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May 27, 2009 Lightning On The Skeet Field-10byFrom Colorado's Greely Tribune: "A Loveland man suffered serious injuries when he was hit by lightning Monday afternoon while skeet shooting east of Lucerne. Josh Renuch, 32, was one of two men injured in the incident shortly after 2 p.m. Monday, said Margie Martinez, spokeswoman for the Weld County Sheriff’s Office. She identified the other man as Brent Kuehne, 32, of Greeley. Martinez said the two men were with a group of seven people shooting skeet at a farmhouse 2 to 3 miles east of Lucerne. She said the incident occurred just before a heavy thunderstorm moved through the Greeley area. “There was no storm out there at the time, but obviously, there was lightning. “Apparently, a skeet had just been launched, and the lightning may have hit the shotgun because it pretty much exploded in (Renuch’s) hands,” Martinez said. She said Kuehne was knocked down by the lightning. A woman who was with them, along with a person from a nearby residence, gave first aid to the two men until emergency personnel arrived. The woman, Martinez said, was not injured, but she and the others at the site were taken to North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley. Because of patient confidentiality, the hospital could not give the conditions of those injured. Meanwhile, the heavy rain that started around 2 p.m. Monday in downtown Greeley continued well into the afternoon. It resulted in some minor flooding problems in the area of 9th Avenue and 16th Street shortly after 3 p.m. There was no serious problems, however, according to Greeley police. About 4 p.m., amateur radio spotters in southwest Greeley reported floodwater running over Weld County Road 54 and Two Rivers Parkway, about eight miles southwest of Greeley, according to the National Weather Service, which issued a flash flood warning for the area. Water up to hub caps on vehicles was reported, and the weather service said Doppler radar indicated as much as 3 inches of rain had fallen in the area. Martinez said there was runoff from a field near Weld 54 and Two Rivers Parkway, and west of there, small hail covered about a mile area. “It was small hail, but there was tons of it,” she said, noting it was 3-4 inches deep in that one area. Other sites reported upward of 1.25 inches on Greeley’s northwest side and more than half an inch near Highland Hills Golf Course. Near Kersey, 0.6 of an inch to more than an inch was reported at automated weather stations, while other areas of Weld had a trace up to 0.3 of an inch or a little more. [ Read Full Post ] May 26, 2009 Dog's Best Friend-7byIt’s probably been at least 40 years or longer since the recommended treatment for poisonous snakebites in the Official Boy Scout Handbook included instructions on sucking the venom from the victim’s wound. These days the general medical advice for snakebite is to transport the victim to the nearest medical facility for professional treatment. But Bobby Jenkins, 50, who lives on a ranch in rural Goshen County, Wyoming, was faced with a serious dilemma May 15 when his 11-month-old black Labrador retriever, Tank, was hammered squarely on the nose by a prairie rattlesnake. “It was 20 minutes to town and I knew he would not make it. So I grabbed his nose and started sucking the rattlesnake poison out of the top of his nose and spit it on the ground,” Jenkins told the Casper Tribune newspaper. By the time Jenkins transported his dog to the nearest animal doctor in Torrington, the Lab’s head had ballooned to grotesque proportions. Rattlesnake antivenin was immediately applied to the ailing canine and he soon exhibited a favorable reaction to the treatment. But by that time, Jenkins began feeling woozy and faint, an apparent reaction to the snake venom he’d accidentally ingested in his attempt to save Tank. At the local hospital emergency room he was treated with multiple injections of anti-venom medication before his vital signs returned to normal. In the end, the Snakes-on-the-Plains incident ended well for both rattler-poisoned victims, and Jenkins is confident his actions saved his Lab’s life. “It was just instinct,” he said. “I saved the dog and I saved myself.” [ Read Full Post ]May 21, 2009 Texas Okays Crossbows-6byTexas has become the third major deer-hunting state to approve the use of crossbows during archery-only deer-hunting seasons this year. On Monday, May 18, the Texas state legislature sent HB 968, which is slated to become effective with the October 2009 early archery season, to Gov. Rick Perry. The governor, a longtime archer and bowhunter, has indicated he intends to sign the measure.
Earlier this year, game commissions in both Michigan and Pennsylvania instituted similar regulations to allow crossbows to be used during the general archery deer seasons. Historically Texas, Pennsylvania and Michigan annually rank among the top five U.S. states in the number of bowhunting participants. With the addition of the three states in 2009, a total of 11 states now allow crossbows during regular archery deer-hunting seasons. The Texas legislation was drafted and introduced by Rep. Mark Homer at the request of a friend and hunting partner. It was opposed by the state’s largest archery hunting organization, The Lone Star Bowhunters Association. [ Read Full Post ]May 17, 2009 "Oh Deer!"-7byMotor vehicle accidents involving deer are commonplace in certain regions of the country. Usually it’s a simple front bumper and grill affair—and a $2,000 (or more) deductible. But an incident involving a minvan and a deer in Connecticut this week has to be one of the wildest we’ve ever run across. Witnesses say a whitetail doe leapt through the side window of a moving Honda minivan in Cheshire, Conn. Tuesday and thrashed around inside for a minute or so as the driver continued down the road. The deer then made a crash exit through a window on the opposite side of the vehicle—landing on the roadside, dead. And it gets better--or more bizarre, anyway. Because inside the van at the time of the incident were two toddlers, strapped in their car seats in the rear of the vehicle. The Waterbury (CT) Republican American newspaper reports the van’s driver and mother of the twin 3-year-old girls, Jennifer Sullivan of Wolcott, was totally unaware the deer had crashed through the van window, much less that it flailed around in the compartment with her children for 60 seconds or more. Sullivan told authorities she knew her van was struck by a deer, but did not believe the deer entered the van while still alive. “I can’t imagine that being possible,” she said. But a witness driving behind Sullivan’s Honda saw the whole thing, and a police report verified his story. Fortunately, her girls received only minor cuts and did not require medical attention. However, the youngsters probably needed a good bath when they got home. Why? Because they “were covered with fur,” according to their mother. [ Read Full Post ]May 14, 2009 Norman The Nutria-13byTalk about delicious irony. What are the odds of finding a story about two species of vermin--tort lawyers and nutria--where both play an integral role in the tale? You can’t make this stuff up. Meet Norman Nutria (the swamp rat), and Anthony Fontana (the lawyer). Fontana filed a suit against Wal-Mart in state district court in Abbeville, Louisiana on April 22 on behalf of his clients, Randal and Rebecca White. The suit alleges Ms. White was pushing a full shopping cart in the grocery aisle of the Abbeville Wal-Mart on Oct. 11 when a large nutria emerged from behind a Coke machine and ran toward her. “Fearing for her safety,” the suit alleges, Ms. White tried to protect herself with the cart, but in the process rolled a wheel over her foot, causing injury. The lawsuit goes on to claim that when store workers came to White's aid, they made light of the incident, “telling (the) petitioner…they could see that she had an encounter with ’Norman,’ a name the employees had given to the rat.” Stay with me here. Norman’s the rat, Anthony’s the, uh, attorney. The lawsuit, which claims Ms. White needed surgery to her foot as a result of the rodent encounter and seeks further compensation for her “pain suffering and metal anguish,” claims Wal-Mart and its employees were negligent because they failed to: - Warn her of the nutria prior to her entering the store. - Take steps to protect her from the nutria. - Warn her that she is shopping at her own risk because there is a wild animal loose in the store. - Attempt to capture the nutria. As for Norman, we can only hope he’s called to testify on his behalf, to prove to the court he’s no “wild animal.” [ Read Full Post ]May 7, 2009 Iguana Hunting-5byNewshound readers may know the temperate locales of South Florida for the great outdoor activities, boating and game-fishing opportunities that abound there. In addition to unique reptile species like alligators and popular saltwater dwellers like bonefish and tarpon, the region is also home to a growing number of non-native, introduced species that can thrive in the warm and wet climate. But they’re not always welcome, especially by those empowered to protect the environment. Last week, more than 100 interested persons attended a symposium at the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service building to learn how to help control one of those troublesome species that has become increasingly prolific in parks and residential yards—the iguana. Sold as pets for decades, iguanas now exist in large breeding populations and number in the hundreds of thousands in the area south of Orlando. Last week’s gathering focused on how regular folks can harass and euthanize the nuisance critters. “Whack them in the head, stun them and then decapitate them,” explained Bill Kern Jr., University of Florida professor of entomology and nematology. “Whack them in the head more than once and it’s animal cruelty.” Kern explained that the biggest problems associated with the South and Central American reptiles include the fact that it deposits about a pound of feces daily and loves to munch on ornamental plants like hibiscus and orchids. The Stewart News reported one man in the audience asked Kern about the use of specific instruments for iguana whacking. “Can you whack them with a machete?” he queried, drawing roars of laughter from the crowd. [ Read Full Post ]May 5, 2009 Soooo...A Deer Walks Into a Bar-5byThursday was an unusually pleasant early spring day in Wadena County, Minnesota. In fact, it was so warm that both the front and rear doors of Sebeka Liquors, a downtown package store and bar, were propped wide open. The open rear entrance to the drinking establishment proved too tempting for a lone deer that happened to be taking a leisurely stroll through town. Either that, or it was the particular song playing on the Wurlitzer at the time or the unmistakable scent of fermented barley and hops that came wafting out in the breeze. Whatever the case, the curious ungulate decided to investigate the premises. Security camera photos provided to the Sebeka Review Messenger newspaper by Police Chief Eric Swenson show the antlerless deer calmly walking through the tavern as two customers and the bartender watched. However, the local newspaper failed to report whether the deer opted to try a line from an old standard joke and walked up to the bar to question the bartender: “Excuse me, do you serve deer, here?” To wit the bartender, on cue, would have replied, “No sir, all we’ve got is ham on rye and pickled pigs’ feet!”
[ Read Full Post ] May 3, 2009 Hunting Morel Mushrooms-1byIt’s the time of the year when Americans in many regions of the country put on their hiking boots for the first time since the fall and head to the woods in search of a favorite wild delicacy, the morel mushroom. Breaded, battered and deep-fried, or lightly seasoned and tossed in a frypan with butter or bacon, wild mushrooms are a meal savored by outdoors-folks like none other. But, those who head afield this time of year in search of the wild booty usually fall into two categories: there are mushroom hunters, and there are mushroom finders. Unfortunately, I have usually been included in the former, rather than the latter group of morel aficionados. But things could be worse. This past Sunday, for example, a mushroom hunter in central Missouri’s Howard County was scouring the Missouri River bottoms near Rocheport when he found scattered bones, pieces of clothing and human remains in a shallow grave. Then, there were two mushroom hunters in Indiana’s Brown County, who became disoriented and lost while mushroom hunting in separate incidents Saturday. Both spent a rainy and cold night in the Hoosier National Forest before being found in good shape Sunday morning. But on Thursday, along the Kaskaskia River in Southern Illinois, a bad day of turkey hunting turned into the best day of mushroom hunting on record for Lenzburg resident David Jaimet. My good friend Rod Kloeckner, the outdoors writer for the Belleville News-Democrat reports that Jaimet and buddy Kent Mason (pictured here) filled 12 plastic shopping bags in 3 hours of ‘shroom hunting. Their cache of yellow morels weighed 56 pounds! [ Read Full Post ] |
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