Girls' Weekend, Days 2 & 3

Continuing on with our weekend/adventure at Percy Quin State Park in McComb, MS.

One thing I did not bring was my tripod. It seemed like the car was too full to bring one more item, so I chose to leave it home. Big mistake. Even though the 100-400mm lens has image stabilization, I don't feel I get sharp shots unless it's mounted on a tripod. Oh well! Live and learn.

I don't know these boys, but they were so cute as they walked past our cabin.

Teeniest chapel ever.

Lake by the golf course.

Great Blue Heron

Same as above, flying.

Gray Catbird. First time I've seen one away from a tree.

Around the corner from our cabin.

Wood ducks. My tripod would have really helped in this situation. :(

Eastern Kingbird in flight.

Michelle practicing with Mabel II, my old camera that's now hers. 

Thank you so much for indulging me with my mini-vacation photos, and for your sweet comments and visits.

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Girls' Weekend, Day 1

Goodness, y'all! I'm so far behind on posting and editing I don't know whether to scratch my watch or wind my butt. :)

In March, my high school BFF, Michelle, planned a wonderful mini vacay for us the first weekend of May. Neither of us had visited Percy Quin State Park before, so we treated it like a grand adventure. We hadn't had a sleepover since 1975! The weather couldn't have been more beautiful. The evening was cool, so we sat outside on the picnic bench in sweatshirts drinking wine. Oh, how I wish Michelle would let me post the video of her singing "Hello Darlin'" by Conway Twitty, using the mosquito repellant as a microphone. She's so fun and crazy! We now refer to ourselves as Lucy and Ethel. Guess who plays Ethel? And I'm okay with that! :)

Since there are so many photos, here is day 1:

We met my dad and stepmom here the first night for dinner.

A few glasses of these and I had a talent show on my hands. LOL

View from our screened porch.

In typical Michelle fashion she insisted on tidying up the place!

Can anyone help ID this cute little butterfly? I'm thinking some kind of Hairstreak.

First bird to see, an Eastern Kingbird.

Stay tuned to Part Deux!

Linking up with the lovely Anni!

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The Lodge and an Oopsie!

Our time at Hickory Hills Hunting Preserve was absolutely glorious. Our stay was very pleasant. The lodge owners prepared three meals a day and their son took us around to three different ponds on their 12,000 acre estate. I did learn something that made me feel better about this type of hunting: each hunter is accompanied by one of the family members. Deer under a certain age or size are not allowed to be killed, so they all live longer lives at Hickory Hills than they would in the wild. They are well taken care of with plenty of acreage to make the hunt a challenge.

This was my favorite photo. This is Chief. He's an 11-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback.
He insisted on accompanying me while I ate and got a big slurp of my soup!

The lodge was decked out like Cabella's. All of the animals had been hunted by the owners
at different places around the world.

This was the view off the large, covered patio.

Dining area where Chief licked my soup, that corner table to the left.

An entrance gate to one of the properties named after a daughter, Linden.

Our fishing hole. I caught five bass and Daddy caught two. We threw them back because they were too small.

The lodge.

The biggest excitement took place after we left Hickory Hills. My dad was poking along I-55 in the left lane when suddenly a gigantic SUV came out of nowhere, right on our bumper. My dad moved over as soon as he could, but then he became really angry about it. So he flipped off the SUV making a mean face and shaking that middle finger violently at the driver. I swear; I do not lie. This is what my dad does. Next thing we know, blue lights and sirens come on. It was a Mississippi STATE TROOPER! Daddy pulled over and after rolling his window down, got the dressing down of his life. The only thing I could say in our defense was that the sudden appearance of the SUV scared me. The trooper was shouting at my dad like a drill sergeant, telling him to keep his butt out of the left lane, how dare he treat a fellow officer that way, blah blah blah. Mr. Trooper Man said he had a call to go to and had bigger fish to fry. Before that he threatened to throw my dad in jail. I had visions of how in Hades I would negotiate with these backwoods cops. Oh, Lawdy, my heart was beating 90-to-nothing. It's always an adventure with my dad. I have so many stories to share. But I'd have to have an R-rated blog to tell the whole truth.

Well, y'all have a great week! I'm doing laundry today and catching up on my blog reading.

Fishing and Bonding

This has been a pretty good summer. Many days have been spent fishing with my dad, enjoying each other's company and getting a good tan in the process. After fishing we always stop by Sonic so Daddy can get a large caramel malt.

Around the middle of August I caught a 5 lb. bass, reeling him in all by myself. I may have mentioned it in another post; if so, sorry to repeat myself. The last three times we've been fishing we haven't caught anything worth bragging about. Daddy suggested the next time to get out to the fishing hole by daybreak on a cool morning. I told him to test out his theory first and if it works, then I'm in.

It's so hard not to have my big girl camera by my side, but I want to concentrate on bonding with my dad and fishing without the distraction of photography. Now I can't totally eliminate photography, being in such beautiful surroundings, so this is where my trusty iPhone takes up the slack.

This is my dad. The foggy morning was beautiful. In Lightroom I chose the Creamtone preset.

Five horses came galloping up to us at one point. The one closest in the frame was their ringleader, apparently.
Anyway, I tried to make friends with him and remain calm, but he had crazy eyes and wouldn't stop hovering and snorting.
He was all up in my face. I don't know much about horses and was afraid of getting kicked, so I hightailed it to the other side of the pond.

The pole from the bird house looks like it's holding up this horse's head. Haha

I don't know what kind of horse this is, but I love that blonde mane.

Isn't he cute?

Wishing everyone a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend!

Sharing with the wonderful Tex at

And also sweet Eileen at

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Idyllic

My dad and I planned a fishing day a couple weeks ago. Below was the location we cast in first; an idyllic pond owned by a friend of my dad's. All we managed to hook were two pitiful turtles. So sad to pull a hook out of a turtle's mouth. We then tried another area nearby and came up with a pair of bright orange, but very small perches, which we gave to the gentleman fishing next to us. We're still scouting out different places, but so far we haven't had much luck. All photos were taken with the iPhone.

This one is for TexWisGirl's Good Fences meme.

Sharing with TexWisGirl's Good Fences meme.
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More Progress

A few more shots of my time fishing in Progress, Mississippi with my dad and Double D. I think I've found a new hobby!

Double D wearing his Texas Ranger colors.
I ask you, could we have fished at a more beautiful site? My dad knows the right people!

Daddy trying to get the hook out of a bream's mouth.

One of the few photos you'll ever see of me. Yuck!
Double D took this with his phone. I was the only one to catch a catfish that day.
He was so excited and proud.

Close-up of my catch. All the fish were released back into the lake.
Hopefully they weren't too traumatized.

Progress

On Wednesday, Sept 26, 2013, my dad and I made plans to fish on some private property owned by a friend of his. Located in a sleepy, unincorporated town called Progress in Mississippi, it appears the only progress going on is the beauty of the land. It was a marvelous day with the most pleasant weather conditions, though still a tad bit warm.

Daddy caught two 7-8 lb. catfish, a bream, and 2 turtles (or the same turtle twice). I finally caught a catfish and reeled it in all by myself. It was about 5-6 lbs. Daddy said I caught on to casting quickly. I was so worried about maiming his ears, eyes or getting the line tangled up in trees. Have you seen the character Sue in The Middle? I'm a little like that. My grandmother used to say I was fru-fru (clumsy). Thankfully, I managed to end the day without maiming myself or anyone else.

We fished with peeled shrimp and live worms. I could not thread the worms; it put my stomach in a turmoil. I even felt bad hooking the fish, but I've been told they don't feel pain the same way humans do. I hope that's true.

iPhone shot of the pond

Cedar trees starting to change colors

Daddy about to reel in his catch (iPhone)

Daddy's first catfish

Daddy right after he reeled it in

With a bream

Finally, my catfish. Trying to do a selfie with the phone while holding up this
wiggly, heavy fish was a challenge.

It was such a fun day. After Double D looked at the pictures, he wanted to go too, so we drove back two days later. I was the only one to catch a catfish. More photos soon!