photo courtesy of wral.com

I just happened to be surfing around the web reading odd and end news articles just relaxing after a hard days work when sadly I stumbled across an article labeled “Chapel Hill man born without arms dies in car accident”. I knew immediately just “who” this man was. Anyone from this area has certainly seen or heard of “The man that mows with a pushmower without any arms, or the one that drives that van with his feet”. That was Marty.

Ravellette’s giving extends far beyond his job. He garnered the attention of the Rosie O’Donnell show in 1998 after he rescued a woman from a burning car on U.S. 15-501 in Durham. He also likes to share his story with groups, inspiring them to make a difference in the world. Over the last couple of years, for example, Ravellette has spoken to journalism students at UNC-Chapel Hill.

I didn’t know Marty personally, but, I have had the pleasure of running into him a few times. I’ll never forget the time that I was doing some landscaping at a house in Chapel Hill when I noticed this man across the road at another house riding a lawnmower steering it with his feet. As if that wasn’t enough, shortly after that, I look over to see this man using a chainsaw to cut a tree limb up that had fallen in the yard. Here I was, two legs, two arms and couldn’t get my weedeater to crank and there was Marty cranking this chainsaw by slipping the pullcord between his toes and pulling with his leg. The world has definetely lost a special person. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Links to Marty Ravellette are as followed and much more info can be found on Marty by doing a search over the web.

Documentary 

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2033593/

http://www.newsobserver.com/lifestyles/family_community/chaptertwo/story/180336.html

Photo courtesy of Statesmam.com

I ran across a story about this fella this evening. It seems he has somehow found himself toting a hammock around as “extra” headgear. Seems like every year or so the internet showcases a deer who decided to mess around and get something stuck or wrapped around it’s antler. Around this time last year there was the deer that had the pumpkin stuck over its snout. Deer are notorious for getting into some bad situations. The latest thing I saw, which I can’t seem to locate the video right now is a short clip that shows a very nice buck who some how got his antlers entangled in a rope swing in someones backyard. I found an article about a buck and a rope swing but I’m not sure if it goes along with the video I saw awhile back. There was alot of talk over at a local forum about what exactly should or would you do if you encountered a buck in this situation. My advice would be to call your local law enforcement or gamewarden and let them determine if the animal can be helped out of the situation and hopefully the story can end similiar to the one in the link above.

Photography is something I think we all wish we were good at from time to time. I take a few photos myself and occasionally I’ll get lucky and capture a good photo. There are some very good cameras out there nowadays for very reasonable prices when compared to years ago. Although just about anyone can go out and buy a decent camera  but it still takes some skills to capture a breath taking photo. I’m always stumbling across photography websites while surfing the web but I’d like to share a place on the web with those of you that are interested. It’s called Gale Rainwater Photographer and I have to say, if you’re not absolutely blown away by some of these photos, well, you just might not be human. The link will send you to the blog portion, but be sure to check out the actual website and most importantly the gallery section. Absolutely stunning.

photo courtesy of Georgia Outdoor News

This is a HOSS for sure!! The story is even more amazing. It appears this buck was taken off a 3 acre tract of land in the suburbs of Atlanta. The buck was scored over at Burnt Pine Plantation by Lawrence Wood who measured it at 227 gross. The Georgia non-typical bow-kill record is held by Wallace Reeves who took a 186 inch buck more than 30 years ago. The story claims this buck will surely shatter that long standing record. Congratulations to Jay Maxwell for bagging this FINE Southern Buck!! Complete story and details can be found here at Georgia Outdoor News.

For those that don’t know North Carolina happens to be one of few states remaining that does not allow Sunday Hunting. Some argue that this is a good thing, some say it’s tradition that shouldn’t be broken. Moose over at Moose Droppings is doing a series of post related to Sunday Hunting which his first few segments are already up and published. After reading his post I couldn’t help but be reminded of the days not too long ago when the Sunday Hunting survey was tossed around internet sites, booths were set up at a local hunting shows, and local wildlife district meetings were filled with people from both sides of the fence.

To the best of my knowledge it was early 2005 when The North Carolina Outdoor Sportsman Alliance started the task of recruiting people to sign an online petition in support of lifting the ban on Sunday Hunting here in N.C., the group got plenty of recognition right out the gate, some positive, some negative. Stories were being wrote in all major newspapers and other organizations took to the web in full force as well in an attempt to paint a different picture claiming that Sunday Hunting would entice hunters to be away from their families all weekend, disrupt rural church services, and put a strain on the commissions resources. Read the rest of this entry »

Photos courtesy of North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission

North Carolina lakes may have new fish feeders in place if the proto-type pictured above proves to hold up to the tests. Many North Carolina Lakes have fish feeders in place where bank fishing is popular. The feeders are filled with fish food and are designed to go off at different intervals throughout the day. According to the NCWRC
the transition will be slow if the feeders should prove to work out. These feeders are built by inmates from The Dan River Prison Work Farm here in Caswell County NC. The feeders are built pretty much hand built one at a time so getting these feeders out to other lakes and ponds here in NC will be slow. You can read the entire article from the NCWRC by clicking on any of the above links.

Well, today marks the last day for North Carolina hunters wanted to bag their deer over the Thanksgiving Holiday. The weather this Saturday morning was absolutely beautiful and for the first time this deer season I can honestly say, it was pretty darn chilly. Hunters have been out in full force over the holiday. Many taking advantage of the few extra days off from work, while others are simply gaining quality time with family members they may not get to hunt with on a regular basis.

After Thanksgiving the deer hunting tends to take a turn in my neck of the woods. The deer become more and more nocturnal and longer hours are spent on the stand without any deer seen. For me, I personally start winding down after Thanksgiving. I may slip in the woods once a week or so but for the most part my days in the field are numbered after Thanksgiving. Having been in the woods since early September, in all honesty, I’m almost burned out by this time of year.  I’ve been at it pretty hard for almost 3 months already. Thankfully, I’ve been able to take a few deer before the Holiday hits every year. For those that haven’t taken a deer yet this year, this is some of the best weather we’ve had here in NC for deer hunting all season and for once you just might have to put your jacket on.

Hopefully those of you who hunted this Holiday had a successful and safe trip. Everyone traveling home, be sure to watch your speed and drive careful.

   I know food is probably the last thing on everyones mind right now, but, I just ran across an AWESOME blog with TONS of recipes. Its called The HotSauce Blog I think alot of us could incorporate some of these recipes into our wildgame that we all like to cook. Anyhow, I’ll be adding a link to this blog here at Southern Adventures for future reference.

Photo of Ruger owned by Kevin and Melissa Mitchell

   The above photo is a Chocolate Lab whose story came to me by a friend after seeing a photo on a hunting forum I visit. I know you’re probably sitting there thinking what’s so special about a dog in a boat showing off a good days hunt. Granted, there are many good hunting dogs out there, some better than others. Now we meet Ruger.

   Ruger found himself into a bit of trouble at the ripe age of a year and a half. You see, Ruger decided it would be fun to escape from his kennel in search of a neighborhood female in heat. Owners Kevin and Melissa spent three days driving the roads and posting signs in hopes that someone would help return Ruger home safe to his family. Unfortunately, the phone call they recieved was from a local vet stating that someone had called in to report a Chocolate Lab laying in their driveway. Kevin rushed a quarter of mile from his home and found Ruger had been hit by a car was laying along the driveway in pretty bad shape. Read the rest of this entry »

   First thing a hunter should do is become fimiliar with the weapon of choice, and get to know it. Become comfortable with it, take it to the range, shoot, clean, shoot again, clean some more.

    Knowing your weapon is one of the most important roles a hunter can play. Being sure that your weapon is sighted in properly should be your number one concern before entering the field. Shooting sessions can teach you alot about your weapon and most importantly it will allow you to make the proper decisions when the time comes to take a shot at your animal. There is nothing worse than wounding an animal.

   I like to shoot alot in the offseason but I also understand the importance of re-checking my gun during season. I only need one shot to tell me if my gun is still “on”. It’s a small price to pay when it comes to hunting. We all pay close attention to our guns, but sometimes things happen. Scopes can be bumped throughout the daily routines of traveling to the stand. It’s not something most think about until it’s too late. Usually around the deer camp you’ll hear “I missed a good one this morning, my scope must’ve got bumped somehow”.

   I am fortunate enough to be able to step outside and fire my rifle anytime I wish. This may not be an option for most but getting to a range at least a few times during the seasons may prove to be the difference between a filled tag or a wounded animal.  We all owe it to the game we are pursuing to make sure our weapons are properly sighted in and that we as hunters are fully comfortable with the weapon. So the next time you think “Ahhh….my gun is still sighted in, I’ll go hunting”, take a moment and find a place to send a round or two down the barrel.