Well it has been a whirlwind autumn here. We gathered in the garden, the pumpkins and squash and the last of the peppers hurricane Rita brought a revival to the ailing peppers and the summer squash, so the garden was a pretty good success story this year. We dug some fresh horseradish and ground that, I found a better way to grind it this year, First put it thru the food processor, then put it in the blender with a little bit of vinegar- fewer tears and finer consistency. We sold all of the remaining pups at the hunting and Fishing days celebration at the DEC regional office celebration in September, and we got several requests to be notified when the next litter is being expected. Hope went thru a heat cycle and appears to be in fine shape. Lately we have been having trouble keeping the dogs from wandering, twice Jack and Pica have hitched a ride with a stranger. I guess we just have to be more vigilant and participate more in the dogs’ excercise programs. The horses’ pasture has been curtailed for the deer season and this also allows the ground to shape up during the off season, and I don’t have to chase horses daily because the deer tore down the fence. We even went to a couple of big red football games. Meghan is in the Cornell marching band, and it was fun to go back to Ithaca for the afternoon.

Deer season in western NY started out chilly and white, for the first day. There didn’t seem to be as many participants this year in spite of the fact that the season opened on Saturday morning to encourage those who wouldn’t have been able to have make the season opener if it occurred on Monday. The ground was white and the day remained cool all day long. I saw a few deer , but nothing that made my trigger finger itch. Sunday morning started cool, but clear, but still lacked the normal activity of both deer and hunters. The hill where I hunt was especially quiet. At around 9:00 am I made my way to a stand that was unoccupied, I had thoughts that this might be a good place to use later in the season, so I hopped up in the stand to check for squeaks lose bolts etc. There was a bolt missing that held the seat in the upright position, I made a mental note to bring a bolt with me the next time I come to the woods, but the shooting lanes were all clear, and the stand seemed to be secure. A squirrel that was cruising around burying his nuts and checking things out, came over to the tree and started up the trunk, I smiled as I looked down upon him, and thought about how small the platform would be if he was to get much closer, however he turned around and headed back down the tree and off thru the woods. I heard him scurry back under the tree and looked down to see him and there stood a buck with a forked rack, in fact it was a rather sizable buck with a reasonable rack. I debated for a moment whether to use my scoped contender or to use my short barreled revolver. I pulled the contender from the warmth of the holster under my jacket, however when I looked through the scope all that I could see was a big orange ball- the morning light was still so flat that it was impossible to see thru scope without picking up its glare. The buck was walking away from me, but directly into the morning sun. As he approached the thicker undergrowth I knew that I had to somehow alter his progress, I had a brand new grunt call –on the seat of the truck-however I have sat thru enough seminars that I had an idea of the type of noise that I wanted to produce, and there wasn’t much time before the buck would be obscured by the vegetation, so I grunted-I almost broke out laughing at the noise that I made, but it worked, the buck paused and looked my way. I still had a lot of glare and it was hard to make out the buck’s shoulder clearly, so I grunted again. This time the buck took two steps in my direction. He had moved enough so there was no longer the glare in my scope, I pulled the hammer back and fired. At the shot the buck dropped. He collapsed and lay on the ground with his head up. I watched him for a moment, the shot was a spine shot, but a bit far back. In a moment, the buck tried to mount his front feet, I reloaded and shot him again, this time through the neck. That was the end. I climbed out of my stand and walked over to admire him. I paced the distance to be forty five yards. I marked the spot as a way point on my gps. I filled out my tag and field dressed the buck, then decided to walk back to my truck and bring it closer to the deer rather than drag the deer all of the way to the truck. This also gave me a chance to shed my heavy woolen clothes for the drag. I purchased a package of fluorescing trail markers this year, I used these to establish a trail through the cedar swamp and they worked very well. They allowed me to establish a quick and easy route through the swamp that could be followed while dragging out the deer, and after getting thru the swamp, I retraced my steps and collected the trail markers.
I weighed the buck when I got him home, 135 lbs. The weather warmed some, but cooled down enough at night that could let the deer hang for a couple of days until I got time to butcher him and put the meat in the freezer. I still have a muzzle loader tag to fill, as well as a couple of doe tags, so the season is not over yet. We have some new projects started in the cabinet shop, we’ll work more diligently on them when the cold weather keeps me from other projects. And speaking of cold weather, we have been retrained at Swain and we are ready for another season of giving Snowboard lessons . This morning there was eight inches of fluffy new snow on the ground. There will be choices to be made this weekend!

Last Chance Safari Company:

With my fiftieth birthday behind me, I have to accept the fact that there is a very good chance that I have lived the faster half of my life, and were there to be anything left that needs to be accomplished, I guess the last half of my life is the going to be the time to accomplish it. Theodore Roosevelt defined "Safari" as being the term employed to denote both the caravan with which one makes an expedition and the expedition itself. Elsewhere, Safari is defined as the Swahili word for journey. I have spent the first half of my life preparing for this journey, now is the time to enjoy and celebrate the trip. The terrible thing about life is that there are no second takes, life has no practice runs, you get only one chance in life to get it right, in effect this is your last chance get it right or get it wrong , this is the last chance, This virtual existence is the chronicle of my last chance safari. If you will accompany me, I will introduce you to the players and the participants in this endeavor and show you around the place.

The Cadamech:
Kanga- My Little Lady Roo- Pedigreed chocolate Labrador, premier snake charmer and rat router, and definitely a chocolate moose.
Kanga's Only Hope- A fine chocolate offspring of the previous dam anda whirlwwind weekend with a southern gentleman, Our Bare Necessities.
Union's Black Jack- obviously mother's favorite young dog, when you count the number of times that you hear mother reminding him of one trespass or another beyond the boundary of mothers code of acceptable conduct in the house
Miss T J dunnit- the Buckskin princess
Nifty's Whisper- not just another line-back dunn, but a true painted dancer
Leo- a genuine fine old quarter horse mare
Georgia Cowby- no-one ever promised brains in a package this big
Sonny- everyone's favorite old faithful- presently presiding over Sonny Knoll

the two regal cats, and assorted other other scurrrying critters,mostly temporary guests.

Dalton Coach and Casket Shop
(The workshop to eternity)
Maybe first I should to explain to you what I believe eternity is. Eternity is along time. Eternity is the time frame of waiting for your turn in the bathroom in a house full of women. It's waiting for the dog's heat cycle to complete, or waiting for your children's latest fall from grace to heal. A more finite definition would be it's as long as anyone can remember. When a person does good works here on earth, they will be remembered, and when they start something or build something they will be remembered as long as what they build continuesto exist and continues to be useful. There are men who write or think great thoughts, and these words are preserved for eternity as long as they are repeated and handed to the next generation. I, however am content to use my hands to make small and useful creations, in the hopes that when you find one of these trinkets useful, you will think of the one who thought enough of you to give this gift to you. The "shop"also makes a good place for me to be while my wife's opinion of me has a chance to mellow, and of course it is wonderful to be surrounded by dogs and testosterone operated gadgets.

Last Chance Safari Company-rules
Since this is my company, I get to make the rules and policies, for now, and viewing the shape that our society is in, the first policy has to do with weapons and tools and safety and security

1.All employees of the Safari Company will be required to become proficient with the three category of firearms: hand guns, rifles andshotguns. Proficiency will constitute a working knowledge of proper safe handling, loading and unloading and firing the weapon. Employees will also be required to know and understand the applicable firearm laws, even those that are contrary to the constitution. In order to be eligible for employment, all candidates will be required to carry and discharge firearms as part of their daily routine. The mere presence of a firearm will signify that the bearer is performing his official duties. A sharp knife will also be considered as part of each employees daily dress requirement. The length and the shape of the cutting edge are of less significance than the fact that it is big enough and sharp enough to accomplish the task at hand. It is also necessary that each employee is forever mindful that a gun or a knife is only a tool, and that it is the operator's attitude that makes it a weapon, and the operators skill that makes it a useful weapon. Practice improves competency, regardless of the skill or tools involved. All other tools, powered or not fall into this category. Consequently, it will be necessary to constantly endeavor to improve the employees competency with all tools. A first aid kit should also be considered as part and parcel of each individuals' kit. Working here around ,cuts, bruises and blisters are just part of the rewards of staying out of the kitchen,however be mindful that should an infection start, the dishpan isconsidered appropriate prophylaxis prior to amputation. Hospital visit sare on your dime!

2. Racism won't be tolerated. If you dress like an idiot or act like an idiot, expect to be treated like one.

3. If you don't like what is being served for dinner , feel free to mention it to the cook, if you survive the tirade it's your turn to cook till the next fool criticizes your work.

4. Pick up after yourself. If you don't want it leave it where the puppies can chew on it or pee on it . The trash goes out on Tuesday. When I have to pick it up, out it goes. If you can't find somethingthat's a good place to look for it, if it's not Tuesday.

5. -(I'll come back to this later).

Well, I promised an intro, Jus’me, My Wife, My two Girls, Three dogs and four horses. I am an engineer, a carpenter, a blacksmith, a cabinetmaker, a snowboard instructor, a hunter, a fisherman and a dad. The Last Chance Safari Company is an idea I have been tossing about for a couple of years. The first blog that I read was "Backroad blog", it turned up in a search for information about the .204 Ruger, "Gutrumbles" was the next, I was hooked, The whole internet weblog thing appealed to me. Long ago I realized that the news media was a flawed institution, as a source of reliable information it had limitations. I’m not one to label left or right, but I began to feel more comfortable with the bloggers opinions about events and occurrences than the "facts" according to Dan and Tom. And certainly with the most previous presidential races’ occurrences of slightly cloudy events, I began to spend more time reading blogs and less reading (and believing)the news. The most humorous part of this change was the efforts of the media to discredit the bloggers, and then the flip of the media to include their own" blogs"on their web based mastheads. I am not a computer wizard, so a lot of this posting comes hard by me, but my oldest daughter has agreed to be a co conspirator in this venture, unfortunately, she’s off to college soon, so there will be some times where the posting no doubt will be sparse. We live in rural New York State, in the sothern tier. I have a sixty mile commute to work every day, however this leaves the fast paced urbania far away when I come home at nite. We are a typical nuclear family. You can check out my website to see pictures of the horses and dogs, we currently have a litter of Labrador Retriever puppies that are for sale. I have a workshop where I build the projects that occupy my spare time. I love the warmth and strength of real wood furnishings, and abhor furniture made from chipboard, plastic laminates and wood byproducts. Testimony to the fact that I am not alone in this appreciation is the number of "Amish Furniture" retailers that seem to be cropping up along our roadsides bragging about traditional hand made hardwood furnishings.
I have two daughters, one is a freshman in high school, one is a freshman in college. Both ride and show our horses, like to camp and canoe and both ride and teach snowboarding.
We have enough acreage to raise our own hay crop for the horses, we have a vegetable garden, and nearly three acres of lawn for the girls to keep trimmed and tidy. Mother can’t muster the courage to drive past a garden shop, so every nook and cranny around the place houses flower beds. This gives her a pleasant pastime every evening, weeding and watering, picking off old blossoms and cussing the puppies for their assistance in the flowerbeds. Well that’s us in a nutshell.

Way too cool, another redneck at the wheel... Hey Rob, and Dave and Dax and way too many more ... Thanx Meghan ...it's about to start...Here we are the Last Chance Safari Company. There was some trepidation when considered the numbers this year as my birthday aproached. As I approached the half century mark on the calendar, I thought about all of the plans that I have made, that never materialized and promises that were made and never kept, I realize my life is a journey that I am part of. Teddy Roosevelt, defined safari as the trip and the act of going on the trip. I have spent the first half of my life preparing for this trip, now is the time to enjoy and celebrate the trip. The terrible thing about life is that there are no second takes, life has no practice runs, you get only one chance in life to get it right, in effect this is your last chance get it right or get it wrong , this is the last chance, especially as I embark on the second half of the first century of my existence. With this said , I have now explained the reason for this blog. This virtual existence is the chronicle of my last chance safari. If you will humor me for the next posts I will introduce you to the players and participants in this endeavor.

okay...for some reason the website www.lastchancesafaricompany.com is not letting me upload any of the stuff that i had previously done for you...so in the mean time, since at this point, time is of the essence, i took teh liberty of creating this... after you read this, you can delete it, but on here you can write and post pictures as much as you want...we can even link this with the page you paid for once i finally get the thing up and running...also, if it is at all possible, pictures will upload much faster wherever we can find a dsl or high-speed connection (i.e. your work?) this computer is already slow..and the large file upload processes run too slowly to actually work..and you end up at one of those bogus search sites. soooo...i have been unable to contact mr. bielicki...my guess is he must be on vacation or something of the sort...in the mean time i'll continue to work on it, and i'm doing my best:) p.s. to add pictures...click on the little 'landscape' type button in the toolbar in this window (see it?) ok:) you should be set to go!