BER-DOING!!!! Pt2 The Re-Write Of Spring

Fish eggs, fallen from the sky, a pair of them on the roof of a car,

at a wedding, in suburban Leeds no less.

I always wondered how lonely Tarns in the highland hills got to have fish in them. Well now I know, sometimes things just fall from the sky, in that way that leaves me wondering about the elusive pattern that we call serendipity, where one random impulsive act can change the course of events, give us a new lease on life, and even provide a doorway back to when we we're young and weren't so stupid as to believe we've seen it all before. Last night I was suddenly and without warning 15 years old again - felt better the second time around.

SBW

The Dog Blokes - The Dog Blogs

The Bambi Basher and I were standing in the woods the other day talking his new line of T shirts and about bloggers and their dogs when he asked me to recommend him some dog blogs, never one to turn up the chance to turn something I was going to do anyway into a blog post. Here's a covey flushed from the bloggersphere. Boom Boom.

mouthful of feathers

Five scribes put this one together: I was going to post a snippet of my favorite post, but they're all good and many are exceptional - this is their raison d'etre. Better written than anything I could manage.

Why? Because too little upland writing and imagery, particularly in regard to the West, inspires us or seems to reflect our reality. We feel the need for fresh voices that articulate the experience as we know it – wild, elusive birds in massive country, imperfect dogs (and people), dirtbag camps, true field guns, trucks stuck in the mud and days spent putting miles on the boots with nothing to show for it. Is it possible to bring this whole upland thing down a notch and take it to a new level at the same time? We’re gonna try.

We like to get after it far from the beaten track whenever possible, though we’re not immune to a little luxury now and then, more than likely in the form of a good cigar and a flask of bourbon on the tailgate. Now temper this brew with a generous dose of dry irreverence and appreciation for the absurdity of our pursuit – an ingrained, hardwired obsession that truly haunts us, no less than our dogs, for half the year while we wait for opening day. You won’t find any “how-to” articles here, though you may find the occasional example of “how-not-to.” Besides, there are plenty of other places for that sort of information – some of it even useful, in our experience. We’re here to celebrate the “whys” and delve deep into the soul of this thing. So throw your gear and your dog in the back and let’s go. We’ll try to be back by dinner time…

On the Eastern seaboard: Uplandfeathers keeps up a steady commentary on

The adventures of Bella and Cooper our two German Shorthair Pointers, Unboxing posts on the latest upland hunting gear, Gun-owner rights (2 nd amendment), Conservation programs, habitat restoration efforts and the latest news from state and federal wildlife agencies

In Newfoundland Canada a chap called Dan [occasionally] writes

Out On The Rock a diary of hunting and travel with dogs in the pristine boreal wilderness.

No list of dog blogs could ever be complete without name checking Patrick Burns' The Terrierman's Daily Dose - literally one of the great finds of the bloggersphere, really sharp investigative skills, insightful local, national and international political commentary, really sharp writing, my favorite PETA basher, and razor sharp wit are delivered daily. Gawg-nabbit how's he find the time to do anything else?

Last but not least: one of the good guys, miserableist, punk rock aficionado, 6.5x55 evangelist, DIY fishing tackle guru, bibliophile, storm chaser, bait caster, bird hunter, regular commenter on this blog, dog bloke, and renaissance redneck Chad Love. Writes The Mallard Of Discontent

Oh and if you found this while looking online for stuff for your dogs The Tea Lady is the go-to-gal for all the best gear at the lowest possible prices. Catch up with her stand at most game fairs or

you can find her online or on the phone at http://www.dogtrainingsupplies.co.uk/

Enjoy

SBW

PS all pix credited to the blogs they're from - Bambi Basher and The Tea Lady will have the T Shirt soon.

Thanks For Reading Team Bushwacker

Wow! A hundred of you have been gracious enough to use the google follower function to keep up to speed with my journey. Thanks for your support. I'm stoked.

If there's anything you'd like to see on this blog, leave a comment and you never know.....
SBW
PS as usual when there's a cartoon involved The Terrierman got there first.

Vintage Firearms - The Rigby .275

As I started telling you in the last post I met up with another blogger last weekend: Bambi Basher is a massive military history and firearms buff who I'll be taking my deer management cert. with. He's recently become the latest delighted owner of a rifle made by Rigby of (first Dublin and then) London. I think of myself as the kind of bushwacker who likes his tools to be tools, but made in the 20s or 30s this one is pre Carbon and Fiberglas, so it's stocked in Walnut, and I was surprised how taken with it I was. Svelte in the hand, and older than both of us put together it's obviously been cared for, but bears the marks, scratches, and dings of many adventures. It's chambered in .275 Rigby (7x57mm Mauser) which many of the internets gun nuts seem to regard as a wonder hunting round having a slight edge over the more common .270. Here's a video from last weekend - much more to tell you about my weekend with the him but that'll have to wait.
Cheers
SBW

When Bloggers Meet

It's been a while hasn't it? Quite a bit has been happening and not much of it anything to do with my SBW life. But all that was to change this weekend when I met up with Bambi Basher and The Tea Lady. As most of our activities took place at 'hunter-o'clock' which is even earlier than builder o'clock I'm too battered to write it up now but you can get his side of the story The Suburban Bushwacker & I
Night Night
SBW