Our New Chicken Coop

The family got the urge to keep chickens for eggs.  So I built a hen house and chicken run this past week using some store bought lumber and some scraps laying around.  Turned out fairly nice, but extremely heavy.  Hard to move, but my boys and one of the neighbor kids helped me drag it into place behind the garden.  It is not yet finished.  Need to cut more ventilation in the house, and probably will paint it red at some point. Since I built it without plans, it is basic but very sturdy.  I will probably modify it as I learn more about what will be best for the hens and convenient for us.

Inside the hen house, I built some nesting boxes in hopes that we will get some eggs. We only plan to keep hens.  Not interested in raising chicks right now, so no rooster.  Bought a couple of Barnevelder pullets and threw them into the coop, where they promptly made themselves at home. 

We will get a few more pullets this next week, and then I will probably post some more pics. Hope to have them ready to lay eggs by the middle of June. 

Turkey Season in West Virginia

Spring Turkey Season opened in West Virginia on April 25, 2011.  The first morning, I got to my spot before dawn and called in a couple of gobblers within the first hour.  The first stayed out of range.  The second saw me raise my shotgun and then took off.   I did not leave empty handed, however, as I stumbled upon a handful of mollymoochers on my way out of the woods.  

The second morning, Tuesday morning, I was making my way to my spot just as the sun was coming up, when I heard a gobbler ahead of me and over the ridge near the spot to which I was heading.  I stopped short of the ridge and headed around the ridge instead of over.  Before I broke around the ridge I heard him gobble loudly, revealing that he was heading my way.  He must have heard me climbing through the woods, because there was no need to call.  They do not mind noise as long as they imagine that it might be another turkey.  

I froze when I heard him again.  Dropped my gear and stood with gun to the ground.  When he came around the ridge in front of me, I waited for him to pass behind a tree, and then aimed at where he would reappear on the other side of the tree.  He poked his head out about 40 yards ahead of me.  Standing frozen on a steep hillside with a heavy shotgun aimed  at a fixed point is not easy, but is essential due to turkeys' immediate reaction to any movement whatsoever.  I waited for him to clear the tree and then fired.  

He rolled down the hillside, flapping violently, in a way that made me wonder if I would lose him.  West Virginia hillsides are very steep, and he could easily keep rolling toward the bottom if nothing stopped him.  I grabbed my gear, put my gun on safety and then ran downhill as fast as I possible could.  Had anyone seen me, I am sure they would never have imagined that I could have moved so quickly or easily through rough terrain.  I am sure it was a combination of both the adrenalin and my imagination that made my feat possible.  I caught up with him about 50 yards down the hillside.  

He weighed well over 20 pounds and is now situated neatly in my freezer.    Eager to do it all again. 

WV's Squirrel Season Has Begun

Fishing Paint Creek

Paint Creek is located south of Charleston off S.R. 61. In the summer and fall, sportsmen can catch trout, redeye or rock bass, bluegill and smallmouth bass. Most of the fish are panfish size, but that just means they fit the frying pan nicely. Trout can average about 12-15 inches. Smallmouths can be 10-12 inches. Redeye grow up to 10 inches but fight fiercely. The best artificial baits at this time of the year are usually small spinners like Joe's Flies, Rooster Tails, Mepps and Panther Martins. Paint Creek can be waded all along the way. Keep an eye out for copperheads on the banks.



Rainbow trout are stocked (March through May), but brown trout are native year around. These were caught July 1 along with a nice mess of redeyes and smallmouths.

WV Trout Fishing Pics

Brother Danny Cooper, a deacon in my church, took me trout fishing today. From what I understand this is a rare privilege. Danny is a fisherman's fisherman and keeps his secrets. Today, he showed me some great places to fish, however, and I was very grateful.

We saw many trout today, but it was just too cold to get them to bite. The stunning beauty of the hills of West Virginia made it all worthwhile regardless.

Deer Season Can't Come Soon Enough!

So I started the 2008 gun buck season using a Chinese SKS that a good friend of mine had given me. It was a fun gun, but I soon discovered that for deer hunting, it was just not accurate enough. Missed three deer at less than 40 yards. I knew it was the gun and not me when I borrowed a friend's .30-.30 and took two deer at the same distance with no problems. That meant I needed a real deer rifle.

I took the SKS down to the Trading Post in Marmet, WV and traded it for a Stevens (Savage) Model 110 .30-06 plus $50 to boot. I lost the gun my friend gave me, but got an excellent deer rifle for nearly nothing. Took it out this morning and zeroed it in. Took four shots to sight it dead center at 35 yards. Excellent gun. Kicks like a mule. Only eleven more months to go til the next deer season. Maybe by then I will have run out of deer jerky.

The Bills Blog at www.adoniram.net

A Grouse, A Squirrel, and a Four-Wheeler

Tuesday began with some squirrel hunting with a fellow PCA pastor, Jason Driggers. Saw several, but didn't hit anything . . . something must be wrong with my .22. But once I returned home, a friend in Winifrede took me out ATV four- wheeling--25 miles of deep-woods trails, mud, logs, rocks, sticks, briars, and, along the way, one poor little grouse. Unfortunately for the grouse, I had a shotgun with me. He is now resting quietly in my freezer beside the deer. Now if I could only get some squirrel, my hunting conquest would be complete.

My First Deer

Finally, my first deer. Shot on my grandfather's property in Cabell County West Virginia.