As some of you may remember, my friend Doug Duren produces the ultimate buck lure right in his own bladder. It’s called BMJ, or Buck Man Juice, and it works like a dream. (As of now, he has no plans to sell it. But I’m sure he’d be willing to negotiate.) If you don’t believe in magic, just check out these photos here!
Inspired by @meateatertv’s grip & grub contest: last night I grilled Caribbean jerk backstrap steaks from my small antlered, big bodied southwestern North Dakota whitetail last November. I shot my buck during a freezing rain storm and decided some island heat would be a perfect contrast on the steaks.
Had to dispatch this poor guy at work. Got hit by a car and broke both front legs. He will not go to waste though! I dropped him off at the processor and kept his head.
Just wanted to talk a bit about Chronic Wasting Disease, AKA “zombie deer disease”
Some people have expressed concern and I want to assure everyone that I am extremely aware of how detrimental this disease is.
-For those of you who don’t know, CWD is a prion that infects the nervous system of whitetail deer. It is very contagious and very fatal. It has been becoming more of an issue in many states as the deer populations are increasing. Also, it doesn’t make it better when people bait deer, as it normally spreads through the saliva and when there’s lots of food in one area the chance of infection increases.
-As many of my followers know, I post a lot of content about whitetail deer and cleaning deer skulls. I want to clarify that all carcasses are disposed of properly at dump stations provided by the dnr and I always make sure to clean my tools after each head.
-Something else I do to help the dnr is remove the lymph nodes of each deer and bring them to a CWD kiosk to be collected and tested for the prion. I strongly recommend anyone who cleans deer skulls to do this as it helps counties get a more accurate estimation of deer infected with CWD, while also helping the dnr implement techniques to slow the spread.
-More information should be available on your local dnr’s website and again, I strongly encourage anyone to check this out and get involved!
-Please keep in mind that to bring in your deer’s lymph nodes you’ll need to have an authorization number for the animal!
Bitter wind whips the banner She bears, announcing the imminent grasp of the cold on an otherwise still world.
Inspired by the ochres of dead reeds against stormy blue skies, by tales of ever-shifting Fae courts and by the magic inherent in the wheel of the year.
Painted in watercolor, gouache, and ink on 140lb Arches hot press paper, accented with metal leaf and metallic gold ink.
