Monday, July 4, 2011

American Freedom Fighters

Ah 4th of July. America's birthday. Have you ever wanted to know if you might be related to a past patriot ?

For the past year I have spend endless hours on Ancestry.com. This is a great tool to research your family back literally hundreds of years. It provides copies of census records , marriage certificates , death certificates and what I really spend the most time on which is military records. It is suprising how many of our ancestors fought and died  just to have their stories lost over the generations. These people really believed in the American dream.

Check out this story on Major McDowell.


 Joseph McDowell (1756-1801). During the American Revolution, he joined and  was promoted to Major. He was credited with formulating the plan for the "Overmountain Men" for North Carolina militia to pursue British Col. Patrick Fergouson. This lead to the Battle of Kings Mountain. He went on to serve the state in the political arena—both serving in the state legislature and the Constitutional Conventions, and serving two terms in Congress.

The movie , The Patriot , drew its inspiration from this battle from the American Revolution.

Major Joseph Oneal McDowell , my 5th Great Grandfather

God Bless America !!!

 

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Wildlife Stewardship

Meet Lily the Whitetail deer. This little doe lost her mother by the train in front of our house.  She would have not made it much longer if some good hearted women wouldn't have stepped in.



After feeding her and picking off a ton of ticks , our next step was what to do with her. By Georgia law you can't raise or keep a deer as a pet. The DNR website provided deer rehab facilities in our area. Due to the economy and lack of support , every last contact resulted in zero. Everybody we talked to told us to return  her to the woods or just put her down.


We thought we found the perfect place in Auburn .Their website said that they specialize in fawn rehab and release. After driving all the way over there , they said they no longer wanted to handle this type of care. By this point , we looked into getting a Georgia Deer rehab permit but you need a vet to review the animals health. The vet that handles this type of work here , would never return our calls.



With more a lot of dedication and research , Adrie , located a 1000 acre animal rescue facility in South Georgia. We made arrangements and took Lily for a road trip. This facility was unlike anything I could have imagined. It was way off the beaten path. There were many large cages and buildings spread out through the woods. I was greeted by serveral barking dogs and a giant wild boar. We were soon greeted by the owner/operator. This lady cares for 185+ wild animals. There were bobcats , racoons , beavers , birds of all kinds, a black bear and even a buzzard.

Lily was taken in and placed in a pack-n- play to stay the night. I was amazed to see a diaper put on a deer. We were taken for a tour and amazed at the life saving work this woman does. She works here alone and its a full time job. We entered a building that Lily will soon be staying in. It was a nursery for fawns. Inside there was 10-12 fawns already there that were Lily's age. Some were hit by cars , some were attacked by dogs. Once they can begin eating acorns and grass , they will move to a larger outdoor pen with other deer. From that point they will be free to leave and join other wild deer.


If you should see a fawn alone , please do not approach it. This was a special situtation where we knew the mother was dead. Generally fawns are born mid to late June. They are born scentless to help predators not be able to find them. Usually the mother isn't far away. If you get involved like we did , the results may not have such a happy ending. If unsure you can contact the DNR or let us know and we will get you in touch with rehab facility.

The Cherokee used everything from the deer they harvested and they were thankful for the deer giving it's life for them. I hold that close to our values and we are teaching this to our son. While we harvest deer for our meals , we recognize the importance in sometimes reaching deep and giving back to the animals.

A special thanks to the lady that runs this facility. Your work really touches our hearts and made this rescue worth all the effort to save this animal.


Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Power On Demand

Thanks to a good friend of mine I got addicted to Smart Phones. We now have a Blackberry and a Android.

Since these phones drain so quick in remote areas where service is spotty at best we needed a way of keeping on the network when we can.

I found a Solar charger system that I like. It comes with a rechargeable reserve battery.

The reserve battery will full recharge the blackberry 3 times. The reserve battery takes 12-16 hours to recharge via solar.

This same unit can recharge other battery systems like the Duracell Power to Go in about 10 hours.

It's amazing that phones can handle your music , pictures , videos and even show you current weather.


Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Monday, June 20, 2011

God's Painting

How can someone witness a sunrise or the ocean's tides and not see that there is a living God?

Cumberland's Inimitable Charm

I have never seen a more wildly beautiful place. With it's ruins of the Carnagies' Dungeness to it's wild horses, Cumberland holds more mystery and magic than any other place I have ever been. The primitive camping under the twisted branches of the live oaks makes me feel like I am part of the island, and it's mysterious magic, even if only for a week each year. Still, the ambience of the island stays with me the rest of the year until I get to visit my beloved island again.

Extreme Island Camping

Any outdoorsman loves camping.

When you put camping and the beach together , what elas could you ask for?

Does this sound like a getaway in July ?

6 days in 90+ degree heat with 65% humidity
No power , No Road , No cell phone service
No stores , No hotels , No air conditioning
No tourist traps , No ATM'S , No 911

No drama , No stress , No problem !!!

Why would anybody ever want to go here ?

Click here for more info
www.nps.gov/cuis