies dragged through Mogadishu. Neither do I recall media outrage and condemnation of our Blackwater security contractors being killed, their bodies burned, and hung from a bridge in Fallujah. All these over-emotional pundits and armchair quarterbacks need to chill. Does anyone remember the two Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who were beheaded and gutted in Iraq? The Marines were wrong. Give them a maximum punishment under field grade level Article 15 (non-judicial punishment), place a General Officer level letter of reprimand in their personnel file, and have them in full dress uniform stand before their Battalion, each personally apologize to God, Country, and Corps videotaped and conclude by singing the full US Marine Corps Hymn without a teleprompter. As for everyone else, unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth, war is heck.

+1

Been telling that joke all day. Even the women love it!

He was so right. My grandfather and uncle worked at the Flagstaff mill years ago. If you have not ever lived in a small one horse town, like a mining or logging town, you just won't understand the importance of a mill or mine. It becomes the constant that everything revolves around.

It's nice to hear there are new mills popping up. Logging used to be a huge part of that community. It is sad to drive past the old saw mill site.

That was a great fight. How cool you were able to catch it on video. Thanks for posting.

Ernesto, you are so right, that is a very cool buck. Congratulations.

No, no,no. They are transported through chupacabre droppings.

Lark, my dad worked at a mine in New Guinea for a couple years. He brought home some of those gourds and gave them away to family and friends. Quite a uniqu item. By the way, mine is the biggest gourd! Kinda gives new meaning to the term are you outta your gourd.

Over the last few decades, there have been so many regulations and restrictions on logging that we have effectively killed the industry in Arizona. That is itself is a contributing factor towards our huge fires in the past decade. We have forced so many of our saw mills out of business, we are not able to harvest the massive amount of timber that was burned. Where are they going to cut it up at...Springerville, Flagstaff,? A few small operations remain like the Reidhead Brothers mill in Nutrioso, but we just don't have the capability of harvesting the current amount of lumber available before it rots.

Great story. I love to see kids get into hunting, then see such a genuine smile of joy in the trophy photos. Congratulations to all.

That first buck is a stud! Thanks for posting the story. Congratulations.

To be continued, same time, same channel...that's just not right. Finish the story!

Our house is a simple place in an old small town, but we sure enjoy visits from our neighbors. They show up almost everyday and often drink out of our koi pond. Sometimes the ladies bring in their boyfriends. Unfortunately, the boys tend to get picked off from the streets and porches of town. My beautiful wife Chrystie likes to go outside and talk to them when they are in the yard. Sometimes they look at her as if they understand. Over the years we have watched generations of deer come and go. The deer in town don't even get alarmed by dogs anymore.

Josh, that's a stud buck! Sounds like a great trip. I love the mass on that unique, high 2x3 that kept posing for you. Congratulations to both of you.

For all of you that cherish time in the field helping a child to love the hunt and the outdoors, there is a very good article in the January/February edition of Bugle Magazine entitled Growing a Hunter. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I received this picture in an email. It said the moose got his antlers tangled in the wire before they were pulled up. While pulling them, the crew notices extra resistance and went to investigate. They lowered the live moose and he took off. Sounds a bit fishy to me, maybe some who work on utility lines can chime in.

I have a couple old PSE bows. One is about 10 years old, the other about 15. They were good quality bows when purchased, but technology has left them behind. I am offering them for free to anybody who might be kicking around the idea of getting into archery. All I ask is that they get used or given away to another, not sold for profit. If anybody is interested, let me know. I can also post pictures if needed.

At my parent's place near Nutrioso we get a lot of elk in the meadow by the lake, over 100 at once sometimes. Very few deer in that area. We have seen bears and wolves several times. It will be interesting to see how the travel patterns change after the fire.

What a trip, and what great bucks. Thanks for making the post.