I woke up early this morning, loaded my canoe onto the van, and headed out for Stoney Creek Metropark in Shelby Township.  I had the canoe in the water by 8:30 and spent 1-1/2 hours paddling around the lake.  Perfect temperature, no wind, great conditions for a first paddle with my new (to me) canoe!  So what waterway will I paddle next?  I'm leaning towards the Clinton River from Rochester to Utica.

I'm Still Alive!!

I am probably the world's worst blogger.  It has been over a year since I last posted anything.  My son, pictured in the previous post, is now running around the yard wearing an Algonquin Park t-shirt :)  That outfit will soon be part of my new son's wardrobe.  So now I have two daughters and two sons.  We will definitely need 2 or 3 canoes for family canoe trips! 

It was a terrible year for hunting.  No deer hunting at all, and the rabbit hunting was the worst I have yet seen.  The Winter in southeast Michigan was almost non-existent.  Barely any snow, mostly mud and rain.  The few times I got out were fruitless.  Everybody was praising the mild winter, how easy it was to drive, and how little snow needed to be shoveled.  But for someone who loves tracking rabbits in the snow, it was a depressing season.  I couldn't even go out in my new back yard and stoke up a nice fire.  I had plans to try some winter camping, first in my yard and later in wilder areas, but everything was puddles and mud.

So my winter sucked, and the usual spring canoe trip was first postponed, then cancelled.  I've slept in a tent a total of 5 nights so far this year, without a lot of hope for more.  But there is one thing I am looking forward to this summer:  My wife's uncle has gifted us one of his canoes!  It's not a nice, new Bell or Swift like the ones I'm accustomed to renting, but it floats and it will be my own.  So at the least, I can get in a lot more practice before and after my Algonquin trips.  It is a starting point to the small fleet I hope to someday acquire so that everyone in my family can paddle together.

I will be picking up the canoe at my wife's grandparents' house in Illinois.  We plan on taking it down the Fox River, a repeat of a trip we did last summer.  Then we will be bringing it home to Michigan.  I already have a list of local rivers and lakes I want to paddle before the end of the month!

My thoughts exactly...

February Update

Well, no success rabbit hunting this month. Aristos and I went out on two Saturdays but didn't even see a cottontail. The first time the snow was deep, and I think it was a bit too cold. Rabbits were probably holed up snug under the snow. We saw tracks and droppings, but no rabbits. The next time we went to the woods, we brought four of our kids along: Aristos's two boys, and my two girls. We went to my parents' property, but didn't hunt long. I think the kids were just a little too noisy. I also suspect that the hunters my Dad allows to go through once a year had an effect on the local population. Despite the lack of hunting success, we did have a nice lunch around a fire in the field. It was good practice for future trips, and I was able to get a nice, hot cooking fire going. I scavenged wood and tinder from the area, just dry grass and various diameter sticks, and used a lighter for ignition. I'd like to get a flint and steel, to try on warmer trips. But the wind was cold, and I was happy when I finally (after about 15 min.) got a sustainable fire. We cooked hot dogs and marshmallows over the flames, and most of the kids had a blast. My younger daughter had a bit of a meltdown due to cold fingers, and I think it hurt too much to thaw them out over the fire. Good thing Grandma's house was a short walk away! The kids had fun exploring the woods and watching my parents' chickens. Any time I can get them outside for a few hours to do something fun helps to increase their enthusiasm for the outdoors.
One of my future trips has been set: there will be a second annual St. Joe River trip in early May. I plan on bringing the girls, plus a friend of mine (and possibly 1 or 2 of his kids) will also be joining us. I'm hoping for more sunshine, less rain this time.
Still haven't used that Cabela's gift card. Still going back and forth about what exactly to use it for. Most likely, it will be a rain jacket. But who knows what "must have" I'll come across?

Recent Hunting Success!

On January 17th, Aristos and I headed to Lapeer County to do some rabbit hunting at another teacher's place. This friend of ours has about 15 acres of great rabbit and deer habitat. Swampy areas with small trees and grasses, rows of pines, brush piles, and ditches. After two earlier hunts with my .22 that resulted in no bunnies bagged, I decided to upgrade to the pump shotgun. Aristos and our host also toted shotguns for this hunt. We brought along two of the beagles, Rufus and Naala. Poor Chloe has developed cataracts and I'm afraid she would run into something and hurt herself. Rufus took last season off to heal a torn ACL, but he looked great this day! Naala showed the best hunt of her life as she chased rabbits back and forth through the underbrush. Our host was a combination third dog/third gun as he took on the task of driving the rabbits towards us. He knew all the spots the rabbits liked to hide, so we heard "one coming your way!" quite a few times.

It was a short hunt, only about two hours long, but the results were fantastic. Aristos had a banner day with 3 rabbits, our host took 2, and I found the mark on one as it sped from under a brush pile. That only equals 6 rabbits, but we bagged 7. One was truly a group effort. It was the smallest, fastest rabbit of the day and also hardest to hit. The dogs were running it through a thick, swampy tangle. When it broke cover we sent as much lead towards it as we could. When the rabbit finally stopped moving, there were empty shells littering the ice and snow at our feet. Later, I discovered that the rabbit had been hit at least twice, so each hunter received 1/3 credit. Who cares, though. We all agreed that it had been a great hunt, we saw a lot of rabbits, took many shots each, and enjoyed a sunny winter day. It was a hunt that we will remember for years and years, and ranks alongside with my 5-rabbit day and 10-point buck. The next hunt is scheduled for next Saturday, and wouldn't it be great if we could repeat our success?

On the paddling front, I have at least 3 trips in the works for the warmer months. The first would be a repeat of last year's Indiana trip. We had a great weekend, despite the near-constant rain. The second trip is a fishing trip on the Manistee River in northern Michigan. Some teacher friends of mine went last year, and have been talking to me about joining them. Sounds like a good time, right after school gets out in June. Finally, the annual Algonquin trip will take a new turn this year. The guys plan on bringing a few kids along this time. My oldest daughter Anna is slated to experience AP for the first time, and hopefully not the last. Other trips, paddling or just on land, are likely to occur as well. I can't wait to get the family out to the woods and on the water!

Oh yeah, I got another Cabela's gift card for Christmas again. Last year I bought a PFD and rain pants with it. This year I will probably replace the raincoat that ripped on my Algonquin trip in August. Any other cool ideas?

Big News

I've only been out in the field once since my last post. I took my older daughter to my parents' farm for some rabbit hunting. She was sporting her new birthday present vest and was ready to toss a bunny in the game bag if needed. Unfortunately, no shots were fired, as no rabbits were seen. The dogs found some scent trails, but we were unable to position ourselves in the right spots.

Since then, I've taken a bit of a hunting hiatus as I have been anticipating the arrival of my third child. Well, now he's here! With a November 19th birthday, I see a lot of hunting-themed birthday presents in his future! I doubt we will take many canoe trips on his birthday, though.

My next hunting day will probably be my annual celebration of Rufus's birthday, in early December. Most years, Rufus and I go out and bag a rabbit or two. Last year, he was recovering from a leg injury, but now he is mobile enough to hunt again. I don't know how many more years we'll be able to celebrate with a hunt, but I know chasing rabbits is his favorite thing to do.

Not Again!

Two apologies for blogging lapses in a row? I am a terrible blogger! So what has occurred these past two months? First, my trip to Algonquin Park was a fun adventure. 8 days instead of 9, half of them rainy. I plan on publishing a trip report eventually, but I am still waiting to get copies of the pictures (soon, please, Brent and Bryan?). I could relive the afternoon on Burntroot Lake over and over. Relaxing in a hammock strung between two cedars, blue sky, peace.

Over the Labor Day weekend, I took my daughters to a campground on the Au Sable River in Michigan. We shared a big tent with my brother-in-law and two nieces. It rained most of the time, but we had a great time and met some awesome new friends. We paddled a short section of the river that Sunday, and Anna impressed me with her first try at paddling bow! A wonderful daddy/daughters trip.

Lastly, Anna's 6th birthday was a week after Labor Day. I fueled her budding passion for hunting by buying her a hunting vest. Now she will match Daddy when she goes rabbit hunting! I'm looking forward to initiating the vest with its first rabbit soon. That's not too self-serving of a gift, is it? Is it as bad as a dad who buys his kid a video game that they can play together, then plays it for hours after the kid is in bed? I don't think it is.

Anybody out there?

My sincerest apologies to my small group of readers. Like many other bloggers I have followed, I had one of those lapses where nothing was posted for a very long time. Other than a short paddle at Stoney Creek Metropark with my family, I have been sadly on dry land since April. But soon I will be back in my favorite place, Algonquin Park! 9 days of exploring Algonquin's beautiful lakes and rivers. Currently I'm wrapping up summer school (last day tomorrow!!), figuring out the final provisions for the trip, and preparing to head to western Michigan for a vacation with the wife's family. I'm going to be very busy until I get to slow down and simplify my life for a little over a week. I'm looking forward to those Algonquin temperatures; it's been too hot and humid in Metro Detroit this past month!

Birthday Weekend

On Friday, April 23rd, I drove to New Haven, Indiana for a weekend of camping and paddling. This rural town is just a few miles outside of Ft. Wayne, and the home of my aunt and uncle. They have a farm, and the woodlot behind the fields was where I was to set up my tent for the weekend. The forecast was for a wet weekend, and we almost called off the whole trip. But we had camped through rain before, so we decided to hope for lighter rain than what was predicted.

I drove down with my mother, who wished to visit her sister. My uncle drove me out to the woodlot, suggested a patch of high ground for my tent, and helped me put it up. We then returned to the house for some supper, and I waited there for my cousin to arrive. Brent brought his two kids, Samantha and Harry. Brent's brother-in-law and nephew joined us as well. They had set up two campers in the woodlot earlier in the day, and we lounged in one of them for several hours, talking late into the night. Around 11:30, the adults found their beds, mine being a sleeping bag and air mattress inside a Eureka tent.

That was a chilly night! One of those nights where you wake up with a cold nose in the morning, and the last thing you want to do is unzip the sleeping bag. I had wisely packed my heavier bag instead of the one I typically use in the summer. It kept everything but my face comfortable. I quickly dressed for the day and headed over to the camper for breakfast. As we were eating, my cousin Scott arrived with two of his daughters and one of their friends. We finished breakfast, loaded up all the gear we would need, and headed out in two trucks for the put-in on the St. Joseph River.

I don't know the area well enough, but I believe we started at Cedarville, on the far end of the reservoir. During the first part of the trip the river was very wide, with houses lining the shore. We came to some islands that housed several types of birds, including geese, ducks, and herons. The kids enjoyed looking for wildlife, and were delighted to view a group of ducklings waddling behind their mother along the shoreline. Past the islands we approached the dam, and we had to portage around it. There was no set landing to be seen, and the shore was very rocky and difficult to traverse. It took some effort from the four men in our party to haul the two aluminum canoes up and over the hill next to the dam. The two kayaks were easier to carry. After a few minutes, everyone was back on the water on the other side. The river here was narrower and shallower. The canoes became stuck on rocks, so Brent and I paddled over to them to dislodge them.

Yes, this was the first time ever that I had paddled a kayak. Definitely different than a canoe. In the future, I would wish for a longer, narrower kayak. I found the short, flat-bottomed craft to be slow yet maneuverable. There were many times I would have given up the ability to turn quickly for some extra speed. This experience helped to affirm my love of canoeing. I miss the Swift Shearwater I rented last summer!

The scenery was pleasant the rest of the way, even though some parts were lined with houses. It was great to be on the water again after several months straight on dry land. The river twisted and turned through woods, farm fields, and suburban neighborhoods. It rained about half of the time, but never so heavy that we considered ending the trip early. After about 5-1/2 hours of paddling, we arrived at the takeout. My uncle and sister-in-law had moved the trucks for us so that we could load up the boats and head out right away. Everyone was wet and a little chilly, so we headed over to Brent's house for hot showers before returning to camp.

We ate a nice meal that included hot dogs cooked over a fire. When the rain showed up again, we retreated into one of the campers to snack, talk, and drink. The kids watched a movie while the dads recounted the day's events. Scott brought out a bottle of Evan Williams whiskey and mixed me a whiskey and Coke. After a second and a few beers, I was ready to find my bed. The other guys joked about me knocking on the door of one of their campers in the middle of the night, for it was pouring rain when I left for my tent. But I was just as dry as them in my tent. Saturday night was much warmer, and I slept with my sleeping bag half-zipped. There was speculation the next morning that perhaps the whiskey had warmed me up considerably!

It was comfortably warm in my tent when I awoke, noticeably warmer than the outside air. Still, it was comfortable if one was dressed properly. We had a great breakfast of eggs, pancakes, sausage, and bacon. Scott and I cooked some of the bacon over the fire, and I think it tasted much better that way. I packed up my belongings and the tent while the other guys secured the campers and hitched them to the trucks. We drove back to the farm where I was dropped off. Not much later I left New Haven with my mother and headed back to Michigan. The weather had not completely cooperated, but we made a good time of it anyway. The kids had a great time, and so did the dads. I hope this is the start of a new tradition.

My birthday was on Saturday the 24th and Scott's was on Sunday the 25th. We both agreed that this was a great way to spend our birthdays.

Finally Used that Gift Card

Remember that Cabela's gift card from Christmas? I finally carted the family off to Cabela's today to use it. Before we could savor the wonders of Cabela's, we had to stop in Ann Arbor to have lunch at one of my favorite places, the Maize and Blue Deli. Mmmm, delicious!
The girls loved walking around Cabela's, but they made it difficult to do any actual shopping. They kept pulling me to the next taxidermy display to ask a hundred questions about each animal. We decided to get a "pop" gun for the girls, since they enjoyed trying them out so much. At one point, Greta pointed her gun at a snowshoe hare and said, "I'm going to shoot that rabbit!" Definitely my daughter!

We didn't see the whole store, but I arrived with a few ideas in mind (thanks to the responses from an earlier post). I scoured the camping and footwear sections, but didn't find anything I really needed soon. I ended up using the gift card to get a pfd and some rain pants, two items I know I'll use this season. The pfd has a mesh upper for more freedom of movement than the standard rental vests, and the rain pants replace the pair that tore along a seam during a downpour last summer. Those who accompanied me last August can rest assured that I tried them on, bending and crouching to make sure they would not expose my backside at an inopportune moment!

Lastly, I checked out the half-dozen canoes on display outside of the store. Two were Old Town Pack canoes, nice and light. The others were heavy clunkers, mostly Old Town tandems. The yokes on some of them were ridiculous; no contour at all vertically, I can only imagine how painful it would be to portage a km under one of those beasts. My wife did not share my enthusiasm over a solo canoe. She would prefer something with two seats, with room for the family. Hmmm, I could solo paddle a tandem if I had to, now if I could only find a canoe in my price range---anybody willing to pay me to take a canoe off their hands? ;)

Now I'm itching to hit the water, and still hoping Saturday the 24th is as nice as today was.

Birthday Plans Set

Just under 3 weeks away, a trip is in the final planning stages. My brother and I will drive to Ft. Wayne, tent camp at my uncle's farm, and paddle the St. Joseph River with cousins and some of their kids. I believe this will be the earliest I have ever paddled. Hopefully a new trend. Previously, the earliest was Memorial Day weekend. I'm hoping for another warm front to pass through Indiana that weekend! This weekend was amazing!

Birthday Plans

I want to be in a canoe on my birthday, paddling on a lake or river somewhere. That's all I really want right now. All this warm weather has me thinking that the end of April will be fine for hitting the water, or at least floating on the surface in a canoe.

I have a few options, and I don't yet know which one I'll choose. I can go to the Huron River, less than an hour's drive away, and paddle for a few hours. I could go to the Au Sable or Rifle Rivers, 3 hours' drive away, and be a little more remote. Or I could go all the way to Algonquin Park, meet a bunch of AlgonquinAdventures people, and drive 8 hours each way. What to do? What to do? What to do, as long as it's in a canoe!

Farewell, Bucephalus

I haven't posted in a while. There were no interesting outdoor adventures to write about, and I needed time to deal with the loss of my jeep. I hit some "black ice" on the way to work March 24th, and collided with two other vehicles. The jeep sustained too much damage to be repaired and driven again, so it was sold to a junkyard. That trusty carriage transported my wife and I to many adventures and back, both in Michigan and Canada. While my Dad has generously passed along his car for my use, I do hope to someday replace the departed Jeep Cherokee with a fitting replacement.

Enough lamenting. There are still a few weeks of rabbit season left around here, and I plan on getting out at least one more time. I'll be sure to post details when that all comes together.

Anna's Rabbit Hunt

Today, I took Anna to the Port Huron state game area. Our purpose was to hunt rabbits. We brought along Chloe, our beagle. It did not go well. Anna started complaining about her feet almost right away, and I could not find a single rabbit track. By the time Chloe actually looked like she had a possible line on a rabbit, Anna was crying and demanding to go home. Total time driving to the game area: one hour. Total time in the game area: 45 minutes. It was a beautiful day, and I was sure she would enjoy the warmer temperatures and the vast wooded area.

Here was the problem: My wife convinced me to have Anna wear her rubber boots instead of snow boots, since snow was melting and her snow boots might get "messy". Well, there was still plenty of snow (but not too much) in the game area, and the rubber boots were a little small for Anna. Her feet were getting pinched, ruining the experience. On the bright side, Anna said she still had fun, so I think she'll go again. As long as she has comfortable footwear!

Snow Cave

Last week, we had enough snow fall in my area to close the schools for a day. I spent a few hours shoveling the snow off of the sidewalk and driveway. I use snow shoveling as a form of winter exercise, despite the inevitable chiding I get from my neighbor. I decided to pile all of the snow from the back of the driveway and the patio into one big pile. Once the snow was all piled high, I dug out a tunnel through the middle of the snow hill. Anna had a blast crawling through it. My inspiration came from a bigger snow cave the older kids at Anna's school had made after the previous big snowfall, and from an old Boy Scout wilderness survival manual. It wouldn't be too much more work to make the necessary modifications for a proper overnight snow cave. Wouldn't want to find out if it's overnight capable except in an emergency! But this is the closest I've come to fulfilling my wish to winter camp. It's snowing again today, so if there's enough to add another "wing" to the snow cave, I'll post a pic.

Yesterday, Anna and I were supposed to go rabbit hunting with my buddy and his son. Anna's asthma acted up on Sunday and she wasn't quite ready for outdoor exertion on Monday morning. She was very disappointed, as was I, and I have promised her we'll go later this week.

Tentative 2010 Tripping Plans

I haven't posted in almost two weeks because I haven't done anything fun outdoors. Last weekend I stayed home and did very little. I even resorted to playing video games for a few hours (gasp!). But one thing I did do was email my tripping buddies and start a conversation about next summer's trip. I have been thinking about canoe tripping a lot lately, probably because I can't do it for several months, and I don't have any hunting plans in the very near future (look for a hunting report in 1-1/2 weeks). So I have decided to list the tentative canoe trip plans I have bouncing around my head.

*I would love to join the Algonquin Adventures crew on their annual ice-out gathering, since it looks to be on my birthday (April 24), but it is unlikely that I will get out there that early in the year.

*I hope to repeat the day trip done last year with my wife and kids plus my cousin, his wife, and their kids. We're still hashing out the details, as some members of the group don't love canoeing as much as I do. I am hoping for an overnight, which would be a big step for my daughters. This could turn into two events, a campground overnight with optional canoeing and a short canoe trip with just my nuclear family.

*This June will be my 10th anniversary, and I'd like to take my wife back to Algonquin. She hasn't been there since 2002, and has expressed a desire to return. I'm shooting for a long weekend in July to do the Rock-Pen-etc.-Louisa loop.

*The boys and I have been talking of a 3-night loop in Algonquin to Big Trout and back. We plan on taking the Tim River to Big Trout, and stopping on Misty on the way back. The goal is to pack light to make the portages less painful. We're in the process of locating a fourth participant, as we prefer even numbers.

*I'd like to take a friend of mine up on an offer to try kayaking on the Huron River. I've never paddled a kayak, and he is able to borrow some from a friend. That's the kind of day trip I could fit in anywhere.

*Last year I became really keen on the idea of trying my first solo trip. I'd still like to do that, but it seems just barely more likely than the ice-out trip. Oh well, I can't do it all in one summer. I will be pleased if I can do even a few of these trips. It sure would give me plenty to post about!

Fun in the Snow

Anna, my 5-year-old daughter, is pictured above in the woodlot on my parents' property. We had a great afternoon of sledding and exploring. First, the girls went sledding on the hills around my parents' house. My brother joined us and helped the girls get going at the top, while I made sure they stopped at the bottom before hitting any trees. Everyone's favorite slope was on the driveway side because it is the steepest and therefore, fastest. Once a groove was established in the snow, the bobsled-like sled went even faster. I had to be on my toes to grab the sled before it hurtled into the trees on the far side of the driveway!

Next, we went for a walk in the woods between the house and the road. The girls had fun walking and crawling around, over, and under trees and fallen branches. We found some rabbit tracks and followed them for a while. The tracks must have been old, for we failed to jump up a cottontail during the search.

For the girls, the afternoon ended with hot chocolate and an Eric Carle (Hungry Little Caterpillar, etc.) video with Grandma. My brother and I went for a walk behind the house. We inspected the recent deer tracks, finding the trail of a decent-sized buck. We discussed the sizes of trees that would be big enough for a deer stand next fall, and I took down a climbing stick.

I was not surprised to look in the rear-view mirror and see my girls snoozing on the drive home. It's so satisfying to take the kids outdoors and see them enjoying nature as much as I do.

Missin' AP

It's been 5 months since my last Algonquin Park canoe trip. It's cold, snowy, and the lakes are frozen over. I catch myself staring at my monitor background (the picture featured in the post announcing the trip log published on algonquinadventures.com), wishing it was summer and I was camping. At the time, I thought it was a bit too hot for AP in mid-August. I'd love to have one lazy day of summer tripping right about now...

MLK Day Rabbit Hunt

Yesterday I went rabbit hunting again (remember the n+1 rule?), this time with Aristos AND Biobandit. We all had the day off from work so we met around 8 a.m. at Aristos's house. Our destination was the same farm Aristos and I hunted on January 1st. This time there were a few changes: Biobandit was with us, no kids were tagging along, and it was considerably warmer (about 10 degrees F). My hands still got cold early on, but switching from lighter gloves to a heavier pair solved that problem. We searched the whole area that had been covered during the previous hunt, but we didn't find a single rabbit. Plenty of sign, but no bunnies! I led Biobandit through some great grassy areas, including where I jumped two rabbits on the previous hunt. Nothing! Discouraged, we decided to cross the frozen creek and try the woods on the other side. This is typically a good area, as we almost always find a few rabbits there. Aristos once again found the first rabbit, and once again missed the jump shot.

After putting the beagles on the scent trail, we spread out with the goal of intercepting the rabbit somewhere along its loop back to the brush pile under which it started. What actually happened was the rabbit slipped past us as we wandered through the brush for an hour. After we met up at the other side of the woods, Aristos headed back to the brush pile. I headed in the opposite direction, and Biobandit split the difference. The sound of another shotgun blast signaled that Aristos had found his rabbit again, in the same brush pile. Again, he missed.

I was the next to jump a rabbit, out of a clump of tall grass. I took two shots with my Marlin .22 rifle as it fled, but the third round failed to fire. Chloe, my beagle, was right behind me, and it didn't take her long to find the scent trail. I cleared the action of my rifle, chambered another round, and waited for Chloe to chase the bunny back to me. I found a place under a crabapple tree where I could see at least 30 yards in the direction I thought the rabbit would return. I saw movement, what looked like a rabbit staying ahead of Chloe, heading in the right direction. I waited anxiously, ready to raise my rifle and aim. After several minutes, I realized that either what I had seen was not a rabbit, or it had circled around me out of sight.

Naala, Aristos's beagle, joined Chloe and picked up the scent of the rabbit I was pursuing. She chased it down and caught it! Biobandit caught up to her and called me over. I could hear the distinct wail of a wounded rabbit as I came closer. We inspected the rabbit and discovered that I had indeed wounded it with one of my jump shots, hitting it in the left hind leg. The blood trail had made for easy tracking by the hounds, and the leg wound slowed it down enough for Naala to catch it. Aristos came over to see what had happened, congratulate me, and praise his dog. We loaded the bunny into my game vest, and set out to find Aristos's elusive hare once again.

Aristos broke the cycle on the third try by pulverizing the rabbit he had missed twice before. Biobandit and I met up with him in a clearing close to where he had dispatched the bunny, and we all decided that it was time to head for the truck. We hunted half-heartedly all the way back along the frozen creek, stopping to investigate rabbity-looking spots. We reached the truck and loaded up our gear. Two tired beagles found spots in the back and curled up, while three exhausted men found seats up front. A quick stop at Burger King broke up the drive to Aristos's house, then Biobandit and I hopped in our vehicles to finish the journey home.

Although my rabbit was smaller (I'm man enough to admit to that; plus, it was a smaller target, and I scored 1 hit out of 2), it had long, meaty legs and plenty of back meat. Aristos's rabbit was of good size, with nice big hind legs and thick backstraps. Rabbit stew will be on the menu!

As usual, plans for the next trip were already discussed.

Note: the picture above is from Jan. 1st, not the 18th. I didn't have it when I posted about that hunt, and we didn't take any pictures on this one. The rabbit I shot in the picture was pretty much the same size that Aristos bagged on this hunt.

How Much is Too Much?

While responding to a comment on an earlier post, I remembered something I read on solotripping.com (a very informative and welcoming site for those with extremely small tripping groups). The forum member was explaining how to figure out the proper number of canoes one should own. The answer:

n + 1, with n being the number of canoes you already own.

That made me chuckle, but it really fits how I feel about canoe trips and rabbit hunting. I always want to get one more in each season. Sometimes, the number is as low as 0, and I suffer severe bouts of cabin fever or landlubberitis. It's been a long time since I felt fully satisfied with the number of canoe trips or rabbit hunts in one season.

Is it the end of the world? No, just the state of my personal feelings of well-being based upon preferred avenues of recreation. Not very important at all in the big picture.