Hobby Sports

The book is broken down into Mens watches, Chronographs, Aviator watches, Divers watches, GMT and World Time Watches, Watches with Alarm features, Tourbillon Watches, Calendar watches, and Repeater watches.  My favorite companies, Glashutte Original and Sinn, are showcased, as well as the big name and not-so-big name Swiss, French and German makers.

Its printed on quality thick gloss paper with watch porn on every page.  The book is basically almost all watch porn with very little in the way of substance but nonetheless its quite the find.

For more that a decade my copy of Spanish Best by Terry Weiland has sat in my gun library unread collecting dust.  This weekend I decided to actually open the book and finish it.  I have no idea why it has taken me so long to read this book.  Perhaps its because I always  subconsciously thought that Spanish doubles were somehow a "lesser" gun.  Maybe that is too harsh. I have long realized that Spanish guns are nice and an excellent value for the money but always in the back of my mind I always considered them reproductions rather than the real deal.  After reading Weilands book, I have realized that may not be a fair assessment.  The book is an excellent off season read that gave me some insight on Spanish guns and the industry.  It takes a good look at the history of Spain and how it influenced its firearm industry as well as how English influences in banking and royalty contributed to the adoption of the English ideal of the shotgun.  Also  researched is the possible origins of poor reputation and apprehension among American shooters toward Spanish guns.  What I really enjoyed about this book is not only does Terry describe Eiber gun making trade but the actual town itself and it cultural and culinary experiences.  All in all I enjoyed this book and worthy a place in any fine gun library.

I decided to put to use the bounty of the last hunt. 

Ingredients:
Saddle of Cottontail Rabbit and liver (you can use the legs if cooking for more than one person)
Mushrooms
Diced Shallots
Green Onion
Butter
White Wine
Chicken Broth
Fresh Herbs- I used Chives, Thyme and Rosemary since that is all I had
Penne Pasta
Parmesan cheese

Dice the liver and saddle of the cottontail in bite sized pieces.  Slice the mushrooms.  Chop the herbs.  Grate the cheese.

Cook the Pasta in salted water.  Heat butter in a pan and add the diced shallots and green onions.  When cooked add diced rabbit until half way cooked.  Then add the sliced mushroom and herbs.  Deglaze with the wine and broth.  Reduce liquid to about half.  Add cooked pasta and toss. Retain the cooked pasta water. Then add the cheese and toss.  If the pasta is too dry add pasta water.  Of course season along the way.
 

My first real hiking boot ever was a Lowa. I have always been a fan because every pair Ive ever worn have been very comfortable. It has always seemed to me that they require little to no break in period. Ive never had a blister or hot spot with their boots.

I have acquired two new pair of Lowa boots. My father picked a pair of Desert Elites for me. These boots retail here in the states for over $300 and Ive seen them go for over $400. But for some reason, these boots in the UK are going for far less, around $200 USD. I have read that the British SAS and other Special Forces wear these boots. Perhaps there was a contract that was not fulfilled and now the UK has an overrun of these and thus the cheaper price there. My father picked these up from a UK dealer and bought a pair for himself and a pair me for roughly the price of one set that could be bought here.

Other than trying them on, I have not tested the boot. Although on our last hunt my father wore his and said they were very comfortable. One great thing about these Elites are that they are still made in Germany. They are water repellent and breathable and are 8 inches tall. Although these are desert boots they are more than capable for mountainous chukar terrain. Afterall the Brits are wearing these in Afghanistan. One thing I have to get used to is that these boots have closed eyelets. This is because these are designed for paratroopers and open eyelets can get caught or cut up cords. For me this takes some getting used to as all my boots have open eyelets. These boots will be my early season mountain quail boots or hot weather boots.

The boot is a combination of cordura and leather. Tongue is well padded and mountaineer styled.

Eyelets are closed throughout. The tongue is attached to a nice soft leather.

Lowa Renegade GTX Mid

Not knowing that my father picked me up those boots, I picked up another pair of Lowa boots for everyday use or camping. I have a pair or Timberlands I bought years ago because I read that Ed Viesturs wore them. Those were Chinese made junk. I couldnt believe Ed would ever wear a boots like that. I guess he gets them free but since he makes a living mountaineering I would expect that he would go with a more reputable boot company. Maybe he just wears those while in camp and not when hiking to the base camp. Most recreational boots found at outdoors stores are now made in China. Just go to REI and look for yourself. That is just sad. I, for one, will not purchase any of those.

These Lowa Renegade GTX Mids are not German made but at least they are not made in China. It is my understanding that these are Lowas most popular boot selling more units worldwide than some boot companies sell in one year. I can see why. These are some of the most attractive boots on the market.

Like every Lowa Ive owned, this pair is out of the box comfortable. The monowrap comes up and wraps to the middle part of the boot which not only provides stability and durability but lessens weight as well.

These boots have trekking style lace ups which wrap around the contours of the foot. These are open eyelets.


There is a stabilizer in the sole that works like a shank. The soles are Vibram.

Made in Slovakia. Ill take that to China any day.

So far Ive only worn these around town so I can not yet comment how they will do in the field. These boots will be for everyday wear, hiking, fly fishing, camping, off roading and other. Since Ill likely be hunting in the following months, its unlikely these boots will see any "real" use until the hunting season is over. I will however be bringing these to Texas while I take a CSAT Rifle course with Paul Howe in February.

When I get more "real" use out of these two boots I will make a new entry to report.

These interesting videos are from Tenkara USA about Japanese fly fishing originating hundreds of years ago. Even Joan Wulff gets in the action.

My best fish of the day.

The original plan was to backpack deep into the canyon and camp for the night but that plan was scraped so we were just to fish on Saturday.  Chuls girlfriend was to join us.  The new plan was to hike deeper than we did the last time and fish all day.

We made it to the trail head and hiked the trail beyond where we dropped in the last time.  Finding a safe entry point was proving difficult and finding some fly fishermen already on the water moving downstream was discouraging.  After  looking at a few sketchy areas we finally found an entry point and after made our way down carefully navigating over a rocky area.  Our entry point lead us into an area that required that we swim through a deep large pool to make it back.  So before we decided to get wet we ate our lunch not only to lighten our loads but also to make sure our food doesnt get waterlogged if we couldnt get it out of the water.  After lunch we fished a few downstream holes before we started our swim upstream. 

Erica making the swim

I was the one to lead the way.  Honestly I didnt think it was going to be that hard but then again I never had to swim fully clothed and with wading boots and with one hand while carrying my waist pack and rod above the water.  I must have made it about 15 yards before I realized this was going to be a bitch.   Its a good thing we wet waded, had we wore waders we would have drowned for sure.  I swam to the nearest rock face and found a hand hold.  I rested here to catch my breath as I just dove in and the cold water took my breath away momentarily.  After a brief rest I swam to the next rock hold I could find.  This time though my hat and glasses came off and I grabbed them with my free hand I panicked a bit as I sank and took in a big gulp of water.  I managed to find an area in the rock face that I could place my rod and waist pack so I could put away my glasses in my shirt pocket.  Holding my self up here for awhile to try and regain my composure, I decided screw the contents of the waist pack and get it wet and swim with both hands.  I made it to the edge where I could stand, I turned around to find Chul and Erika not there.  Did they find an easier way around?  If they did I would have been pissed.  After a brief moment they reappeared and made their swim.  Chul wore his vest today and was able to place both rods in his rod holder in his vest.  They were able to swim with both hands so they made it much easier than I.    Both made it across and we stood in the sun to warm up wring out water from our shirts.  Im glad we did not backpack this weekend.  It would have been impossible to pass this area with a backpack.  A few more places in this area required some more deep wading and alot of boulder climbing.  It was more exploration than fishing.

Miners Lettuce.  It has a slightly peppery flavor.

Arroyo Toad

After chatting we moved upstream they moved down.   We caught several throughout the day.  Chul managed a solid 12 incher or so in a section of water I would have never fished.  It was slow almost stillwater section of a long pool.  He later told me he caught another about the same size after I left him there.   I fished several pocket water catching fish ranging from dinks to 10 inches.  I did finally see two Federally protected Arroyo Toad that have given our fishermen such a headache.   We managed to finally reach our drop in point from last time.  Chul and I fished the tight section where we saw a flash of a very nice trout  in our past outing.  After a few drifts I had a hard take on my stimulator.  We landed it and it was a solid 11-12 incher.  While a nice fish, we concluded it was not likely the fish we saw the last time.  The flash of the belly seemed much taller and fatter. 

This trip was brutal. Alot of swimming. Alot of bouldering. Alot of tough work. The fishing was not as good as the last time. Mostly because we were working so hard just to get to some fishable water. Nevertheless I think we all had a good time and we managed a few decent fish. I told Chul the next time we trout fish lets choose an easier (in terms of hiking) place. I think he agreed.  We had dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant and the calamari and pizza definitely hit the spot.  I was so hungry I probably could have ate a rhinos asshole and it would have tasted good.  Throughout our hike Erica and Chul did show me some more wild edible plants which was nice so if I ever get stuck in the woods at least I will know a few more edibles to keep me alive until help arrives.  Im not sure how many calories I must have burned throughout the day but Im sure it was a lot.  

Chia.  It has edible seeds that when soaked with water enlarge and have a boba-like texture.