June 9 rated Best nite in the stand Just 20 minutes in the stand and Vinnie points to the left.. I could see a black thing coming but he could see these to moving toward the site.. Biggest smile I had seen so far when this little chocolate bruin walks towards the barrels..  He went straight to the goody barrel and he seemed to know exactly where to go.. With an orange peanut Don and Bernie brought last fall from Wi. stuck on his nose and reaching into the goody barrel to get  cherry pie filling , jumpin up on the barrel, sniffn around full of beans.. Mamma did not seem to worry about us we must  have been descented  enough and not moving.. Good hunters We were!!  then after about 20 minutes she started away from the bait, looked back and kind of swung her head and the little one wcame bounding behind her.  I know we all go to the stand to pull the trigger but the only trigger heard was the click of the Canon camera..

How big was that bear? Not sure got a measure stick we could measure size and then measure size of bear butt when you shoot one. How fresh is that dump? Not sure why dont you put your finger in it to see how warm it is? What you think he was eating? Well you can see oats so he must  eating some of those but dont you put your nose down there and sniff it that might tell you. No way that is terrible.. I dont want to do that.   Well dont ask such a silly question…LOL

Vinnie and Grandma Judy spend many hours in the stand looking for a quality bear for Vinnie. Lots of laughs, good stories and 12 bears in all is what we saw over a 6 night sit..Nothing quality and the season ended with no bear on the ground for a tophy picture.. Only 76 days till he can try his luck again.

A small Red squirrel, and a Black bear eating at the bait at the same time… I was amazed at this.. Also amazing how many wild things get a little snack when they pass through.. Bears, Pine Martins, Weasels, squirrels, a large number of birds including big old Ravens, Hawks and Merlins, woodpeckers, chickadees, and many song birds..

We got this pic the other day from Brett and Jules of Austrailia… Jules took this nice fallow buck a couple days before.. 2010 fall bear season, Jules and Brett came to Big Grass for a bear hunt, both successfull with the bears, a coyote and some gophers the week they were here.. A trip planned for fall 2012 for another bear hunt in Manitoba..Cannot wait to see them again..? We had many laughs, and a good friendship was borne that week…Come back soon..Mate.

Gene Reddin sent me this beautiful pic of his garden in Tn. I can tell you we have green peppers in Manitoba and in Toms garden but this year everything is at a stand still. Cold temps, and wet weather and things are not growing.. but we have had 2 days of sun now everything is a Smilin even the grass which is grown like Mad!!

Tom , Lennie and Dave are sitting in wait for beavers who continually pack the culverts with mud.. First nite after the 2.5 inches of rain they removed 4 and each nite lately they get a couple more.. This large dugout on the Russell Golfcourse is getting flooded by dams that back up the water ..It passes the time and good fun too to see who is best shot..however with water levels so high we have not been able to get any carcasses to use for bait..

Hickory smoke  sprayed on a sock hanging off cross log and on trees to cover human scent and to attract those big bruins to the bait site.. Vinnie puts a good layer on the tree.  Later sitting in the stand you would catch the smell as the wind sworels in the trees.

Every spring we see a few Orioles at the feeder. I tried an Orange this year sometone told me they really liked it..and Yes they do.. coming back regularly when temps are down and they need to keep warm

Webhost Bowhunting.com and good friends Todd Graf sent us up a care package and this nice vest was claiimed by Judy.. Over the last 11 years we have been received great service from the guys at Icss an the Rhino group.. Anyone lookn for some web design or analytics these guys know their stuff.. Plus they are crazy mad bowhunters… Last dvd 24 bowhuntin shots..is great to watch