Work Day at the Club!

One of Dad's food plots ready for planting!

Even though the temperature was reaching for triple digits yesterday, my Dad and I decided to get some work done at the Hunting Club.  With college football games and dove season starting next weekend, I was determined to get some things done while my schedule was clear.  My plan was to trim up some limbs along our roads and improve an older stand sight.  Daddy's job was to ride the tractor and do some mowing.

We left the house a little after lunch with plenty of water and the golf cart in tow.  Once there, we secured our neighbors tractor and Daddy set off to mow roads to stands and grown up food plots.  I started trimming limbs and bushes and when I was done I was proud of the fact that I could drive down the roads in my Jeep without enduring any more scratches.  I also started making some improvements to an old stand site that needed some tweaking. 

The stand sits in the corner of our property and looks down both property lines.  It is a combination of hard wood bottom and large pines.  Last year a rather large oak tree fell across one of the property lines, therefore making it impossible to plant a food plot or even see down this line any longer.  I moved the stand up the other line to take advantage of being able to see farther up that particular fire break.  Our newest club member, Steve has a tractor outfitted with a root rake.  He was working on the property a few weeks ago and I asked him if he thought he could move that fallen tree for me.  NO problem!  The lane was open once again and clear to plant about a 100 yard food plot along the boarder line creek bottom.  My only problem now was that I needed to move my stand back to the original tree to take advantage.  I got to looking at the current set up and my mind got to formulating another plan all together.  I asked Steve if he might be able to clear out some trash trees and bushes so that I could have a clear line of sight from my current stand location.  Again, NO problem! 

The new view from the stand location

I am really excited about what he was able to do.  We got it cleaned up and got the ground turned and ready for planting.  I put a feeder at the far end of the clearing and moved my camera to this location.  We will see what we can get pictures of in the next few weeks.  It was a hot day, but we didn't seem to mind because we were enjoying the work getting ready for deer season. 

Hope you are enjoying your work too!!

The Boys are Back!

It could be a good year!!  Have a great weekend!!

The Eagles have got a good man!

Sometimes people get it right!  In my opinion, Georgia Southern University Athletics did just that!  The Athletic Foundation for Georgia Southern has hired a new Executive Director and he just so happens to be an old classmate and good friend.  David Beaubien took the reins at his new position about 6 months ago, and as an alumni I couldn't be happier with the hire.  I know the kind of person that David is and what kind of attitude that he will bring to the foundation.  David is one of those energetic people who always has a smile and thinks with a positive attitude.  I look forward to the things that he will accomplish for Georgia Southern in the upcoming future.

I am also amazed as I look back on a relationship that has seen both of us grow over the last 20 years.  I first met David at different fraternity parties and socials.  We were in two different fraternities but got along very well.  We both took business classes and would from time to time have the same class schedule.  You could always tell that David had a knack for getting along with people and that his career would lead him into working directly with others.  He became a banker after graduation in 1996 and our paths met again in 2001-2004 as we both attended Banking school at the University of Georgia.  I would run into him at football games and I was always welcome at his bank's tailgating tent.  David would also give jobs to GSU students who were from Fitzgerald just because I asked him to help them out.  David was a good banker and had a good career until he decided to change career paths and work for the greatest university in the world.

David I just want to wish you good luck in your new job and let you know that I will try and help you in any way that I can.  You know I bleed BLUE and I'm glad to know that the new head man does too!!

GATA!!!   Luckie

Testing my limits! Joe's Table!



The Master at work with his faithful dog keeping watch!

I'm not sure how long it took me to get Joe's table apart.  Evidently, the previous owner was the type of person that liked hammering nails into corners of furniture for no apparent reason.  I did finally get all of the pieces disassembled and labeled so that I could start sanding each piece one by one.  When I say that there were a lot of nails, I mean there were a lot of nails, and that makes nail holes.  Holes do not look good in a piece of refinished furniture.  I completed sanding the top part of the table and got it put back together.  I filled the holes with wood filler that can be used for staining, but I am not really sure that I am going to like the way it will look once the stain is applied.  I got to looking into some refinishing videos on YouTube and found someone that was using colored wood putty instead.  I think this may be the best route to follow, so today I purchased some wood putty with matching stain and tonight I will be digging out the wood filler that I applied this weekend.  It will cost me some time on this project, but I want to try and make it as nice as I can.  Here is a shot of the top once I got it put back together.

I see too many wood filled holes for my liking!!

If I can just get half of these nail holes to become invisible with a little putty and staining magic, then this table just might turn out OK.

Stay tuned!

This one will be a Tester!

This one is going to be a real challenge!  My friend Joe has two small barns and a house full of antique furniture.  His Dad was in the antique collecting business many years ago and Joe has been fortunate enough to hang on to some very nice pieces.  This piece however is not one of the nice ones.  Joe dragged this table out of the barn in hopes that I can make something out of it.  He plans to use it as a kitchen table in a rental house that he has at the Coast.  It is a very old piece and in pretty ruff shape.  The wood is full of nail holes (and nails) and the legs have been damaged because of some "make shift" bracing that was added who knows how many years ago.  But there is some potential!

My plans are to completely tear this table apart, sand all of the finish, fill all the holes, glue and screw the pieces back together to make it more sturdy, and finally put on a stain finish.  I'm going to have to get my Dad's help with this one on some of the repairs, but we will see how she turns out.  Hope you will follow along with me as I post updates on the status of "Joe's Project"!

Have a great weekend!  I know what I will be doing!

I'm a Wing Shooter!

Growing up as a kid in South Georgia, I was exposed to a life in the outdoors by my Dad.  My Father came from a hunting and fishing family, so it was only natural that he would pass on the family tradition to me.  I hope to pass it on to my son and so on, ensuring that the Luckie family will always be a friend to the outdoors as well as have a genuine love for all that God's creation can offer while afield.  Because I have come from such a family, I have had the opportunities to do all kinds of hunting and fishing.  I consider myself lucky that I can say that I have hunted for deer, doves, ducks, turkeys, quail, snipe, pheasants, rabbits, squirrels, crows, coons, and rattle snakes just to name a few.  I have also done my share of fishing whether it was on a lake, in a pond, on the river, or in the ocean.  I have had a well rounded outdoor experience so far in this life.  Some might say that it would be hard to pick a favorite activity out of all of these, but for me it is really simple.  I'm a wing shooter!

I live for the feel of feathers in my hand that have been retrieved by a well mannered bird dog.
I love the simple sophistication of a double barrel or over/under shotgun.
I feel the upland hunting tradition as I stride across the fields of Kansas.
The beating of quail wings is the sound of music that makes my heart jump a beat.

I love the social hour with good friends before the dove shoot.
The smell of spent shells mixed with peanut hay brings back childhood memories.
A bird dog on point is a beautiful thing.
My son with his BB gun sitting by my side is priceless.

I love brier pants and a blaze orange upland vest!
The sound of Woodys flying through the swamp at day break gives me chills.
Watching a Lab's eyes and his muscles quiver as the Mallards are getting close is spine tingling.
I have never been tired at the end of a field when that last rooster flushes from under my feet.

I always think of my Grand Daddy when I put my Browning in its case.
I loose tract of time when I am quail hunting with my cousins.
Quail hunting is the only way to make it snow in South Georgia!
Being a Grandson, son, father and friend have a a special meaning when chasing wings!

Yep, I'm a wing shooter and although I have just tried to express my feelings about this passion of mine, I find that even these words do not truly communicate the feeling that I get when I am doing what I love best.  I love bird hunting and I hope that I will continue to experience what I know and even chase some new wings in the near future. 

I think I hear a Prairie Chicken or a Grouse calling my name, or maybe it was a woodcock or a sea duck. 

Only time will tell!

 

Almost time!

It will not be long now.  Even though it is still hot as blazes here in the good ole' South, I can tell that fall is coming.  How can that be you might ask?  Well let's just say that my inner hunting clock is telling me so!  As I was getting dressed for work this morning I noticed a sound echoing from my gun cabinet in my home office.  I eased over to investigate what it might be and then I realized what it was.  It was the sound of anticipation.  All my pretty little Brownings were lined up neatly where they were left at the end of last season.  They are patiently waiting on me to pull one of them out of the cabinet and place it in its case to journey on that first dove hunting trip of the season.  Opening day is only a few short weeks away.  Which little beauty will it be?  It will definitely be a 20 gauge because of a shoulder that has not been battle tested this early in the season.  Heavy fire power is also not needed on early season doves because a good deal of the birds that are shot are very young birds and easy to bring down.  So which will it be?  The tried and true A-5 that has been with me the longest?  The sweet little over and under that has its own style and grace?  Or the known dove punisher that is the Browning Gold Hunter?  I'm going with the Gold!!  Easy to shoot and confidence with this gun will allow me to leave the others behind on opening day.

As I was standing there tying my tie and viewing the contents of my gun cabinet, I allowed myself to start taking inventory of my dove hunting gear in my mind.  Do I know where my dove stool is?  Did I ever find my blind?  Do my Mo Jo dove decoys need batteries?  Do I have enough shells to start the season?  Does my son have camo that still fits him?  Will Josey "The Wonder Dog" do as well this year as last year once the weather cools off?  Have I become familiar enough with her new electric collar? Etc, etc, etc.  I realized that I am not quite ready for the season to start, but the good thing is that I have a month to get ready.

I finished tying my tie and told myself that I would take a real inventory this weekend.  Getting ready for the hunt is almost as much fun as the hunt itself.  I started to close the gun cabinet when I caught the Godfather of the cabinet glaring at me from the corner.  The Browning Maxus was sitting in its perch with a look of disgust that I had not even considered taking him with me on opening day.  I calmed him down a little by telling him it was just too hot for him in September and that Kansas would be here before you know it.  I even tempted him with a possible trip to the Maine wilderness to shoot some sea ducks with the Duckman.  That will keep him happy until December when the second dove season opens.  Do I have any 12 gauge shells????