August!!!

Can ya'll believe that it's August?! With the weather we have been having, it has felt like mid-October! We have been stayin' incredibly busy with my graduation and starting my new job! Now its a count down to taking the state boards and then I will finally be freeeeeeeee!!!! Free to finally be able to keep up on the blog ;).

It's been motocross and bonfires for us mostly the last few weekends. This last weekend however it was a nice change to be able to stop out at a local mud bog benefit for a friend who wrecked his motorcycle while traveling to see his mother in the hospital. What a successful fundraiser! There were a ton of trucks that came out as well as the most spectators I have seen at this local pit. Next time I will have photos posted of all the jacked-up trucks. Check out the video of my brother's friend running his Bronco through...

Soon I will be able to post better videos and exciting footage when we are able to use the GoPro! We have heard that there will be at least one more mud bog at this particular spot this year so I will be sure to get more pictures.

This weekend is our Wolf Lake Onion Days. It is a festival held annually at the Wolf Lake Park in Indiana. In the early 1900's, Wolf lake was comprised of mostly onion fields. Being close to the railway located in Kimmell, farmers had easy access to shipping their crops all over the country! Onion Days began after the harvest and the crops were shipped out. It was then that the towns people were able to relax and gather for celebration of their small town. We continue this festival today, beginning on Wednesday August 7th to Saturday August 10th. You may find the schedule of events below. Hope to see you there!

The band Gunslinger's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BandGunslinger?fref=ts

Tri-State Archery & Sportsman's Center

Piggy backing on the post from Sunday, I want to share a local place where you can test out that new bow you are looking for or shoot the bow you already have. Tri-State Archery & Sportsman's Center is a complete archery pro shop as well as NASP certified. They carry Prime, High Country, Bear, G5 Quest, and Genesis compound archery equipment. They are also able to serve the needs of traditional bow hunters as well.

Tri-State has an outdoor 3D range as well as a newly added indoor range. You can shoot aerial targets, take archery lessons, join a league, play mini-golf, hit a few baseballs in the batting cage or a few golf balls at the driving range.

Personally, I absolutely LOVE aerial shooting! It's so much fun and perfect for a family night or date night!
(Below; last year at Tri-State Archery, aerial shooting). You don't really need experience, in fact Hannah (right) shot better than all of us with no experience! :)

Check out Tri-State Archery on the news and see just what all they have to offer... just click the link below!
http://cdn.bimfs.com/WISE/6f9cd0eeaf3ef97935cb960f08acce107553f0c4_fl9.mp4

Find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tri-State-Archery-Sportsmans-Center/395945023820875

Bows, bows, bows!

We've had several thunderstorms roll through Northern Indiana lately. Luckily, not too much damage was done from the extreme wind, flooding, hail and lightening. I think it's safe to say we are starting to get sick of the rain but thankful that its a 180 from last years drought! :)

I have been doing some research on bows lately so I asked a few of the NoCo folks what kind of bows they shoot, what they like or dislike about it, and if they would recommend it. This is what they said...

Zane shoots a Fred Bear Truth 2.
"I got this bow when I worked at Dicks for half off. I don't like it at all, it shoots terrible. I am uncomfortable with it and cannot shoot it. I got rid of my Hoyt Ultramax and wish I wouldn't have replaced it with this bow."
Desirea shoots a Parker Side Kick, in pink camo.
"I love the weight, sights, and compactness of the bow. It's easy to adjust and accurate. I have shot a Diamond before and found it to be super smooth and accurate as well!!"

Josh shoots a Mathews Heli-m.
"I love the Mathews Heli-m I used last year! It is light, quiet, and fast! I'm a big fan of the lost camo and their solo cam's. I had no problem shooting 60 yards! I won't be switching from Mathews but if I was going to shoot another bow it would be the Mathews Z-7 or Z-7 Extreme which isn't as light as the Heli-m but with the right arrows and set up these 2 bows are single pine'd out to 40 yards and that could help any hunter!"

Justin says,
"Well i have always been a Mathews guy. That's what I was first really taught on so I feel the best shooting Mathews. I have owed the Switchback, DXT, Monster, and Heli-m. I like the way that Mathews fits and the balance. With having a short draw length, I like the speeds I get. I get tired of hearing the debate  "my bow's better than yours". "This bow sucks". People dissing the others shooting a 200 dollar bow cause their bow was $1000. It all comes down to what feels best to you and it doesn't matter the price tag if your accuracy sucks. I have been out shot by a 10 year old $150 bows plenty of times!... I have tested other bows the past few years and anymore, with the research that goes behind them, they all are good. I encourage others to try the Athens bow also. Great bow and, what do ya know, made right here in Indiana!"

Justin has taken two large bucks in the last few years with a Mathews and Heli-m. He has decided this year to shoot a recurve, no sights. 

So the search continues... but you'll never know what you prefer 'till you try it! What bow do you shoot?!?

Summer is finally here!

It seems like spring drug on forever here in Northern Indiana, not that we would complain. A few days ago was the official first day of summer and we have been feeling it since! A high of 92 degrees, grass fading to brown as well as some storms rollin' in tonight from Illinois prove that summer has arrived. Crops are popping up all over the place and everything seems to be doing well compared to last years drought.

This is what the whole northern half of Indiana is looking at for tonight...

So far in the NoCo area we have had one canoe trip as well as a few mud bogs here and there. Not much lake action happening so far and we all most definitely forget to take pictures! This year has flown by so fast for most of us here, we cannot even keep up with our own lives let alone try to share it!

Our cousins just got home a week ago from their Austria trip and it looked like it was a blast! You can follow their adventures on https://www.facebook.com/pages/GSE-Austria-2013/137719339728169. She had some amazing photos from Untersberg Mountain, the Alps...

Isn't she awesome!? 

Camping season is in full force and Chain O' Lakes is hoppin'! Pink tagged vehicles coming from the campground pass our house at least once a day. If you have never been to the state park, we recommend it! In fact, we encourage you to check out the nature center activities, the school house and canoe or kayak down the winding, wooded lakes. http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2987.htm Check out the dates for the floating campfire... pretty rad. https://www.facebook.com/chainolakessp?fref=ts

Sorry!!!

I cannot believe how long it has been since I have posted! I truly am sorry!!!

It is finally nice here in good ole Indiana. Gardens are getting planted and flowers are blooming. People are finding themselves busy with home improvement and outdoor projects. Some folks are even getting their mud trucks ready for the first mud bog of the season, coming very soon! A few folks just got married this past weekend in a mud pit, on his and her mud trucks!

This turkey season was slightly uneventful compared to previous years. We unfortunately had few birds harvested. Luckily on the upside, its fishing season!!! Jason just posted this picture recently...

Also, I would like invite you to join my Light the Night walk team for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on September 24, 2013. I know it's still a few months away, but that just means there is more time for fundraising! My team name is "Strength Striders" and you can find our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Ltn2013StrengthStriders . I would be honored to have you all as part of my team for this years walk. If you are interested in signing up, you go to http://www.lightthenight.org/register/ and type in "Strength Striders" when it prompts you to join a team. You may also create a team of your own if you are interested! If you don't think you can make the walk, but still would like to help, just let me know! I also have paper balloons to give out to businesses to sell, so if you or your company would be interested send me an email at ashstew90@gmail.com. Our team will be selling t-shirts in the very near future and I will let you know soon!

Send me your outdoor pics and stories behind them! ashstew90@gmail.com

What's new?!

Good Mornin' ya'll!

How goes it!? It's been a minute since I have gotten to post, so I apologize. We are getting into the last few weeks of the semester and final exams are fast approaching! I have spent most of my time preparing for it so I have not had the time to look at the blog.

Unfortunately, I don't have anything exciting to post from the fields. Everyone has been seeing birds but not close enough to take a shot. Hopefully I will have turkey report soon! What have you been seeing? Send me pictures and stories from the home-front! :)

Spring is in the air finally and the trees are flowering! Hannah took some really great pictures the other day...

Such beauty! 

Have great stories and pictures??? Send them my way at ashstew90@gmail.com!

Turkey hunting; COMING SOON TO A FIELD NEAR YOU!

Happy Hump day NoCo Followers!

Since Turkey season is fast approaching I wanted to talk about a few relevant topics. Firstly, Indiana DNR has launched a relatively new CheckIN game system. You can literally go online and check in your harvest and that's that! This is obviously beneficial if you are far from a check in station or you have to go out and look for your turkey and don't get back until they are closed. Simply go online to checkingame.dnr.in.gov, and type in your customer ID number. This number is located on your license in the top left-hand corner. If all else fails and you cannot find or retrieve your CID number, they can make you a new one to use. This is what the screen will look like..

 After you are all signed in, it will ask you a series of questions about your harvest! Finally, you can review your entered data and hit "submit"! Make sure to save and/or print your confirmation page. It's as simple as that! As of right now, this system is only set up for deer and turkey seasons. 

Here is a calendar to show sunrise and sunset times for our area for April. Beginning April 24th, sunrise is at 6:49 a.m. and sunset is at 8:31 p.m. You can find this calendar and download your own at http://www.sunrisesunset.com/predefined.asp. All you have to do is plug in your zip code and tell it exactly what you want and it makes it for you!

Finally, I want to note that we condone ethical hunting only. It isn't right to break the law and deprive others of hunting rights and opportunities because someone decided they weren't going to follow rules and regulations. Turn In a Poacher is ran by the Indiana DNR to keep this from happening and to arrest poachers who violate those rules and regulations set before us. You can either anonymously fill out their online complaint form at http://www.in.gov/dnr/lawenfor/7608.htm, or you can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-TIP-IDNR. 

Hope everyone has a quick and painless rest of your work week! If you have any questions or topics you would like to see us talk about email me at ashstew90@gmail.com or comment below!