naturegirl

West side of queen creek

I'd like to come across him during season He's a beautiful buck!!!!

hmmmmm, is it on? Had a friend pull out 30 or so frogs a couple weeks ago. He pulled almost double on the same day a year ago. Tucson area

I was coming down the hill from berry picking driving about 60 mph when I happen to see a flash of antlers in the shade under a tree on my right. I braked and pulled over as quickly as I could all the while my mother was sitting next to me saying "No you're not Chris! No you're not!." I did..... This is what I saw fly by There was a rock outcropping between the highway and the bucks so I knew I was covered. When I got to the edge, I side stepped out and quickly caught the attention of buck #1. I took a few photos, side stepped again and took a few more photos. But I really wanted a photo of the bigger buck, so I side stepped a third time, but was busted! Then a white pickup truck turns around to watch the bucks bound over the hillside.

That is the problem .. There have been groups for the last decade trying to get the bureaucrats to allow for the rounding up and adoption of wild mustangs.... always been met with resistance and mainly due to tribal relations... The population has gone up significantly while nothing has been being done. If there are people willing to wrangle, break and get these mustangs to Homes versus sending them to slaughter IMO it should be done... All I'm saying is I don't care if they remove the mustangs or not! I'm not going to get upset either way. If they stay great, if they caputre them for adoption or dispatch, it doesn't bother me either way. I still don't understand why so many people get so upset about something that does not matter or affect them. There are a lot worse things we can all concentrate our efforts on that can better our society!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes there are better things we can do with our time, but some of us happen to like the Salt River horses. I've been here since 1979 and they've been here that long. I think the Feds did not include them in the 1971 mapping that was done to protect all wild horses & burros at that time. Do they need managed? Yes, but I'm sure now with all the hoopla surrounding the roundup enough people will step forward to adopt them. I personally have spoken to two different people over the years who have taken one home as their own and said they were wonderful horses.

It definitely made me alert when I went out today. I dont wanna do that again. My tough guy "18" year old said, why did you jump? You already had him pinned just cut his head off. He knows everything.. Yeah really you should've just continued on like nothing, pulled out your knife and sliced, built a fire by rubbing sticks together, and cooked it up. But your boy should show you how it's done first

I also believe unit managers (G&F) have input. I know Ben in 37B worked tirelessly organizing the installation & volunteers over the years. I'm guessing he campaigned for funding of the tanks too.

Mine takes 30 minutes but I sure was glad I had it last year during an archery hunt. Saved my butt.

Are you ok? You got a lot of berries. I ate so soooo many.

I took the little one and my mom up this weekend. Another week I'd say as most aren't ready but we got enough ripe ones to make us happy :)

Sorry I didn't read thru all of the comments. I swear the image I saw showed a compound bow and not a crossbow. Did anyone else see this? He and his guide made a bad choice to kill a local "pet."

Amanda who is a biologist & her husband Paul were kind enough to let me tag along on one of her endangered Mexican Spotted Owl Surveys (Thank you!!!). I will be the first to admit I stink at photographing anything with feathers, but the real joy came from the nesting pair being successful with this youngin. I was so caught up taking pictures trying to get it right when I look over at a birder named Matt who also tagged along on the trip and there he was standing with his mouth agape 100% mesmerized by what was taking place in front of him. I stopped clicking then so I too could really SEE the mother owl retrieve the mouse and take it to the baby. I feel very lucky to have been a part of this. This baby needs to fight to make it as the survival rate is very low for baby Mexican Spotted Owls. Monsoons are definitely present in Southern Arizona. A water bug closeup. I was actually to surprised to see what they look like up close. Paul pointed out this beautifully camouflaged Canyon Tree Frog. The dove is nesting above an alligator enclosure. Not the smartest idea. I believe this is a Sierran Tree Frog, but I've most often heard it called a Chorus Tree Frog. Yikes! He was calm for awhile, but then got grumpy. California King Snake on the water's edge. Adorable family of masked bandits in a palm tree outside a local golf course. They were young and tolerant of my picture taking Someday I will take an excellent elk picture, but for now I get to practice on the Salt River horses. Nice blue eye on this young one.

Yes my long lenses have IS which i believe only works when you are in auto focus mode (at least with the 75-300 I know IS doest work when manually focusing). I'm almost always manually focusing. Guess I could go read the manual on the big lens...yuck

I've got two now both Cannon. EOS Rebel T3 and EOS Rebel T5i. I will either have the 75-300mm or 100-400 mm lens on almost always since I like closeups. When you start getting into cameras better than this they are heavier and bulkier, and weight makes a difference since I carry one with me always when I'm outdoors. I'm learning the big lens now. It was kicking my butt because of the weight and I don't use a tripod. The better I get at controlling camera shake carries right over to my bow and shooting.

I'd like to add that I've enjoyed eating elderberrys this year since I now know they are edible.

http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/35520-my-hunt/ As much as I'd like to edit it, I will not. The question was asked "How tough are elk?" My answer is TOUGH! My 2012 bull took my arrow and never even flinched....not even a twitch. I've come quite a ways in 3 years and a very long ways in the last 7 years since I had my eyes planted on a 10x9 MONSTER bull. Now I'm hunting soley for meat. That's a big turn around for me. I almost quit hunting altogether after losing that bull. I missed two spring tags in 2013 choosing to sit out and question why I hunt? I definitely found my answer. I love elk hunting! My 2015 goal is a shot under 20 yds but 30 is a chip shot I've lost 2 animals between 30-40 yards so I'm upping my game and getting closer.

I'm not a fan of paying either and i do everything in my power not to pay by avoiding "improved areas." I will say if you visit say Illinois you will quickly realize we have a HUGE state with pretty much unlimited public access in most of it. This is because we have a ton of public land (and we know who oversees public land). Even if a toll booth is installed (which I don't agree with not knowing any of the details) I feel we are still blessed to be in AZ and have millions of acres of land at our disposal whenever we want it. I suck it up and pay when I have to but if I can find a way not to pay, that's the route I'll go.

Guess I haven't been spending enough time towards that side of the rim. I'll keep my eyes open for the lovely little snacks.

I swim all the time in the lakes and I'm fine. It's like my recent tick encounter, you just need to make sure you don't have any hitchhikers on you when you leave.

Where abouts should someone look for these AZ berries? What kinds of areas do they like to grow in? I was just talking to a friend jokingly about trading elk meat for Michigan berries that he's picking now. Hmmm. I didn't know they are here for my picking. Yummy! When I'm back east, my problem is I eat them as fast as I pick them

LOL

I've done my best to stay down the hill but I couldn't resist and made a trip up to work on some new ideas and practice my hunting skills with my camera. I love the feeling I get when they are close. My last two bull tags were "trophy" hunts. This year any of these bulls are shooters and will fill my freezer nicely #1 #2 #3 #4 I had fun stalking these guys through a burned area. Only once did I think one saw me, but he kept on grazing and moved up over the hill. It wasn't as hard as I thought and the downed trees actually hid me well. Just have to include this photo

Nice! I'm jealous!

Wow!

There may only be 6" spikes, but he will be MY trophy