My How Time Flies

Well I really don't know what else to say. The last month has been a whirl wind. At times I felt like a dog chasing it's own tail. First off to Columbus to check out the ATA show. Then to the Benefit 4 Kids banquet. Throw in the filming and editing of the latest Beyond the Wild episode. As well as finally getting out on the hard water for some walleye fishing. Oh yeah all while having a phone stuck to my ear.



Well let's start with the ATA show. Man all I can say is that I have never seen so many great products as well as meeting some great people. The UNJ crew spent all three days checking out the latest and greatest that manufacturer's had to offer. There was some pretty cool things to see. One of the coolest things that I saw for archery was the DragonFire Thermo Grip. For you archers that hunt when it's cold, you definitely need to check it out. Definitely something you want to seriously consider. Then there was finally the unveiling of the Mossy Oak Break Up Infinity pattern. I had been able to see this a while before the show and couldn't wait to see it on fabric. It was just as great as I expected it to be. (OK maybe a little biased but I'm being very honest here) America's Best Bowstrings definitely showed that you can still get some pride and high quality in bowstrings today. The G5 booth was one I wanted to check out for sure. I used the Tekan broadheads this year with great results and wanted to see the new T3. Very nice. Dead Down Wind came out with some great products this year. A Waterless Hand Sanitizer that's totally odorless in seconds. Which is great hunting as well as fishing. Totally Odorless Hand & Body Lotion which took them 2 years in formulation and testing to get it to market. A Camo Color Wheel with the only colorants that meet both FDA and EU requirements. Another cool product came out of the Quaker Boy booth. It is one of the most functional turkey vests I have ever seen with a built in guille system.



Now for the Benefit 4 Kids dinner and auction. Let me start by saying that the people involved with this orginization are top notch caring people. They deserve so much credit for all the good they do. My hat goes off to them. They put their heart and soul into this event and it showed. The stories that were told of some of the children they have helped, made you realize just how fortunate you are. When the stories were being shared there wasn't a dry eye in the place. This is definitely a benefit that I will have penciled in my planner for as long as they have it.



On to the latest episode of Beyond the Wild. It started as a crazy idea of mine to do something we haven't done in any of our previous episodes. After bribing Mike to let me put my neck on the line and try it, the plan was put in motion. After talking and bouncing ideas of each other we set the date to shoot the footage. Well I didn't pick the warmest day for sure. We woke up to it being a balmy 9 degrees out! We started filming at about seven in the morning and didn't wrap up filming until 10:48 that evening. We had a blast like always with everyone being a comedian throughout the day. It wasn't until we were at the house and started filming the cooking segment that I really felt the pressure. I came to the realization that I hope they like what I was cooking or we could be in trouble. Thankfully it went over well since there wasn't any left. Whew!



I then got to try my hand in the editing arena. Grrrr! It was a Saturday and we were supposed to go hunt some devil dogs. Unfortunately I woke up and got Mike on the phone and well let's just say I was sick and went back to bed. I was a bit disappointed since I was given some great new 'yote calls and wanted to put em to work in the feild. (Keep looking I will talk about them in the not to distant future) I finally drug myself out of bed and made my way to Mike's editing "palace". Well it only took over fourteen and a half hours and Mike still ended up needing another six more! I don't think that I wanna do that again. I will leave that to the professionals. I will however sit in when the pizza is delivered.



Finally I was able to get out with my buddy Art for some river walleye relaxation time. We hadn't been out together for a while and it was nice to just relax and hang out without a camera. We caught up on each others lives and solved the worlds problems. (Man do I wish I could solve my own) We caught some fish and enjoyed being out in the outdoors. It's funny how just getting out can totally recharge your battery.



Speaking of battery....stay tuned for the reason why I had a phone stuck in my ear in my future blog.



So until next time, be safe, appreciate what you have and get into the great outdoors.