April 1, 2010

BOW! BOW! BOW!

March 19-21.  Three days wasn’t enough!  I had totally forgotten how much fun I have each time I’ve attended a BOW weekend.

I DIDN’T WANT TO COME HOME!!!

100_5317It would take PAGES to say everything I want to say about BOW.  The Wildlife and Fisheries folks do an unbelievable job every year.  I can’t imagine what it takes to organize and entertain 125 women, but they do it with aplomb.  And they do it very well!  This was my third time at BOW and I’ve YET to repeat a class!

Somehow, they managed to entertain and teach us all something.  Each woman I talked to this weekend learned something new….from the newbies to the seasoned outdoorswomen everyone sang the praises of the instructors and the classes.

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A quick rundown of my weekend lessons.

Flint knapping.  We got to actually break rocks and knap! (Is that a word????) I brought home some great pieces.  Billie has already been  on eBay looking  for flint knapping tools!

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This is one of my masterpieces!015 

Bucks and Does. Taught by David Moreland.  Great class.  David covered deer biology, preferred habitat, deer signs, different stands, management and hunting issues.   I got to use a climbing stand for the first time! I was thrilled!

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We weren’t exactly model students….but we still learned a lot! 019

Living With LA Wildlife.   Walter Cotton, the USDA trapper for Louisiana was our teacher.  Walter brought a huge selection of pelts for us to feel while he was discussing the animals habitat and behaviors.  I didn’t think  a lecture class would be too interesting, but I laughed so hard that I cried a couple of times!  Let’s just say that beaver pelts, ladies with a blue sense of humor make for a VERY red faced Walter.  Besides the laughter I really did learn a lot about the wonderful variety of animals we have here in Louisiana.

Red Fox Pelt

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Outdoor Photography.  Pretty self explanatory!  But I learned some very cool things I didn’t know about my camera and took some pretty good pics too!

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*This is my friend Amanda helping build a tee-pee in the Women of the 1800’s class!  Too cool!028

In between classes they fed us amazing meals and provided wonderful entertainment.  A bonfire both Friday and Saturday night provided a great opportunity to meet the other ladies and make new friends.  Saturday night a DJ provided tunes for us to all shake our “groove things” to.  I’ll be honest….one of my favorite parts!  I do love to dance! They also provided fantastic door prizes throughout the weekend!  BIG thanks to Academy for providing a great number of door prizes.   I came home with quite a haul!

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I strongly encourage every women to attend their states’ BOW program.  You may not end up in a tree like me, but you’ll definitely learn something and have a fantastic time!

Be brave….take the plunge!

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Thanks sooooo much to Bill and Dana for all the work they put into organizing the weekend.  They do an amazing job.   I can’t wait until next year!