Garden time!!!

About 3 years ago I decided I wanted a garden.  At the time, we lived on 2 acres of the poorest soil in Alabama.  I did like most folks and went to the nearest Lowes/Home Depot to purchase my garden plants.  As I walked down the isles, looking at the prices per plant, I was amazed at how much people were paying for a tomato plant.

Being me, I immediately went to the seed section, selected a few different plants, a bag of soil, and a couple pots.  Since that first little garden of tomatoes, peppers, and squash I have learned A LOT about plants but more importantly I learned how much I love to watch things grow.  There is a lot to be said for people with nice gardens and fine hunting dogs......lots of patience.......lots of "want to."  The reward is mostly personal, rarely appreciated outside of "looks great honey" by the wife, and on a different level it's good for the soul(or is it soil?).

My first little garden had a tomato, a jalapeno pepper, and a few squash.  We have evolved a bit and are now planting flowers but the same nucleus of delicious summer veggies still exists.  This is what we are going with this year, in no particular order:

Veggies......
Tomatoes.....jetstar, farm stand, right bite
Peppers.....cayenne, jalapeno in both early and hot
Pole beans....Kentucky blue lake
Squash......yellow crookneck
Cucumber

Flowers......
Phlox......twinkle mix
Cosmos......cosmic mix and sunny red
Veronica....blue bonnet(I wanted purplicious, couldn't find seeds)
Dianthus....cheddar pink
Geum......Mrs. Bradshaw Improved
Saponaria......ocymoides
Sedum.....dragons blood
Nasturtium......princess of India
Vinca.....some of my personal all time favorites!
Some pretty rare ones in,
Commelina dianthifolia
Echinus fastuosum
Geranium......purple haze

The Start........Year in review 2012/2013

BLOG JOURNAL

I am creating this blog journal to keep track of my personal achievements, to share these moments with friends/family, and hopefully find some like minded people in the process.  I am a 31 year old living in Auburn, AL with my wife Melissa, my American Brittany Boone, and my little mutt Annie.  I am a graduate of Auburn University and as you will soon see, love the outdoors.  My passions are hunting, fishing, and the pursuit off all things "wild."

 My lovely wife Melissa, three weeks pregnant, holding our two furry babies.

A nine point from Laurens Co., Ga.  The last deer I will ever shoot from my childhood hunting grounds.  Soon after this picture was taken, the property was clear cut to the ground, the land totally devastated, and sold for near nothing for no apparent reason outside of greed.









Drake Mallard from Arkansas 2013.  It was the duck that nearly claimed revenge.  It came 6", after falling 40' out of the air, from coming into the blind, essentially soaking everyone when it hit the water.




Two Gadwalls that my brother-in-law Michael Bond shot as a double in Arkansas 2013, his first ever double on ducks.

 My Brittany "Boone" at a year and one month old, his first pointed quail shot over him.  Tough, hot conditions in South Georgia but he did perfectly for such a young dog.  If I can keep him active, he will be a terrific gun dog one of these days.








 Eight point I shot at the beginning of 2013 on a hunt with Jim Hallford and Steven Marino inside a high fence operation.  It was the first time I had ever been a part of a high fence hunt.

 Me and one of my very good friends Michael Green.  We do a hunt in North Georgia every year where we pack-in, stay for several days, and do our best to kill a bear or deer.  While we have yet to be successful, we have never failed to enjoy the good company, the lack of cell phone service, and our mutual hatred of getting out of warm sleeping bags.

 2012 marks the second year in a row, on the same weekend in October, on a Saturday, that me and my father both killed 8 points.  A rare achievement for anyone.















Now that we are caught up to the present day, March 20th, 2013, I hope that this is as entertaining as I had envisioned when I created this blog.  I will not apologize for all the dead animals or the pictures of the memories they represent.  I shoot em', I eat em', and if I am lucky......the wife lets me put a couple of the really good ones on the wall.