tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953905921739329392024-03-13T08:25:24.950-07:00Holly HeyserLinks to stories by Holly A. HeyserHolly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-86688238590908483672022-08-09T15:34:00.003-07:002022-08-09T15:34:50.099-07:002022-23 California Wingshooter's Calendar<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://sowl.co/s/bwnuFf" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Thumbnail of 2022-23 California Wingshooter's Calendar" border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="400" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNpB06qGvXbE4rQV0bCJjDsgzLbgTIs8796dthhMPCGLbHIRV_S0vJanQK_eLqONWdeXQ9mjFmPvE4m1cDuqBU5SBOhhDg1S_gK_w35q_qVKEFUnaBfFkOtvpgNZnamD1a0_TmK1sZeKGKThN5i2so0tbGuLIaWCA01QMS1nobavxDkCYHJRs8pVq/w320-h252/Thumbnail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I am obsessed with wingshooting, but as organized as I am, I have a hard time remembering all the season dates and limits for all the birds in California. So I designed this visual calendar that puts literally 25+ pages of California regulations for upland and waterfowl shotgun seasons into a single, easy-to-read poster. I threw in rabbits and squirrels too, because why not?</div><div><br /></div><div>If you or someone you know is a wingshooter in California, check it out - you can buy a copy for $5. It's a PDF that you can store on a mobile device so you can find answers in the field, even without cell signal - just zoom to see the details you need. Or, you can print it as a 16x20 poster.</div><div><br /></div><div>The poster features:</div><div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Shotgun seasons listed both as dates and bars along a timeline to easily determine what's legal on any given day (waterfowl seasons use color blind-friendly colors)</li><li>Youth and veteran waterfowl hunt dates and eligibility requirements, and youth spring turkey hunt dates</li><li>Daily, possession and season limits (including exceptions)</li><li>Legal shooting hours (there are four sets!)</li><li>License/validation requirements</li><li>End-of-daylight-saving-time reminder</li><li>Full- and new moon phases</li><li>Purchase includes license for the buyer to download PDF to three devices, and to print one poster for the buyer's home and another for their club, if applicable (Fedex/Kinko's can print at poster size).</li><li>Purchase securely, then download PDF immediately from the website, or later from an email that will be sent to you.</li></ul></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://transactions.sendowl.com/products/78745034/A3D74EAA/purchase" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://transactions.sendowl.com/assets/external/v2/buy-now.png" /></a><script src="https://transactions.sendowl.com/assets/sendowl.js" type="text/javascript"></script> </div></div><div><br /></div><div> © Holly A. Heyser 2022</div>Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-23585244201410860422022-03-08T09:57:00.001-08:002022-04-04T10:01:47.149-07:00Holly's Hacks: Duck Season Gear - a free post on Substack<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;">Looking for relatively cheap or home-made gear that can make your duck season more successful? I did a roundup of my latest hacks as a free post on To The Bone, a Substack newsletter.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Click <a href="https://tothebone.substack.com/p/hollys-hacks-duck-season-gear?r=13nlk5&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web">here </a>to check it out!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbI__AjQiM4Kokyz7DuLOEbO77nvuEIvklJBiCWWpriVlsLAoxzeXsC_i-MwAFAokx69SvFEIKrgrq6yzbyqzMH_qnCNxxASUTQZDtNTigWXB1kSooP0ZP-s7dO9aDKBZWH8_w3NYMbyQQQ7S9wvAJ4DDkiBB_5Nd5LmMfmmEV47PPX4FlmoxrNflX/s1184/Hollys-hacks_headgear.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hunter with strange mask and hat" border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="1184" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbI__AjQiM4Kokyz7DuLOEbO77nvuEIvklJBiCWWpriVlsLAoxzeXsC_i-MwAFAokx69SvFEIKrgrq6yzbyqzMH_qnCNxxASUTQZDtNTigWXB1kSooP0ZP-s7dO9aDKBZWH8_w3NYMbyQQQ7S9wvAJ4DDkiBB_5Nd5LmMfmmEV47PPX4FlmoxrNflX/w320-h210/Hollys-hacks_headgear.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div>© Holly A. Heyser 2022</div>Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-82773107189069706932022-03-05T05:52:00.000-08:002022-03-05T05:52:11.398-08:00The ethics of how we killAfter the folks at Artemis Sportswomen read my <a href="https://tothebone.substack.com/" target="_blank">To The Bone</a> essay, "<a href="https://tothebone.substack.com/p/killing-how-id-like-to-be-killed?r=13nlk5&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct" target="_blank">Killing How I'd Like to Be Killed</a>," they invited me to be a guest on their podcast to dig into the topic a little more.<div><br /></div><div>Wow, did we go deep!<div><br /></div><div>Ashley Chance, Morgan Harrell and I had an INCREDIBLE conversation about hunting culture, the ethics of how we kill and thinking outside of our internal boundaries.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://artemis.libsyn.com/ethical-hunting-and-hounds-with-holly-heyser-GseGfTjXKMe5k=s1438" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1416" data-original-width="1438" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8was8znc3Uw1k66tUEyKYmX5Ut6syMKalwMAkbPti5fB9bvk-q_MrP1Yb1tnP_VJqBWpIoTd_Q17Op2vjaXlh-z2NgKsAbTBGQXj572AqYNLYwbrVu-iaWKMNMnbJdASYTqQszneeKn2N5G5hUgu3eVr_eMIEKkEfRAKF1B0xI9-GseGfTjXKMe5k=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Click <a href="https://artemis.libsyn.com/ethical-hunting-and-hounds-with-holly-heyser" target="_blank">here</a> to check out the podcast - show notes and links galore!<div><div><br /></div>© Holly A. Heyser 2022</div></div></div>Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-43508075598043254002022-02-20T11:50:00.000-08:002022-02-20T11:50:11.698-08:00A new joint venture: To The Bone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5FObhxUr6H_7IaHjPCfnPTt_AxA-Rdqzz6yRnXmKerguDwyDmPEiH6gDVV5FBTPhO9weulF9jyd1JGb440uARnYlILU-FWEHVHpoJ5ZSdxa9iAGzTVzDN3rrVpWUGJ6_kos3DL89xj3QAzNZrGPMYHNS2hA_SsBLXtCqq0w6lMzxLS3OK3e0GbeP4=s2848" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's been almost 10 years since I ended my old blog, <a href="http://norcalcazadora.blogspot.com/">NorCal Cazadora</a>. While I have found many other venues for my writing since then, none have been the right place for a lot of the most serious stuff on my mind - the big questions about how and why we interact with nature as hunters.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Blogs as they were back then have either disappeared or morphed into straight-up websites. Facebook has become the place where discussions happen, but woe unto you if you write a blog-length Facebook post. Instagram is a place for pretty pictures, not intellectual discovery.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then came <a href="https://substack.com/">Substack</a>. Like traditional blogs, Substack is a platform for meaningful writing, but its delivery system is a built-in newsletter (not search engines), and its revenue model is subscriptions (not advertising or sponsorships). This, it turns out, is exactly what <a href="https://honest-food.net/about/">Hank </a>and I had been looking for. Hank, too, used to enjoy putting thought-provoking posts on his blog <a href="https://honest-food.net/">Hunter Angler Gardener Cook</a>, but that site is now more focused on the how-to of putting wild food on your table.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, I'm excited to announce we have started a joint Substack newsletter called <a href="https://tothebone.substack.com/">To The Bone</a>. Click on over to check it out - there is a smattering of free posts to sample, and you can be a paid or unpaid subscriber. Subscriptions cost $5 a month or $50 a year.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"> </div>Why should you have to pay for anything when I used to write at no cost to you on NorCal Cazadora? Two reasons: No ads is the obvious one. But the important one is that our writing requires experience, thought and time, all of which have value.<div><br /></div><div>It's been so gratifying getting back to the writing I love. There is much to explore. I hope you'll join us on the journey.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://tothebone.substack.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="772" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_cpMWlsZmemSejQwbJ8sCXP-46T_0Jp_FZfGfLlCjThRF9_F3WIMDhDOE5kKNJBmX1MC04FjmJPlKaoHqaRpUtdxJdcZSiYasdL7psOnij81BDAo8pMS0SiastwEKHgHmuUPDowQ5bpZzAHSHXL_0tfw_fbiDZ4vrOqZx4P47Jo8zqcc1grORxvly=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><div>© Holly A. Heyser 2022</div></div>Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-31877804263483708562021-04-15T10:06:00.001-07:002021-04-15T10:06:15.630-07:00Video: What Shotguns and Shoes Have in Common - Fit Matters<div>I was super excited to be invited by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to do a presentation for its R3 Harvest Huddle Hour series about choosing a shotgun that's right for you.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was, of course, inspired by my long struggle dealing with cross-dominance and a stupid-long neck - both of which taught me the importance of good fit, and inspired me to become adept at adjusting shotgun fit.</div><div><br /></div><div>That knowledge has come in handy in my volunteer work with scores of new hunters, including lots of women (among whom cross-dominance is common).</div><div><br /></div><div>The presentation covers:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>What type of shotgun to buy</li><li>Understanding gun fit</li><li>Buying a shotgun</li><li>Safety considerations</li><li>Ways to practice with your new gun</li></ul><div>Enjoy!</div></div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ccs5QSgC0QA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div>© Holly A. Heyser 2021Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-35022150487011454632021-03-10T16:29:00.008-08:002021-03-10T16:50:36.624-08:00New cookbook: Hook, Line, and SupperOur fifth cookbook - Hook, Line, and Supper - drops April 30! You can pre-order a signed copy on Hank's website <a href="https://honest-food.net/shop-books/" target="_blank">here</a>, and unsigned copies on Amazon <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hook-Line-Supper-Hank-Shaw/dp/0996944826/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=hook+line+and+supper&qid=1615422518&sr=8-2" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNohWT9TDkBwnxVR7soU6Tnk0vtBpk-drU7_akCaepu3uSBWCaEVnyRBo61ytsUxg03939RpgCrIplF-xF_nzrVt_19jUF8m7T9RcMxlXXd02zMAjHdhtIeYL4txwfQwvzm8NgSYtEBg/s1077/hook-line-and-supper.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="961" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNohWT9TDkBwnxVR7soU6Tnk0vtBpk-drU7_akCaepu3uSBWCaEVnyRBo61ytsUxg03939RpgCrIplF-xF_nzrVt_19jUF8m7T9RcMxlXXd02zMAjHdhtIeYL4txwfQwvzm8NgSYtEBg/s320/hook-line-and-supper.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />© Holly A. Heyser 2021</div>Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-41275346446391117352020-07-29T15:47:00.026-07:002021-03-10T16:22:45.487-08:00Video: Dove hunting for beginners<div>One of my greatest passions is helping new hunters. Usually I do it at in-person events or on my own YouTube channel, but then Covid happened, and then the world Zoomed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a recent webinar I did for beginning hunters about how to hunt doves in California.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="326" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/St5ofiyFD4k" width="580"></iframe></div><br /><div>© Holly A. Heyser 2020</div>Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-84730133459872633492020-05-28T06:48:00.005-07:002021-03-10T15:44:01.948-08:00Video: How to identify amanita vernicoccoraLots of mushroom hunters see this treat and pass right on by out of concerns it might be a destroying angel or death cap, which can kill you. Not me and Hank - we love these things! In this video, Hank points out the six traits that confirm this mushroom is an eater.<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2020Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-73157369193562460982019-12-21T05:16:00.001-08:002021-03-10T15:43:38.583-08:00Op-ed: Ammunition background check disaster in CaliforniaWhen the California Legislature enacted an ammunition background check law in 2016, they said it would be convenient and easy for law-abiding gun owners to go through the check.<br />
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The state had three years to develop the regulations for carrying out background checks.<br />
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So what happened? The state finalized the regs literally the week before the law went into effect last summer, and did such a bad job on them that literally tens of thousands of ammo purchases by law-abiding gun owners have been rejected.<br />
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Click <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article238565813.html?fbclid=IwAR1FynIwNrKezua1z3fO7oN3I2oImJmyxgczf2qAvY_lOhB56Dx7JxBjCTY" target="_blank">here</a> to read what I've got to say about that.<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2019Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-83445424737007287702019-02-10T15:31:00.037-08:002021-03-10T17:02:17.772-08:00Videos: How to pluck a duck, how to recycle duck-plucking wax<div>I've got two new videos in my series about processing ducks: how to pluck a duck cleanly (no-wax method), and how to recycle duck plucking wax. Why would you have duck plucking wax to recycle? Well, you can see why in <a href="https://youtu.be/VFtVqBKjWFs" target="_blank">another (much older) video</a> about waxing ducks. Why would you want to wax a duck? Because it does a <i>really good job</i> of getting rid of down.</div><div><br /></div><div>But for those who don't want to deal with the time and mess of wax, the method in the first video comes awfully close.</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="326" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/19wwgVAtBHo" width="580"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="326" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gLAu0D3pH8s" width="580"></iframe></div><div><br /></div>© Holly A. Heyser 2019Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-21769902433383911872018-03-01T16:32:00.010-08:002021-03-10T16:35:12.887-08:00New cookbook: Pheasant, Quail, CottontailOur fourth cookbook, Pheasant, Quail, Cottontail, is now available! You can order signed copies on Hank's website <a href="https://honest-food.net/shop-books/" target="_blank">here</a>, and unsigned copies on Amazon <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pheasant-Quail-Cottontail-Upland-Birds/dp/0996944818/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=pheasant+quail+cottontail&qid=1615422761&sr=8-2" target="_blank">here</a>.<div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnS3xh8LQI2Mo6omxp1PMWOeQve7osycWTNJWMp6goSmHywCv8vYMKurFkQfk_2gxD9VtNIuz-JyyyRalMhO_Iy25Q9XFAlA6wTwcokcMgwGOPtNgOg7NOlZpIV9IsC4Un48weMYqVQe4/s673/PQC-cover-600px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnS3xh8LQI2Mo6omxp1PMWOeQve7osycWTNJWMp6goSmHywCv8vYMKurFkQfk_2gxD9VtNIuz-JyyyRalMhO_Iy25Q9XFAlA6wTwcokcMgwGOPtNgOg7NOlZpIV9IsC4Un48weMYqVQe4/s320/PQC-cover-600px.jpg" /></a></div><br />© Holly A. Heyser 2018</div></div>Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-4589999645002310212017-07-05T06:21:00.003-07:002021-03-10T15:45:12.959-08:00Video series: HanksperimentsMy house is littered with the unusual: A truly impressive accumulation of <a href="http://honest-food.net/" target="_blank">Hank</a>'s odd projects in various states of progress. Or maybe these things are just detritus that he left on our beleaguered kitchen table instead of tossing them. Sometimes they're both.<br />
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Really, it's too ridiculous not to share, so I've created a video series called "Hanksperiments." You can see the entire playlist <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2PnmElAPDgjPlHWZ6D3IaSJtSGa6D_eb" target="_blank">here</a>, and a recent one below. Enjoy!<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2017Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-31780732155224131322017-05-08T07:34:00.003-07:002021-03-10T15:45:45.364-08:00Video: Hanksperiments, Episode 1 - Wanna see anchovies fly?When your <a href="http://honest-food.net/" target="_blank">boyfriend</a> makes a living pushing the boundaries of what normal people do with wild food, you end up with a LOT of weird stuff going on around the house. This is what happened when he came home from a halibut fishing trip this weekend with more bait than halibut.<br />
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Welcome to my world!<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2017Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-83854827801951331302017-03-20T05:46:00.003-07:002021-03-10T16:02:10.707-08:00Videos: Benelli Super Black Eagle 3Did I need a new gun? No. But last fall, Benelli invited me on a hunt in Saskatchewan where I was one of four shotgun/hunting writers to try out the new Benelli Super Black Eagle 3, before it had even been released. I liked it a LOT, so as soon as it was available, I bought one.<br />
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The gun is getting rave reviews, so I figured there are people out there who might like to know how to do a few things with it, so I've made a few videos: how to assemble the SBE3 out of the box, how to reverse the safety and how to adjust drop and cast.<br />
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All three videos are below, as is the story behind the video about how to reverse the safety - feel free to enjoy a good laugh at my expense!<br />
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Now, the story:<br />
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As soon as I got my SBE3, I took it apart, reversed the cast and reversed safety so it was good for left-handed shooting. I had zero trouble doing it. So then the next weekend I did a re-enactment so I could make a how-to video.<br />
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Reversing the safety involves removing a retaining pin that holds back a tiny, 1/2-inch long spring. At one point in that process, I didn't realize I'd pushed the pin all the way out so I turned it around to look at it. Snap! ......... Plink!<br />
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Oh. My. God. The spring had flown out and hit something metal somewhere behind me, which could've been one of the dozens of photo prop tables I have, a sheet of corrugated metal, a refrigerater, a freezer, the Instant Pot sitting on the freezer, the electric slicer sitting on the box next to the freezer, the water heater, the washer or the dryer.<br />
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At this point it's worth noting that I was working up one of my MONSTER headaches and I was not feeling good, and getting more nauseated by the second, both because of the headache and my predicament. I watched the video up to the point where I started saying "Oh God" over and over. Unfortunately I had pulled the trigger assembly out of the frame, so I couldn't see which way it'd been pointing.<br />
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But it sounded like it had hit the corrugated metal behind me. Right underneath that metal was an enormous wad of duck blind camo grass, like a roll of brittle shag carpet. So I tipped it upside down and shook. Nothing. Then I started picking up and shaking every single photo prop/table. Then I tipped the frame that holds the tables and looked underneath. Then I reached into a corner that looked like a great place for a family of black widows and pulled every piece of junk sitting there.<br />
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Hank came home at that point, so I pulled him in. He pulled out the fridge. Took out all the pieces of camo grass and shook them separately. Helpfully (not) pointed out that it might have hit the rafters and gone God knows where. Dear God. Not the decoys! Nausea increased. I decided to look by the water heater and asked him to put all the grass back into its plastic bag, which is akin to putting a genie back in a bottle, which is to say it didn't really happen the way I'd envisioned.<br />
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While he worked on that, I began picking up each item of dirty laundry near the water heater and shaking it. This was mostly Hank's filthy gardening clothes and bloody elk processing towels and aprons, which is to say it was all dank and crusty. Still nothing.<br />
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Despondent, I resolved to give up and hit the Brownell's website to order a replacement spring and cancel my planned Sunday shoot at with a friend. So I put the laundry back in its pile, shaking each item again for good measure. And after the last item was on the pile, I looked down on the floor and there it was: the spring.<br />
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It had been <i>two hours</i> since I'd lost it. But my persistence - honed by 11 dogless seasons of searching for ducks that drop in terrible places - had paid off.<br />
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So, I rallied! I finished the filming, went inside the house, took some meds for the headache, and thanked my lucky stars.<br />
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So if you watch that video and you can see how much my hands are shaking as I work on the trigger assembly, it's because I could barely see straight at that point. But I got it done!<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2017Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-8503232971259735752017-03-06T07:09:00.000-08:002017-03-07T06:06:36.802-08:00VIDEO - Fillet & gut: a super-clean way to clean and break down your birdsThere are many legitimate ways to clean your gamebirds, but I have developed a method I like a LOT: fillet & gut. It's a great way to work cleanly, get all you can out of a bird, and maximize how much meat and fat you get off of it.<br />
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The short version is that I pluck a bird whole, then fillet it off the carcass. Then I separate breast, leg and wing on the meat side so I can see exactly where the muscle groups begin and end, as opposed to guessing while cutting each carcass off the whole bird. This is also cool because you're removing those parts before gutting the bird, and gutting is when you're mostly likely to puncture intestines and get poop on your meat. This is not the end of the world, of course - a good rinse will make everything fine again. But still, better to be clean from the start.<br />
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The next cool thing is when you've taken all the meat off the carcass, you can pull off the breast plate like a lid and all the wobbly bits - heart, liver, gizzard - are waiting for you on top of the bird, no reaching up into the darkness and grabbing.<br />
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Here's the video that shows this process in detail. It's not short - just under 10 minutes - but if you're looking for a clean way to maximize your birds, this is it! And there's an FAQ below the video.<br />
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And here's an FAQ:<br />
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Q: Why not just cook the bird whole? A: Breast meat needs to be cooked hot and fast, and medium rare like a steak, and legs and wings need to be cooked slowly to break down the meat, which can be tough. If you cook the whole bird, you're either going to overcook the breast or undercook the legs and wings.<br />
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Q: Why did you save the feet? A: You can throw them into stock! Just like pig feet, which can be used for the same purpose, they contain collagen that makes your stock silkier.<br />
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Q: That duck looked easy to work with - why? A: Two things: First is after plucking it, I put it in the fridge overnight. It's much easier to slice a cold duck, especially if it has a lot of fat, which can turn your fingers greasy. The second is that he was a perfect specimen with very little shot damage to the body. The reality is that birds killed with a shotgun will be messier, especially if shot hits the guts.<br />
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Q: What do you use duck fat for? A: It's a great substitute for butter or cooking oil in many recipes. When I pan-sear duck breasts (my favorite treatment), I start with a bit of duck fat in the pan. I'll throw duck fat into the rice cooker too.<br />
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Q: If I break the gall bladder, will it ruin the meat? A: Nope. Just rinse whatever that nasty juice touched. If it still smells bad to you, pat it dry and put it on a paper towel in a covered container in the fridge and check it the next day. I find a lot of smells that are present during cleaning disappear with a little time.<br />
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Q: What do you do with all the parts after breaking it down? A: I rinse and pat dry everything then put the parts on paper towels in plastic containers and let them sit in the fridge for 2-3 days, changing the paper towels once or twice a day. This brings out extra moisture and the meat ages just a bit, condensing flavors. Then I vacuum seal and freeze anything I'm not going to eat within one week of the day I shot the bird.<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2017Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-59037541230416008602016-09-30T05:58:00.001-07:002016-09-30T06:05:24.148-07:00Video: CWA-BOW Women's Pheasant Hunt WeekendCalifornia Waterfowl's Women's Pheasant Hunt Weekend is very dear to me: Before I started working for CWA, I was volunteering for CWA, and this was my favorite event.<br />
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Located at Birds Landing between the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento, the event gives women the chance to get licensed, learn to shoot and try hunting for just $250. Because gear is provided, this basically means if they decide they hate hunting, they're out just two days and $250 because they didn't have to invest in a gun or hunting gear.<br />
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Of course, that's superfluous because the women always want to keep hunting. Check out the video from this year's event and you'll see why. And if you'd like to learn more about CWA's women's events, click <a href="http://www.calwaterfowl.org/cwa-bow">here</a>.<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2016Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-8558864987711177162016-09-21T05:41:00.001-07:002016-09-21T05:41:46.480-07:00Video: Argentina dove hunting time-lapseVirtually every wingshooter has heard of the mythic dove hunting down in Argentina: wave after never-ending wave of doves. Like every hunter, I've had high expectations dashed, so I've always wondered if it could <i>really</i> be that good down there.<br />
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Last week I found out: Yes, it can. It really is that good.<br />
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I spent the week with outfitter Maers & Goldman in Córdoba, Argentina, on a mission to photograph every angle of their operation, and of course to slip in a little hunting as well. The visuals were stunning, but I felt like still photos alone didn't do the hunting justice. Even when I caught a flock of 50 doves in the frame, that didn't convey the relentless intensity of the flight. What to do?<br />
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Answer: time-lapse.<br />
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Last Friday we arranged for the two best shooters in our group, Lex and Ken, to hunt together (hunters usually hunt alone there, though in a big, social line along the edge of a farm field, as we do here). I put my camera on a tripod behind them and set it to take one photo every second for 15 minutes - 900 frames.<br />
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The hunt turned out to be pretty average for the week - the big day had been Thursday. So what does average look like? The video is below - 1:12 of time-lapse. Be sure to watch to the end to see the numbers!<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2016Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-41617725322876010272016-09-09T10:53:00.001-07:002016-09-21T05:42:02.887-07:00New video - 'California Waterfowl: What We Do'I am one of those incredibly lucky people who does work she loves (writing, photography, video, design) for an organization she loves (California Waterfowl). While my job can be stressful and tiring, I never lose sight of the fact that I absolutely love it.<br />
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The latest video I've done for CWA should help you understand why (unless you hate hunting, in which case you'll be horrified). If you want more than just the broad outlines, you can download our <a href="http://www.calwaterfowl.org/annual-report">annual report</a> online - it provides a lot of details and numbers.<br />
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This video is a compilation of photos and video from a variety of our events and activities. Major contributors were CWA employees Jake Gonsalves, who took fantastic photos at CWA summer camps this year, and Andrew Creasey, who started at the end of June and started banging out videos for us. I also used a lot of video from Mark Grupe Outdoors - Grupe did the school field day footage and the family hunt footage.<br />
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Enjoy the video! I've watched it a thousand times - that's part of the deal with video editing - but it still makes me smile every time.<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2016Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-19566709299241036332016-08-28T12:07:00.001-07:002021-03-10T16:40:55.171-08:00Our third cookbook: Buck, Buck, Moose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Sn__xdEjSRwG4bfg0ZQ-IrQ0iqDwq7WB4g8qdTJAn2UroJAuqUfZyttsGQm6zAFTe0U3VydyfRMqeF4nbMx2YX2gbuN4gSy1kDKTvcAvcWM473eNdhBShOH3gJDR7p0VTtVMiPvK1vc/s673/BBM-Cover-HAGC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Sn__xdEjSRwG4bfg0ZQ-IrQ0iqDwq7WB4g8qdTJAn2UroJAuqUfZyttsGQm6zAFTe0U3VydyfRMqeF4nbMx2YX2gbuN4gSy1kDKTvcAvcWM473eNdhBShOH3gJDR7p0VTtVMiPvK1vc/s320/BBM-Cover-HAGC.jpg" /></a></div><br />Twenty years ago when I decided to start cooking in earnest, I fell in love with cookbooks. Those that taught techniques, I studied rigorously; those that offered mouthwatering recipes, I devoured with my eyes. One in particular - <i>The Essential Asian Cookbook </i>(Murdoch Books, 1997) - sparked a bizarre collecting habit: chopsticks, ramekins and Asian dishware.<br />
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As a politics reporter, I dreamed that someday I'd be able to ditch nasty world of politics and write about food for newspapers (a coveted position, by the way - <i>everyone</i> wanted to be a food writer). But never in a million years would I have envisioned that I'd become a <a href="http://photo.hollyheyser.com/">food photographer</a>, and that many of the items I'd been collecting for fun would appear in cookbooks enjoyed by tens of thousands of readers.<br />
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This week marks the release of the third cookbook featuring my photography: <a href="http://amzn.to/2bJo2wD">Buck, Buck, Moose: Recipes and Techniques for Cooking Deer, Elk, Moose, Antelope and Other Antlered Things</a>, written by my partner <a href="http://honest-food.net/">Hank Shaw</a>. And I'm pleased to say it is BOTH types of cookbook that I fell in love with 20 years ago: It contains detailed and accessible instructions on technique - both butchering and cooking - and what I hope you'll find to be beautiful photography showcasing mouth-watering dishes.<br />
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There's something extra special about this book. The first, <a href="http://amzn.to/2bJr8AK">Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast</a>, was published by Rodale in 2011. The second, <a href="http://amzn.to/2bv3s4b">Duck, Duck, Goose: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Waterfowl, Both Wild and Domesticated</a>, was published by Ten Speed Press in 2013. This one, we are self-publishing - made possible by an immensely successful <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hankshaw/buck-buck-moose-the-venison-cookbook">Kickstarter campaign</a>.<br />
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If you are a deer hunter, or you know someone who is, I hope you'll check it out. As someone who ate everything I photographed, I can tell you you'll be glad you did. Cheers!<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2016
Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-337176177330233842016-06-27T18:37:00.000-07:002016-06-27T18:37:37.305-07:00How to choose a shotgun for hunting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Oh, the things I wish I'd known when I bought my first shotgun.<br />
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The only real piece of advice I got was to buy a 20 gauge because I'm a chick, which really did me a disservice. I'm sorry, there's absolutely nothing about being a woman that makes a 20 gauge a better choice. I ended up upgrading to a 12 gauge within a few years, which made me much happier. It's a duck hunter thing.<br />
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After meeting a lot of hunters who used a variety of shotguns, I came to realize that the type of shotgun that's best for you really is first and foremost a function of your personality, so I created a personality test to help prospective gun owners see what might be best for them. I <a href="http://norcalcazadora.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-to-choose-shotgun-for-hunting.html" target="_blank">blogged about it</a> back in 2012, and I recently updated that blog post to hand out at a California Waterfowl workshop for new hunters.<br />
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Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByZQP9r4TO8RNE5PMlk5SE0tNUk/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a> to view a printable PDF. Feel free to share it with friends, but if you'd like to reprint it in a for-profit publication, please get in touch with me.<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2016Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-36749839273084236192016-05-29T12:34:00.002-07:002016-09-26T17:25:33.174-07:00Video: How much to lead a moving targetI work with a lot of new shooters and hunters, and one of the hardest things to explain is how much you need to lead a moving target with your shotgun. It seems everyone perceives it differently.<br />
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A while back I told my pal Phil Bourjaily I wanted to use a shotgun-mounted POV camera to examine lead, and he said that was the wrong choice of camera. "What you need," he said, "is a ShotKam."<br />
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He was right. Using a wifi connection to your tablet or smartphone, you can align the ShotKam's reticle, then get footage where a red dot (or some other marker) shows your exact point of aim. What an awesome invention! Bonus points: Playback is at 1/4 speed, so you can see clay breaking in glorious detail.<br />
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I'll do a thorough review of the ShotKam down the road, but for now I wanted to share a video that illustrates lead at all the stations of skeet. And if you can't wait for the review, run over to the <a href="https://shotkam.com/" target="_blank">ShotKam website</a> and learn more about it there. Tell 'em I sent you!<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2016Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-52602376658494334852016-01-23T15:42:00.001-08:002016-01-23T15:42:20.683-08:00On teaching women to shoot shotgunsThe headline says it best: "Most New Female Shooters Learn From Men. Here’s What Both Need To Know."<br />
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My pal Phil Bourjaily - one of Field & Stream's two <a href="http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/gun-nut" target="_blank">Gun Nuts</a> - worked with me on this story. It's one of my favorite subjects!<br />
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Read the full story <a href="http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2016/01/most-new-female-shooters-learn-from-men-here%E2%80%99s-what-both-need-to-know" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2016Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-83007904589091866802015-11-30T07:11:00.000-08:002015-11-30T07:11:28.435-08:00Video: How to render duck fatAt long last, I've finally made the video duck hunters have been asking for: How to render duck fat!<br />
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The process is really easy, and it gives you a jar of duck flavor that will last long after you've rid the freezer of your last bird of the season.<br />
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So next time you get a delicious, fat bird, save the bits of fat you might otherwise throw in the trash, and try this.<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2015Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-31528026761858902582015-10-20T07:44:00.001-07:002015-10-20T07:44:31.743-07:00The Florida bear hunting debate - an op-ed for the Tampa TribuneIf you watch debates about hunting all over the country, which I do because the future of hunting matters to me A LOT, you'll see a pattern: bear hunting is under attack.<br />
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It's an issue because bear populations are thriving, and everywhere state game agencies try to re-open bear seasons or increase quotas, the Humane Society of the United States argues that their science is all wrong and the population increases are a figment of their imaginations.<br />
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Right. Tell that to anyone who lives in bear country.<br />
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This Saturday, Florida opens its first bear season since 1994, and the anti-hunting hysteria is thick, so I decided to wade in with a little commentary on the subject. You can read it <a href="http://www.tbo.com/list/news-opinion-commentary/hunting-for-emotion-20151018/" target="_blank">here in the Tampa Tribune</a>.<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2015Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195390592173932939.post-49912400429173270872015-10-06T11:59:00.000-07:002015-10-06T11:59:00.139-07:00What early teal season looks like: an interactive mapWe don't have an early teal season in California, so I actually have no clue what it looks like.<br />
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But I do know how to find where all the action is: All you have to do is look at band recoveries, so I did just that, just for funsies, because I'm an OCD Dutch Virgo data nerd.<br />
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The map below is all the banded teal recovered by hunters in September of 2014 (data for 2015 isn't yet available). The color coding is really complex: Blue dots are blue-winged teal, green dots are green-wings and red dots are cinnamons. Click on the dot and you can see how old the bird was and where it was banded - you can even click through to its banding location.<br />
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One caveat: Sometimes the map will show birds being shot in weird locations, or in places where they shouldn't be shot, as in not in season. Keep in mind that all recovery information is reported by humans who might be confused about what they're reporting (the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory wants to know where you shot the bird, not where you live), imprecise (I've seen banded birds allegedly shot at busy urban intersections), or merely cagey ("I ain't putting no X on no stinkin' map!").<br />
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But imperfect as it is, it's still fun stuff. Enjoy!<br />
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© Holly A. Heyser 2015Holly Heyserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.com0