Texas Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is always a special day to remember all the blessings that we have and share some time with loved ones while eating a special meal together. As you gather this Thanksgiving day be sure and say a special prayer for those on the front line that allow us to be free. They will not be sharing the day with loved ones and I doubt that many will have the type of dinner most of us will see on our tables. These are the men and women that safeguard our country.

Thank you for all you do and may GOD grant you a special blessing this Thanksgiving.
May GOD bind you in his protection and keep you safe until you return home,
Wild Ed























A Soldier's Thanksgiving

Over there a soldier's thinking
Of a time not long ago,
When his loved ones got together;
'Twas Thanksgiving Day, you know.


Over there a soldier's dreaming
Of a turkey baked just right,
Mashed potatoes, golden gravy,
Chestnut dressing, pure delight!


Over there a soldier's hungry
For whipped cream on pumpkin pie.
Squares of cornbread, crusts so tender,
Homemade biscuits stacked up high.


Over there a soldier's wishing
He could have one buttered roll.
But he feasts on GI rations
While his unit's on patrol.


Over there a soldier's lying
In a ditch, his makeshift bed.
Mud and dirt are his companions;
Been awhile since he's been fed.


Over there a soldier's praying
That his open sores will heal.
He is sure that he'll feel better
Once he has a good hot meal.


Over there a soldier's hearing
Loud explosions, muffled cries.
Shrapnel killed his foxhole buddy
Right before his very eyes.


Over there a soldier's quoting
Scriptures learned at Mother's knee,
Proud that he's a mighty warrior,
Keeping all his loved ones free.


This Thanksgiving as you're eating
That sweet corn that grandpa grew,
Say a prayer for that dear soldier
Who would love to be with you.

© 2007 Mariane Holbrook

Lost Outdoor Skills

When I was growing up all the men in my family had outdoor skills. I was taught to hunt, track, fish, process game and survive by my father, grandfathers and uncles. Each had skills to add to my training. Many had grown up on ranches or in rural areas and were accomplished outdoorsmen. It is amazing to me the loss of our traditional hunting and outdoor skills. In those days there were very few deer stands on stilts and next to no barrel feeders with timers to throw corn. I was taught to hunt deer trails and crossings, sometimes we hunted oat patches or natural food plots. If the acorns were good my dad would take me to an oak mott where the acorns were thick and the deer came to feed. We would sit on the ground and watch for hours without talking. A nod or a touch would let me know if a buck was coming. I can remember the bark of the old .257 Roberts and waiting a few moments before going to dress the buck. On a few occasions the buck would make it into thick brush. I can remember my father getting on his knees and teaching me how to follow the tracks and blood drops, also watching for blood spray on the brush at the buck's body height. I can only remember a couple of times in my life when we gave up and did not recover our game. Many times we were called in to help trail game for others.

There was an old man that lived on a place next to our family ranch in San Saba county. He was an outdoorsman deluxe but a borderline sportsman. I mean this as no disrespect as he lived off the land. Hunting seasons were for city folk as he only took what he needed to live. The old man taught me to set coon and fox traps for furs and meat for his hounds. I learned how to find the holes in the river to catch big yellow catfish and how to set trotlines in the bends in the river. We took squirrels from the pecan orchards and hunted coons and ringtails at night with his blue lacy dogs. We would hit the stock ponds at night and gig giant bullfrogs and sometimes some pretty good fish. I sat around a small campfire many nights listening to his hounds run and waiting for them to bark treed so we could go get what ever varmint they had put up a tree. I realise that times are different and game laws and regulations must be followed, but that was a different time and I learned so much while making lifetime memories.

If you have outdoor skills or woodsmanship pass it on. You can not imagine what it will mean to some Gameboy playing kid to learn how to blow a predator call or set a coon trap. If you have tracking skills teach them to a child, those skills might save a life some day. I hear people say all the time that they do not have a place to take a kid to do these things. You do not have to carry a gun to teach hunting or outdoor skills. I have taken my daughters predator calling in state parks and national refuges. Not long ago we spent a day calling bobcat, javelina and gators at the Aransas Wildlife Refuge on the Texas coast. The skills are the same whether you shoot with a camera or a gun. Kids today think hunting is sitting in a stand and watching a feeder, teach them what hunting is really about. Someone took the time to teach you, Wild Ed

The Jungle Wildlife of Brazil

My younger brother just got back from a trip to observe the wildlife of Brazil. I am very envious and since I did not get to go I feel like not publishing some of his photos, but I thought my readers might like to see them. Maybe I will get over it. There are such sights as giant river otters, the spotted jaguar, capybaras, toucans, Hyacinth macaws, deadly wasps on the nest, Cayman crocodiles and other South American sights.

Wild Ed

Texas Deer Hunting Surprises

This last weekend was the traditional opening weekend of deer season in the Texas Hill Country. My family was gathered in Lampasas county to share the opening weekend and fellowship. No great deer were taken but a good time was had by all and each has another memory to file away or pass to future generations. Saturday afternoon was really unique and will amuse my brother's and my thoughts for years to come.

My brother and I have reached the age where we no longer kill just any legal buck. It must be a really unique or special animal otherwise we will kill a cull deer or barren doe for meat and most of the time we shoot with a camera. Yesterday was one of those days when we should have had the camera but did not. We had chose to sit in the truck visiting while watching a ranch road that went by an oat patch into a heavy oak mott. On the other side of the road was a large cedar break that was so thick you can not walk through it.

We spent the afternoon watching butterflies and unique birds pass through our field of view. Later we watched some small bucks starting to feel their hormones kicking in and trying to act tough just like a bunch of teenage boys. As the sun started to sink towards the horizon an animal crossed the road about 150 yards down the hill and my brother immediately spoke that is was a feral cat. I started lip squeaking and the animal emerged on the road running towards the truck. It was a grey fox. As the fox ran to see what small animal or bird was in distress another fox came running from a brush pile in the oak mott. We we surprised to see two grey foxes within feet of the truck, but all of a sudden a third grey fox burst from the cedar thicket and challenged the other foxes. One went back to the oak mott brush pile while the other two arched their backs and circled each other like large cats. Finally one of the foxes urinated on a rock and moved off as if he had marked the boundary of his territory or drawn a line in the sand. As it disappeared in the thicket the other fox then went to the rock and urinated in the same spot. After sitting there awhile it went into the cedar thicket and disappeared down the same trail as the other fox. That was the last my brother and I would see of the grey foxes but not the end of the story.

My uncle was sitting on the other side of the cedar break in a blind maybe a quarter mile from where we sat in the truck. He was watching a few small bucks and a group of does in the oat patch when a snarling pair of foxes burst from the cedars only steps from his blind. The foxes ran into the field and starting fighting running the deer out of the oat patch. They stood up on their hind legs almost boxing while biting at each other and making weird cries. One of the foxes broke away and ran into a brush pile with other in hot pursuit. My uncle said that after all sorts of growls, cries and strange sounds one of the foxes came out of the brush pile, crossed the field and went back into the cedar breaks. The other never came out of the brush pile. I hope it survived. Learn every time you go into the outdoors, Wild Ed

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I do not know who took the following photo but in my opinion it is one of the best shots I have ever seen taken of a female bobcat and her kittens. I just thought you guys would like to see it. Congrats to the photographer for a great shot. Wild Ed