Texas Ticks and Disease Prevention

I came home from a trip to the ranch with a passenger last week. I was lucky as I found it later that evening and was able to remove it. It was a Texas Lone Star tick. I struck a match, blew it out and touched it to the tick. The tick let go of me and I was able to remove it. Ticks can give you serious diseases such as Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and others. These diseases can be quite serious or even fatal. I am including a link below to a site that can give you much more qualified information than I can give you here about ticks and the diseases they can pass to us. Take a few minutes and learn about this creature that many of us come in contact with and what you can do when one latches on to you.





http://www.ticktexas.org/

There are many bug sprays and lotions that help repel ticks but one of the best is an old time prevention my grandfather taught me. Take some sulfur powder and put it in an old sock. Just beat the sock around your boots and pants legs and the sulfur powder it leaves will repel the ticks. This method also repels chiggers. May the ticks and chiggers be biting something else when you pass by. Wild Ed

I received this email from another website today that shows how serious a tick bite can be. Here is the link to a must read
http://www.chasingame.com/index.php?id=103

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TEXAS HEAT WAVE HARD ON WILDLIFE

With a week of temperatures at 100 plus degrees the stress on wildlife here in Texas increases with each day. I have already seen some dead baby birds and lots of burned up vegetation. If you have artificial watering stations or troughs be sure and check them out to make sure they are working. If you have a way to put water out for wildlife now is the time to do it. I have also put out some extra salt mineral blocks and some supplemental feed as it will go along ways in this weather towards helping wildlife deal with the stress of extreme heat. Remember many animals are raising young at this time of year and have extra mouths to feed. The water trough is also a great place to put up a trail camera to see what wildlife is utilizing your water supply. Thanks for helping, Wild Ed

The picture below is of a salt mineral block inside a tire that we have put our for the deer and wildlife in the off season. It is in a fenced area to keep livestock out so that only the wildlife can get to the block. It is amazing how quick the deer and other wildlife use these blocks up. The timer on the ground next to the tire is off my supplemental feeder. The coons decided to dismantle it for the summer. I have ordered another timer to get the feeder going again.

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Our Plastic Camp House Experiment

My family has a small place in Lampasas where we go to get back to nature once in a while. My girls like to watch the wildlife and go hunting during the season. Sometimes we stay late and watch the stars come out before driving back. Once in a while we will put up a tent and camp overnight. Sometimes we want to be there to hunt the next day or do some work and do not have the camping gear with us so we have to drive back almost two hours home, then get up early the next morning and drive the same trip back.

We have often talked of putting a cabin there but finances and other issues have kept us from doing so. The other day my wife and I were at Home Depot getting some supplies and saw one of the portable buildings that is made out of recycled plastic. They look kind of like a large gingerbread house with double doors, shuttered windows and even have a skylight. We thought that one of those with an electric light and fan would make a great camp and we could put some cots or bunks inside so we could spend the night at the place whenever we were up there and wanted to stay over. To make a long story short we bought one and all the stuff to put it together. My brother, myself and our wives spent a whole day getting a site level and putting the building together. It had four steel tubes on the side wall that tied into two rafters and the rest was an all plastic assembly or plastic screwed with metal screws. Any way late that afternoon we had completed our new camp and anchored each corner of the floor with a spiral landscape spike. We were very proud of the little plastic house and looked forward to using it. It had a ten year warranty on materials so we thought we would get a lot of use out of the cute little building.

Four days later a Texas summer storm came through and dumped some rain which we desperately needed. It also brought some high winds which were to be more than we bargained for against a plastic building. The next day my uncle called and told me that our new camp house was blown all over the place. We drove up and could not believe our eyes; the little plastic house was completely destroyed. I guess the plastic clips that hold the corners are just not that strong and once the wind got a grip it ripped it apart. Nothing was salvageable as all the pieces had cracks and breaks. They may work great for a backyard storage building but I would not put them anywhere they are not shielded from a direct wind. It was an expensive lesson but one permanently learned. Looks like I will be camping in a tent this year. Wild Ed

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A Soldier Comes Home

I received this video in an email from a friend this weekend and it really got to me. I place it here so each of you can watch this and see true American Spirit. Those that would try to kill the American way of life will find it much more difficult than they can imagine. They forget about small town America and those that have freedom in their blood to their very core. I wish to say Thank You to all who have put their lives on the line for each of us here at home. May God bless each of you and your families.

God bless this Country. Wild Ed

Staff Sgt. John Beale’s arrival home

Click on the center of the video to start, turn up your speakers.

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Rifle Sight-In Made Easy

A gentleman sent me an email asking if there was an easy way to sight in a rifle. He said he had gone through several boxes of ammo to sight in his rifle. I have heard this many times and always wonder what is wrong to take so many shots. Remember the scope must be mounted correctly and all must be tight in order to sight in properly. I won’t go into that here. If you do not know how to mount a scope correctly have someone that does help you the first couple of times or have a professional gunsmith do it for you. Do not let some kid in a box store mount your scope. I have had to remount lots of scopes for clients through the years. Bore sighting a firearm is not having a firearm that is sighted in properly. Bore sighting will usually get the shots on the paper but not always. I have seen lots of people miss with a gun that has been bore sighted. Every barrel and different ammo will impact differently and must be shot in properly on a target.

Remember that if your rifle barrel has been cleaned since firing or it is a brand new rifle to fire a couple of fouling shots before sighting in. Many rifles will not shoot to the same point of impact with a clean oiled barrel as they will with a fouled barrel.

Here is the fastest and simplest way I know to sight in a rifle. I usually start at 25 yards so I will be on the paper. Even a bore sighted rifle may not be on the paper at long range. I get a solid gun vice or some way to hold the rifle in place where it will not move. A cardboard box with two v cutouts to rest the rifle can be used in a pinch. I fire one shot at the bullseye and then make sure the cross hair is lined up on the center of the bullseye. Making sure not to move the rifle adjust the elevation and windage until the crosshair is exactly centered on the bullet hole where the shot you just fired hit. This means move the center of the reticle to the actual center of the bullet hole of your shot. Next carefully fire a second shot at the bullseye. If you did not move the rifle while adjusting the scope and you can shoot, the second shot should be in the bullseye. In reality most will need a few more shots for small adjustments to get into the center of the bull, but this is a lot faster that most other methods and uses less ammo.

Now move to the one-hundred yard target and finish sighting in with whatever small adjustments are needed to get you where you want to be on the target.
Good shooting, Wild Ed

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Wild Ed's Sweet Ceviche

It must be the time of year because I have received several requests for a Ceviche recipe. There are many ways to make it and you can change ingredients to suit your taste. The main thing is to use plenty of lemon or lime juice. Here is one of my favorite ways to put it together.



1lb Trout, catfish, shrimp or Redfish, we like to mix fish and shrimp – Scrape fish with a fork & remove membranes. Cut into small bite size pieces. Place fish in a glass bowl and add 4 oz of lemon juice, 4 oz of orange juice and 4 oz of lime juice. The orange juice is what makes this recipe a little sweeter than normal. Mix together and place in fridge for two hours.


Peel and chop 4 to 5 medium tomatoes

Chop 1 large onion

2-4 fresh seeded jalapeno peppers chopped, depending on heat index you desire

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 clove of fresh garlic chopped

Chopped fresh cilantro to taste

5 shakes of Tabasco


After fish has set in juice for two hours mix in the rest of the ingredients and put back in fridge to chill for at least two hours. You do not actually cook the fish as the citrus juice pickles the fish. I typically increase this recipe by just adding more fish. I have added 8 to 10 fillets to this recipe without changing a thing except for the amount of lemon, orange & lime juice I use. You need to make sure you have enough to “cook” the amount of fish you use. You can’t use too much citrus juice because if it has too much liquid then just drain some off before you add the other ingredients. Serve with fresh tortilla chips or fried sweet potato chips. Enjoy, Wild Ed

Texas Fishermen Love the Circle Hook

I was in the local Academy Sports buying some hooks the other day. I had picked up some Eagle Claw circle hooks and the gentlemen standing next to me asked what I used those funny looking hooks for. I explained that I was headed to Padre Island to go surf fishing and was building some surf rigs. He said that he also was headed to the Texas Coast to go surf and bay fishing but had never used that kind of hook. I convinced him to try them and wish I knew how he did on his trip. I would be willing to bet that he will now fish with circle hooks on a regular basis.

How many times have you gone to set a hook on a fish and missed it? Many years ago I used to take the kids to the Texas coast to go fishing. They had a hard time catching redfish and trout because they could not set the hook properly. After rigging them up with what then was a new-fangled circle hook their catch rates went way up. I started using them on surf rigs for pompano, whiting, drum and other fish. All you had to do was start reeling and the fish would hook themselves. The best part was ninety-nine percent of them were hooked right in the corner of the mouth. No more gut hooked fish and no more undersized fished hooked so deep they would die upon release.

The simple circle hook has become the hook of choice for thousands of Texas sportsmen because they work. They help you catch fish and do it humanely. I have used them with popping corks, shrimp, live and cut bait. I have rigged surf rigs, bottom rigs and trotlines with circle hooks and they keep right on catching fish.

The cardinal rule of circle hooks is do not set the hook. If you are one of those that has a hard sweeping hook set that will yank a trout into next week, it will take a while for you to adjust to the circle hook. When a fish takes the bait, simply bring the line tight and start reeling. I know it is hard to believe and it took me a while to trust them also, but now I am a true believer. If you have not tried the circle hook, pick up some and give them a whirl. I think you will find your hookup percentage will take a big jump. Keep your lines in the water, Wild Ed

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The Walther P22 Compact Pistol

My wife and I recently went through a class to obtain our concealed carry license. We were doing some training and shooting practice and the cost for 9mm and .45acp ammo was stacking up fast. We often shoot our Ruger semi-auto .22 pistols but they are large and heavy even though they are in .22 long rifle. Jena wanted something smaller that could be used for training with the feel and function of a combat pistol. While at the local Academy Sports we saw a Walther P22 military model and it seemed to fit the ticket. It is a small compact pistol in .22 long rifle caliber but has all the features of a full size military or combat pistol. The frame is made of polymer making the pistol light weight. Being of .22LR caliber there is little if no recoil and with the interchangeable front sight blade it can be sighted in to whatever load you are using. The gun comes with two interchangeable grip frame back straps so you can fit it to your hand. The accuracy is combat acceptable thought not up to what the target model Rugers can achieve. All in all I believe we will enjoy the little gun and it will see a lot of holster time. Below I have listed all the features.

Stay ready, Wild Ed

The WALTHER P22 is fascinating in its compact size, while still maintaining all of the features of a full-size pistol. Constructed using a modular manufacturing concept, the P22 offers several different equipment configurations. The barrel can be changed out or a red dot sight can be mounted--almost instantly. Features of the P22
Interchangeable frame back straps create an ideal fit to the shooter's hand
Compact design and light-weight are achieved by a modern polymer frame (just 480 grams, including the magazine)
Traditional double-action operation
Ambidextrous controls for both left and right hand shooters
Integrated trigger lock, loaded chamber indicator
Magazine disconnect, hammer safety and firing pin safety for safe and reliable operation
Modern, eye catching high tech design
Fixed barrel for incredible accuracy
Windage adjustable rear sight and elevation adjustment with interchangeable front sights for variations in shooter operation
Interchangeable barrel (sold separately) can convert the P22 from the standard configuration to the target version in minutes
Includes 1 Magazine

Wisdom from the Texas Hill Country

I am a country kind of guy that due to circumstances beyond my control is stuck in the big city for a few more years. I long to get back to a simpler life and a more common sense kind of living. I often think that maybe the whole country should try to go back to a simpler more common sense kind of life and make sure things are taken care of at home before we start looking elsewhere. I have an email friend that lives right smack dab in the middle of some of the best country in Texas along with some of the best food ever invented. Most of those country people are good solid hard workers and are a shining example to the rest of the USA. The people there have faults just like the rest of us but those that are really from that part of Texas have a strong work ethic and take care of themselves and their own.

Here is a small picture into that world from my friend.
Enjoy your day with Paul, Wild Ed



The truck from Dunn's Fish Farm, in Fittstown, Oklahoma, stopped in Llano on Monday. The downturn in the economy doesn't seem to have deterred the locals from restocking ponds and tanks. I waited an hour and a half to get my small order filled. One other "one ponder" and I were at the end of the line. We have a social hierarchy in Llano County, and "one ponders" are at the bottom.

The "one ponder" with me was getting fish for his kids to catch. Grandparents were restocking for grand kids benefit. Others were restocking for the benefit of family and friends. Others for business associates. The number restocking only for private benefit was small.

I raced home with a hundred, 6" to 8" catfish and a pound of minnows. As best I can tell, I only lost one minnow.

Most men hereabouts don't have beards. One thing about guys with beards is pretty sure--if the beard is well-trimmed, the guy has a girl, if it ain't, he don't.

I have a beard. Maybe only for a clue to the answer to the password question about my mother's maiden name. Whatever the reason, me and my beard get along well. That could be because I live a pretty mirror less life and we don't have to look at each other that much. Kind of like an older couple. Age has a way of giving women the eye contact they always said they wanted when they were young.

Most men try a beard on once or twice. Most of these are never really comfortable with their beards. Kind of like having a beautiful woman, hard to relax and just enjoy what one has been given. It is like these guys are expecting trouble from their beards, and I do believe that a beard can live up to one's expectations. They say it is hot or scratchy and off it goes. They just need to get used to each other, kind of like a life partner. The same Creator that gives a guy a beard, gives a beard a guy. Seems like a shame to never comes to terms with each other.

I do get a trim once a month, whenever possible. That is mostly for my mother, aunts, female neighbors and work associates. Just as guys are a little uncomfortable with up-close conversation with well-breasted women; women are a little uncomfortable with up-close conversation with a guy that looks like a caveman. Maybe they think I will hit them over the head and drag them off to my cave. (To be honest, I've thought about it once or twice. Things were so simple in the old days.)

Gabe and Link down at the barbershop throw in the beard trim with the haircut, even though it adds five to ten minutes to the cut. Since my hair has started getting in my eyes, I was in the barbershop in Llano today. Gabe and his wife left yesterday to see their daughter in Melbourne, Australia, so it was just Link. With so many guys waiting, it was more like a doctor’s office. Just no sign saying payment arrangements were necessary prior to services received.

Lincoln Deeds graduated from Llano High School in 1948. Link spent six years in the United States Navy and saw as much of the world as he could. Link came home, went to barber college in Austin for six months, came back to Llano, married the prettiest girl available, and has been cutting hair since.

Life for Link is his wife, two kids, four grand kids, yard work, hunting, fishing, church, and attending every volunteer fire department fish fry or barbeque in Llano and surrounding counties. I guess one could say Link is a Llano County Renaissance man.

With Gabe gone, there are no breaks for Link the next three weeks. It is hard enough closing the barbershop for lunch. All the same, no rush or cutting corners on the haircuts. Hardship is hardly an excuse for Link to give any less than his best haircut.

This gives a fellow waiting, time to learn family and local history. No profanity or disparaging remarks are allowed. Excepting commemorating every odd ball or crooked thing done by every odd ball or crooked family in Llano County. (Which just about includes everyone).

Of course, every one would prefer a good, or even bad, fishing or hunting story, if one is available. Yesterday, after eight hours on his feet, 79 year old Link went home and had supper. Then he went down to the Llano River and put out and baited some fish lines. Link got up early this morning and checked the lines. He had four catfish weighing between one and three pounds. Link cleaned the fish and put them in the freezer. Then Link cleaned up Link and was at work at 8:30 am.

Listening to the talk, I got to thinking about all the people on welfare, including corporate, banking and insurance entities, waiting for the government to give them something. Bet Link never got anything he hadn't earned. Maybe all those people waiting to be given something should have just learned to get up a little earlier and get some lines in the water.

Link did get a bailout of sorts. The rodeo begins tonight, and Link's wife Marti doesn't want to be late. So Marti, age 75, is mowing the yard today. I do wonder how many overweight teenagers and their mothers decided it was too hot to mow today. Tonight all the people who spent the day sitting on their butts are going to be pretty uncomfortable sitting on the hard benches at the rodeo. But I bet those benches will feel pretty good to Link and Marti.

People in Rochelle, nine miles northeast of Brady, are pretty proud tonight. Rochelle won the Texas State high school girls track championship today. They are the best track team in their division in the state. Well, I guess some say Bonnie Richardson is the best team in the state. She was the only entrant from the school. Bonnie won the high jump and long jump events and finished second in the discus. Running on an “off day”, Bonnie finished third in the 200-meter dash and fourth in the 100-meter dash on Saturday. Rochelle High School, aka Bonnie, compiled 38 points to beat Cayuga by two points. RHS, er Bonnie, also won the State track team championship last year.

This calls to mind the story a Texas mayor faced with a riot at the beginning of the 20th century. The mayor telegraphed Austin requesting assistance. A prompt telegraph reply was received two hours later, "Help arriving tomorrow." As the mayor waited on the platform, a lone Texas Ranger stepped off the train. The mayor looked around and then said, "You mean all they sent was one Ranger?" "Yep," the Ranger replied, "you only mentioned one riot."

It appears both amazingly brief and simple when an individual makes a significant achievement. What is hidden is all the commitment, effort, sacrifice and struggle that goes into a victory.

Tomorrow is D Day, June 6th. President Obama will be marking the price paid by the Allies that day 65 years ago. I will take mom and Hazel out for lunch. Hazel's husband Roy, who passed away two years ago, survived both D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge.

I always remember how hard young men of Roy's era had to work just to survive. I remember how they accepted responsibility and sacrifice from their earliest years. I remember how harsh and unkind life was to these young men. I remember how little they had and yet with just a string and a hook they experienced fun in the catching and the joy of contributing to others. I remember how hard they trained under extremely difficult circumstances. When I remember all these things, I sort of understand how when their landing boats let down the ramps, these young men, and those that followed, could put one foot in front of the other until they got all the way to Berchtesgaden.

Now days, being a citizen of the world's only super power, along with $1.73, gets one a small cup of coffee at Starbucks. People keep reelecting those who say power and prosperity are achieved through spending and borrowing.

A little while ago I was listening to Vera Lynn sing The White Cliffs of Dover. When only England was left to stand against the Axis Powers, the English had little more than Spitfires and hymns of faith like The White Cliffs of Dover to sustain them. Winston Churchill was wise in that he understood his people, their strengths, and their weaknesses. He only promised the English people, "blood, sweat, and tears." Churchill knew his people were capable of enduring whatever needed to be endured.

Today, President Obama and other career politicians are promising ramped up economic stimulus spending. I would have much more faith in our future if he only promised commitment, effort, sacrifice and struggle. The former promise has a temporary blessing for the present. The latter promise would provide a blessing for generations to come.

As I watch our leaders, I keep thinking about the Chinese proverb, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime." The more the government gives, the fewer people know how to fish.

Proof is in the Picture

My father was a hunter, fisherman and outdoorsman. When I was a youngster he was my hero and there was nothing that he could not do in my eyes. He taught me how to shoot, fish, hunt and trail a deer if need be. He made sure my brother and I had hunting and fishing memories enough for any lifetime. He was hard and required perfection in all that we did. I don’t know that I ever pleased him but I became very good at some of the things he taught me to do. I can remember my brother and I sitting with some friends and family at some function just a few years before Dad died. Someone made the comment that he had been afraid of his father until he was 30 years old. At the time my brother and I were in our late forties. We looked at each other and one of us said “Hell we’re still scared of Dad” He was that way but would have done anything for us.

I can remember a hunt late in his life where we broke the axle of a 4x4 Land Rover on the side of a rough mountain canyon many miles from help. I headed for headquarters while my brother stayed with Dad on the side of the mountain. A Blue Norther hit and none of us had been dressed for sub freezing weather. My brother and Dad liked to have frozen before I got back with help and warm clothes. It was hard as Dad had a bad heart and diabetes but we all laughed it off later. We all took deer and javelina on that adventure and made memories I will have till I die.

The three of us had a hunt for Desert Mule Deer in the Texas Trans Pecos when my brother and I were just kids. My brother and I both killed a monster buck on that trip and it was many years before I realized that Dad had put us on those deer and had given us the shot instead of taking it himself. He was that way.

Dad always told us a story of a perfect day with perfect water while fishing for Sailfish off the coast of Mazatlan Mexico. He talked of strike after strike with perfect hookups. He told me of the fight after fight with giant tail walking sails that wore him out. He told me that on that perfect day he landed six sailfish over 10 feet. I have never heard of anyone else doing this and at times doubted the story. Mom ran across a picture the other day in a box of keepsakes. Remember in 1956 there was no such thing as catch and release in Mexico as all billfish were brought in and the meat utilized for food. I thought you all might enjoy this picture. Dad is on the left with the boat captain on the right.
Miss you Dad, Wild Ed

New Game and Trail Camera

My family and I have become big fans of Game Cameras for keeping us up on what wildlife come to the feeder at our place. Due to the hectic schedules we all keep we do not get out to the place enough to know what wildlife is there and the camera records much of that for us. It has become an addiction to see what has showed up between trips. I have had a Bushnell camera that we have been very pleased with except that it uses four D cell batteries about every two to three weeks. It is not cheap to keep it in batteries and means if I do not get there in time it stops taking pictures. Other than that we have been quite satisfied with the camera.

Technology keeps advancing and Bushnell has come out with a new camera that has a lot more bells and whistles and is about half the size of our current camera. Best of all it runs on a set of four to eight AA batteries and they will run the camera for 6 months to a year.

That was enough right there for me to order one and it is on the way. The best price I found was $199.00. I did find it at $199.00 with free shipping and a $50.00 gift card good on your next purchase. You can purchase or read all the camera specifications at the following link.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/599290-REG/Bushnell_119405_TROPHY_CAM_5_0_MP.html/BI/4851/KBID/5370

For about $50.00 more the camera is available with a viewer so you can see the pictures in the field. I just usually take a lap top to the ranch with memory card reader and then I have them in my computer to look at or edit. Here is a link to the camera with viewer.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/599292-REG/Bushnell_119415_Trophy_Cam_Digital_Trail.html/BI/4851/KBID/5370

As soon as I get a chance I will put it out and give it a good test and report back on the camera. Mean while if any of you already have the new Bushnell Trophy Cam post your results or experiences in the comments section and let us know what you think.
Hope you get some good pictures, Wild Ed