Posted on Leave a comment

Safari Lifestyle in Art

Rita Schimpff with "Tusk" by John Banovich

Safari Lifestyle in Art

Women’s Outdoor News: Bringing The Wild Inside by Rita Schimpff

Rita Schimpff with "Tusk" by John Banovich
Rita Schimpff with “Tusk” by John Banovich

We are discovering Safari Lifestyle in Art & Display over at the Women’s Outdoor News – from paintings to taxidermy.  Is your safari style traditional or eclectic?

 

Posted on 2 Comments

Mint Julep Recipe by Rita Schimpff

Heritage-Game-Mounts-Equestrian-Lifestyle-Triple Crown-Mint-Julep

Mint Julep Recipe by Rita Schimpff

2 Cups granulated white sugar

2 Cups water

Fresh mint – my favorite flavor to grow is Kentucky Colonel

Kentucky Bourbon

Crushed ice

Julep cup

Make simple syrup by boiling sugar and water together for 5 minutes.  Cool and place in covered container, refrigerate overnight.  Construct each julep one at a time: bruise or muddle 4-5 leaves of mint in the bottom of the cup or glass, fill with crushed ice and add 1 oz of simple syrup and 2 oz of Kentucky Bourbon – stir rapidly to mix and frost cup.  Garnish your mint julep with a sprig of fresh mint and serve with a cloth cocktail napkin.

*note: some recipes call for steeping fresh mint in the hot simple syrup as it cools, I find this gives the syrup a medicinal flavor and prefer to muddle the mint while fresh.

Post Time!

Posted on Leave a comment

Spring News

Spring News from Heritage Game Mounts

Spring here at Heritage Game Mounts means  we welcome  the  Sporting Lifestyle with Vintage Fishing Creels, a little Cabin Fever cooled off with some bass bugging and here in San Antonio -Fiesta!

vintage creel

I added some ferns, turtle grass and hydrangeas to one of the vintage creels I recently found to welcome Spring on our front door.  Scroll to the end for one I made for sale!

Heritage-Game-Mounts-The-Fishing-Cabin-hand-painted-fish

 

 

As you know, I write a monthly column for the Women’s Outdoor News, and my latest is how to add a little painted & rustic charm to your ‘cabin’.

 

 

Heritage-Game-Mounts-The-Fishing-Cabin-painted-doors

 

Here I painted some native fish on the old doors of our old cabin established in 1926.

 

To see more photos of our cabin and one of the old ‘great camps’ in the Adirondacks read here:

www.womensoutdoornews.com/2015/03/the-fishing-cabin-6-ways-to-add-painted-and-rustic-charm

 

 

DSC02249

 

In January we traveled to West Point, Mississippi to quail hunt on some of the remaining Mississippi Black Prairie that is being lovingly restored and preserved by the Bryan Family at Prairie Wildlife – a luxurious sporting lodge for all seasons.  www.PrairieWildlife.com

 

photo10

 

Tiger Bass are known to roam in the beautiful lake in front of Bryan Lodge at Prairie Wildlife.

 

photo8

 

The new shooting tower at Prairie Wildlife is placed in a special spot on the resort – Kathy’s Hill.

 

Easter1

 

While working on Easter decorations passed down in the family…

 

lapel (2)

 

I am also trying to coordinate which fly lapel pin my hubs should wear for Easter lunch – each one is so unique and he always ‘wears’ them well.  heritagegamemounts.com/product-category/sporting-accessories-2/fly-fishing-lapel-pins

 

Here in South Texas/San Antonio the end of April brings forth our Fiesta celebrations honoring the fallen heroes of the Alamo and Texas Independence.

 

BulletParty3

 

So for those of you that might be rubbing elbows with Fiesta Royalty and have a black tie event or two on your calendar – why not dress up your tuxedo and show off your sporting flair with these handsome bullet & shotgun studs?

 

IMG_4645

 

They range from 30-06, .410 & 28 gauge to a Norma Rigby 416 thrown in the mix.  www.heritagegamemounts.com/product-category/sporting-accessories-2/shotgun-and-bullet-casing-jewelry

 

???????????????????????????????

 

 

Since my last update, I was interviewd by Kevin Paulsen’s Hunting Life: www.huntinglife.com/heritage-game-mounts-rita-r-schimpff-interview

 

HGM9-angling-lifestyle-front-door-creel-closeup

 

Thanks for reading this and if you want to add a little spring to your cabin – I have made this one only Fly Fishing Creel for your front door! $75.00 +tax & shipping. It is not on the website so first one to email or call gets it.

 

bassbugs

 

Now go make time for some bass bugging and enjoy your Spring.

 

Easter2

 

And Happy Easter!

Posted on 2 Comments

Bird Dog: Sister Cayce’s Kate

This article was first published in the Boykin Spaniel Magazine, January 2013.

Sister Cayce’s Kate was born 9-9-99 out of Mr. Mick and Kelly Ann from Dixie Blair.   Life dealt Kate many setbacks, but you would never know it by her.  I have a good friend here in San Antonio that has always helped me find my Boykin hunting companions for the past 30 years.  Kate was the little sister to his Cayce.  Even two years apart they looked like twins and both came to hunt Texas from South Carolina.

Jax- Kate & Cayce 2

As all Boykin owners know, each one is exceptional.  Kate had her puppy lessons with Pam Kadlec before becoming ours at 4 months. And from the moment she arrived we were her people. One of my first recollections is of my husband returning from a deer hunt, as he was unloading in the garage and placing his things by the front door we missed the pup- but found her fast asleep draped over the gun and bags on the floor in the entry.

March 2000

 

She was the only dog he ever ‘allowed’ in the house.  One of her jobs was to fetch the morning paper then go upstairs to wake the children. She loved 2 of my kid’s stuffed toys that they slept with nightly. Each morning she would retrieve those fallen toys by their bedside and wake the kids up with them. Kate was not allowed on the beds, but by the time I made it upstairs both Carter and Carrie had strange dents all over their bedspreads and both were awake and giggling. We often found Hoodoo and Leo the Lion mysteriously hidden in Kate’s toys.

 

Kate was eager and so easy to work and hunt with.  She had my back with doves, she would watch and whine and dance in place with her two front paws when she saw a close one, and if I did not shoot at the ones she was watching – she would let me know with a BARK.  She LOVED to hunt and most of all swim.  She was a noisy, playful swimmer when she wasn’t on the job.  She would swim in circles for hours pawing at the water to make big splashes and then barking and biting at the water. People who did not know her thought she was drowning.

nov 2000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 18 months we took her on a trip to the coast – I just knew she would love the beach – and she did.  She ran and ran and jumped the waves and caught her Frisbee.  But something went wrong….the next morning we went for our walk and she had trouble, I thought she was sore from all the activity, but by that afternoon it was evident something was terribly wrong –she could not move her back legs.  We were in a small town and I called the vet – by my description he said we needed a larger facility and set us up with an emergency room in Corpus Christi about an hour away.  We left everything and the two other dogs behind with my parents, except our two small children who insisted on going to be with Kate.  The diagnosis there was immediate surgery within 24 hours to have any chance, although small to ever walk again.  The nearest place to do this delicate and tedious surgery was in San Antonio- they along with our vet in San Antonio arranged for our immediate arrival.  We arrived about midnight or shortly thereafter to turn her over to Dr. Andy Anderson.

The weeks after surgery were slow and turned into a couple of months, I devised a sling so I could hold her hind end up and she could walk outside on her front two legs.  I worked her limp back legs often, Kate seemed to understand.  One day as I was talking to her (a Boykin understands) I thought I saw her tail move slightly.  Then later that day she did it again when I spoke to her.  Little by little she came back, but I was told she would never hunt again, and there was always the chance for the opposite side of her spine to ‘blow out’.  Well, 6 months into recovery it did and another surgery and another long but successful recovery.  Her chest and front legs became strong and wide and swimming was good for her.  Her hips and back legs were always a little stunted and weak, but she got around and did not think she was different from any other dog.  She could not jump up and I would not let her jump off of anything or take the stairs.

Kate, Lena, Carter & Carrie 2003-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kate now became a regular at the horse shows  – making friends with all the people, dogs and horses-she never knew a stranger – and made everyone smile at her adapted run that looked more like a rabbit than a dog.

 

 

But, she missed the hunts.  I went to great lengths to not let her see me in my hunting clothes or wait to put on my boots in the car.  I always read too much into my dog’s heads…one day I took her with us for a short controlled outing to introduce our children to quail hunting.  When it was time to go on our march, I had her safely secured to wait for us.  About 30 minutes into it I heard this barking and turned around and there she was!  She moved ahead and gave me this look like ‘got here as quick as I could!’- it was too far to take her back and I still don’t know how she got loose and not hurt herself. Thus, for a while she got to go on the occasional ‘gentleman’ dove hunt.  It wasn’t long before we discovered she had an enlarged heart. Didn’t stop her, she still got to go swimming at the lake.  Then there was the surgery for bladder stones.  Another recovery, but each time a little weaker.

 

Even though the scar tissue gave a little protection to her delicate spine, I was warned the slightest blow could undo everything and there would be no more surgeries.  Our older Boykin, Dash passed away at 16 yrs. and a short time later our little white rescue dog leaving Kate alone for animal pals.  She quickly adopted our three cats who now felt safe in the backyard and I had decided a new puppy could be dangerous – until we had to help house sit a friend’s young dog.  I tried to keep them separated, but by day 2 Kate had figured out a way to play, protect herself and make the pup do all the work.  Enter 8 week old Boykin Belle who my daughter and I drove to SC and brought back.  Kate took Belle under her wing.

 

We have had many fosters come and go and Kate was my helper.  We found three tiny lab mix pups on Easter 3 years ago.  I watched out the window as she acted like they were not there, and one by one they crept into her bed while she held her nose in the air looking the other way.  As they went to sleep she turned and gave them each a bath.  We ended up keeping one of these pups and Sage idolizes Kate.  It made it easier to take Belle hunting and leave Kate behind.

 

Kate loved guns, but could not stay in the backyard when fireworks or thunder sounded.  One day when we were out of town she got out and Sage followed her, Belle stayed put.  New neighbors found them and told me they must have been out a while. They took them in but Kate wanted to move on, but the tuckered out pup could not go on.  They said it wasn’t long before Kate returned and stayed beside Sage as she slept.  Now this huge pup is taking over the nursing care of Kate as she gets weaker.  Kate’s last prognosis is a mass of tumors in her intestine, her eyes are weary, she won’t eat and she is telling me she wants to move on.  She won’t make another surgery.  Over her 13 rugged years she always moved on, her limitations not noticed by her accept for her obvious embarrassment at her incontinence due to her back.

 

Katie Scarlett died today on 7-17-2012.  On this day she got to ride shotgun in the front seat with the windows down and go to the lake with me-alone, no other dogs.  She made 3 tiny laps in the water, and 3 very small retrieves, watched birds on the deck with a cool breeze and oh yes, got to eat cat food.  Hoodoo and Leo the Lion had both made hospital stays with Kate during her first, long ago recoveries. My now married son called last night, he remembered where Leo was after all these years and asked that Leo once again be with Kate.  Sadly, Cayce had gone on ahead a few months before.

IMG_3566

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year at Christmas we will have a very special new ornament on our tree -as our pets before her, each has a red ribbon tied to their tags or collar and hung on the tree – to celebrate our exceptional gift of Kate.