Bright Idea Outdoors Weblog

Miracles on My Front Porch

My lovely wife blogged earlier this week about the birds who were born on our front porch on Mother's Day. 

The momma had nested in a wreath on our front door, and the eggs have been subject to more than a few door slams.  So, to me, it was nothing short of a miracle when they hatched, and I will be equally awed when the babies fly away, which could be any day now.

I sure will miss that momma when she goes though.

Northern Virginia Drivers: Be Very Careful of Deer This Time of Year

The "seek-and-chase" phase of the whitetail deer mating season, or rut, is in full swing here in Northern Virginia.  Bucks are chasing does and staking their claims.  I had two young ones simply try to stare me down over the weekend when I encroached into their territory.

That's good news for hunters.  The next two weeks will likely be the best part of the 2010 deer season.

But it's bad news for motorists.  This is also the time of year that you're most likely to be involved in a deer-related vehicle collision.  Be extremely careful on the road, especially at dawn and dusk and at night.  If you see one deer cross, you can bet there's one or more behind it so take it easy and be aware of eyes glowing in the darkness and any movement on the roadside.

One young buck that got hit by a car on the Dulles Toll Road turned up in the parking lot of a Reston hotel this morning.  Luckily for the property management company, all they needed to find me was a quick Google search.  The company called me at 9:00 a.m., and the removal I arranged had been executed before noon.

So if someone else hits a deer, and the carcass turns up in your yard or at your place of business don't hesitate to to call me at (703)431-0182 or email outdoorblogger@verizon.net.  We make dead deer dissapear!

And if you're fortunate enough not to need dead deer removal service this fall, please,  just be careful out on the road.

Virginia's Youth Deer Hunting Day is September 25 and other news

Young hunters in Virginia will once again have the opportunity to take a deer well in advance of the their adult counterparts.  The state's second annual Youth Deer Hunting Day takes place September 25 throughout most of the Old Dominion.  Click here to read my article on the event on www.examiner.com.

There's also some good information on the youth deer hunt in the latest edition of the Virginia Outdoor Report.  This monthly (or is it twice monthly?) report prepared by David Coffman of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is an excellent resource for anyone interested in hunting, fishing, boating, conservation or general outdoor recreation in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  It contains a wealth of information, and Mr. Coffman must put a ton of time into producing it.  The report is available by free email subscription.

In other news, my home county of Loudoun is looking at killing the ticks that carry Lyme Disease while they are still on their main carriers: whitetail deer.  I read about this in last week's Loudoun Times Mirror but can't find that article online.  I did find some information on the proposal in this May article by Jason Jacks.

Apparently, the strategy would involve installing deer feeders with corn framed by pesticide-laden brushes.  When a deer sticks it's head in, the pesticide would rub off the brushes onto its neck, supposedly killing the ticks it carries.

Lyme disease is a huge problem in our area.  I know; I've had it twice. 

So has Supervisor Jim Burton (I-Blue Ridge) who is working on the proposal.  Still, I'll need a lot more information before I'm comfortable with this plan.

First of all, feeding deer is illegal in Virginia throughout much of the year and is discouraged at any time by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.  Would this be allowed during the feeding ban period of September-January?  Second, for this pesticide to work and kill ticks all over the deer, it would have to enter the whitetail's bloodstream.  That leaves me wondering if the meat will be safe to eat.

Anyone who hunts, eats venison or is interested in wildlife management in Loudoun County needs to get the facts on Burton's plan before it moves any further.  I'll see what I can do to help with that and report back when I get some more information. . .

Own It

MLB umpire Jim Joyce manned up, admitted his mistake and apologized after his blown call cost Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game earlier this week.  Now he's being treated like a hero.

Imagine if the CEO of BP was half the man Joyce is.

Deer Dropping Like Flies in Northern Virginia Yards

It's just amazing how many dead deer are turning up on lawns all over Northern Virginia.  After removing deer carcasses for several area homeowners last fall, my dead deer hotline phone stopped ringing over the winter.  But business picked back up in the spring and has been booming for the last few weeks.

This evening, it was an Alexandria resident who found herself in need of my services.  Her house wasn't hard to find; I could smell the decaying deer from two blocks away.

The lady said she found me after Google searching dead deer removal.  Who says you can't make money blogging!

Persistence

For an excellent story about an outdoorsman and artist who never gave up, check out John Kellys article "Keeping His Dreams Afloat" in today's Washington Post.

Dead Deer Removal Journal: The One That Got Away

As I sat at my desk today emailing resumes and doing the other things that job hunters do, an email came in from a Fairfax County Homeowner with a dead deer in her front yard.  My reputation as the go-to-guy for dead deer removal operations is obviously growing, and she wanted to know if I could help.

I called the Captain and told him to fire up the truck and then called the homeowner to give her a price.  Guess I should have called her first; she'd already found someone to carry off the carcass.

So now I know that there is competition out there.  The good news is, the price I planned to quote was right in line with the other guy's fee; next time I'll go a little cheaper.

If you have a dead deer or other animal that you need removed from your property in Loudoun, Fairfax or Prince William counties, please email outdoorblogger@verizon.net or give me a call at (703)431-0182. 

Leads on regular jobs are welcome too!

Because Tomorrow I Might Have to Go and Fly Away...

Credit Country Music Superstar Tim McGraw with this post's title, and credit my wife with the great pictures of the baby birds that were born and quickly raised on our porch.  You can see them and read the story here.

Old Blog Post Pays Off With Dead Deer Removal Gig

A blog post I wrote more than a year ago helped make my family's Independence Day weekend a happy one when it led to an inquiry about dead deer removal from a Fairfax County homeowner.

The Great Falls resident found me when he Google searched "Dead Deer Removal Fairfax County," and this post popped up.  This nice fellow had a problem: a deer killed by a car at the end of his driveway; the decaying carcass stinking up the neighborhood; guests coming for the holiday weekend; the buzzards making him and his wife uncomfortable; him not knowing what do about the deer.  His email to me read:

"It is July 3rd and no public service personnel are available in Fairfax County to remove a dead deer at the foot of my driveway. The vultures have arrived and so has the stench. Can you provide me some advice as to how I can get rid of this?"

My advice was to pay me to come pick up the deer and make it "disappear."  A couple hours later, the homeowner called the Bright Idea Outdoors dead deer removal hot line.  He said we had a deal.

So the morning of July 4 found my six-year-old son and I scraping the deer up off the driveway.  The buzzards had already done most of the work for us, and I almost felt bad taking the cash.  But we got the job done, got paid, took the carcass to a place where roadkill deer can do what they are supposed to do in peace, and made it back into town in time for the parade.

Afterward, we went and blew most of the money we'd made on fireworks.  I've always said I wanted to make money from blogging; just never realized it would involve spending a holiday morning performing such a gruesome task.  To be honest though, it was a great experience.  My son and I had fun doing something together; we made a few bucks and helped someone enjoy their holiday.  The homeowner even wrote me an email thanking me later that day.

Maybe I've finally found my professional calling...

Author's Note: If you need a dead deer or other animal removed from your property in Loudoun or Fairfax County, Virginia, please email outdoorblogger@verizon.net.

Hogback Mountain Bear Sighting

Every now and then I see something at work that makes all the stuff I don't like about my job worthwhile.  That happened today, when a black bear wandered into a clearing behind a client's pond in the Hogback Mountain area of Loudoun County.

I had gone to the guy's house to pick up a check for some work we did last week.  The house is an old stone farmhouse that my client has restored over the last few years.  It is located on a large farm, which is surrounded on all sides by an even bigger farm (I don't know how many acres, but we're talking thousands.)

At the bottom of the hill behind my client's house is a small pond with thick woods behind it.  As the homeowner headed upstairs to get my check, I absent-mindedly gazed out his open back door toward the pond.  Something moved on the edge of a small clearing and suddenly the bear emerged.  From about 200 yards away, I judged it to be a full-grown or nearly full-grown black bear. 

I couldn't believe it and got really excited. That's when I messed up.

I really wanted the client, who is a super cool guy and a hunter, to see this bear.  So I shouted his name three times.  The bear heard the noise, looked up at me and disappeared as quickly as it had come.  By the time the homeowner got back down the stairs, the only thing in the clearing was tall grass.

He said that his wife and son had seen bears on the property several times but that he had never seen one.  I told him that this was the first bear I'd ever seen in the wild.

What an exciting way to spend part of my work day!  The most exciting thing is that the place I saw the bear is only about a mile from my office, six miles from my home and real close to a couple of my hunting spots.  I still haven't decided whether I'd take a shot at a bear if I got a chance during the archery or muzzleloader seasons we have in this part of Virginia, but it's thrilling to know I may have to make that decision someday.

Now, about that camera...