Written: 04/09/2009 19:05 by: Jason Parrish View

My "take away" from this little reminder of natures capricious antics is that gardening - like the stock market - like humanity at large - is a complex balance of hard work, luck, and timing. Often we confuse luck and timing as the same thing - but they are very different. Winning the lottery is luck. Winning the lottery on the $1M night versus the $100M night is timing.

Written: 03/28/2009 22:20 by: Jason Parrish View

Without question, water is a very valuable resource in our great state.  Below are very useful links with data on Texas lake levels and local rainfall totals. 

Written: 12/02/2008 19:02 by: Jason Parrish View

Hello. My name is Sydney. My first hunt was on November 9^th. I shot my first deer with a crossbow. It was pretty exciting! I was with my Dad, Jason Parrish. We saw a lot of deer. Finally we saw a beautiful doe. I kept asking my Dad to see if I lined it up correctly. Then, I shot!

Written: 08/14/2008 20:10 by: Jason Parrish View

What is it about the beach? Any beach? For those of us who have seen the emerald waters of unpolluted beaches in romantic foreign countries, the murky brown water of Galveston is hard to swallow...

Written: 07/14/2008 16:11 by: Jason Parrish View

The namesake of Enon Day is also the location, Enon Cemetery. To some people - especially urban dwellers - the thought of gathering at a cemetery to have a social event is disturbing. For us, it is a day of tradition, remembrance and celebration.

Written: 07/14/2008 14:39 by: Jason Parrish View

The old house is gone now, dismantled log by log to save it the disgrace of falling. Its warped and rustic outline no longer crowns the hill above the creek, where for so many years it stood; a gaunt grey-hided sentinel, watching over road and fields and forests. Now, the unkept fields are growing up in brambles, weeds and bushes. The forest is reclaiming what was kept from it so long - some say, since before the Civil War. Only the narrow dirt road that tied the old place to that world beyond the woods still holds its own against time, and nature’s green and creeping march.

Written: 08/21/2007 10:49 by: Jason Parrish View

East Texas Bass Fishing My earliest memories of the outdoors as a child are standing in the same spot as these photos. There are some differences. I walked to the pond from my Grandparents house, used a cane pole and caught crickets and grasshoppers in the field for bait. I didn't think about havi...

Written: 07/27/2007 23:29 by: Jason Parrish View

A friend of mine invited me to walk a ranch near Brownwood that he was looking at buying. I just love being outdoors in Texas! The ranch was 1200 acres high fenced. The story about the ranch was that the previous owner was a breeder who had let loose a number of northern strain whitetail deer and el...

Written: 07/10/2007 21:39 by: Jason Parrish View

This small 12 acres looks nice and simple, but it has two protected bird endangered species governed by a Federal 10A permit. It was critical for us to understand and work within their rules. When we started this project, it was the Fall of '05. We had seen Turkey, Dove and Whitetail in previous m...

Written: 04/09/2007 19:21 by: Jason Parrish View

I was driving a Bad Boy Buggie in the woods of East Texas on my way to call coyotes. I kept it in two wheel drive thinking I would get longer battery life. I came across a big tree laying across the path. I gently nudged the tree with the intent to push it about 10 inches to make room to get aroun...

Written: 03/30/2007 14:37 by: Jason Parrish View

We had a great time hiking with all of the plants in bloom; going on an ATV Tour of old mercury mines on a huge ranch nearby; riding horses to a sunset dinner on a bluff cooked by an old cowboy; skeet shooting on the nicest range I have ever seen; Cowboy Action Shooting in a mock western town setting; playing golf where the 11th hole is on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande; rafting down the Rio Grande; and sitting by a fire at night talking with friends.

Written: 03/04/2007 19:59 by: Jason Parrish View

Standing at the opening of an ancient indian dwelling, looking out on the valley below, not a drop of water in sight, wondering how native americans of yesterday survived. That is what was on my mind. Find shelter, build a fire, make a weapon, and provide for your family. Literally a way of life t...

Written: 02/13/2007 13:18 by: Jason Parrish View

My First Time to Hunt by Justin Blalock Being from the affluent suburbs of Dallas, you get used to a certain lifestyle.  Nice restaurants, fancy houses, and expensive cars become second nature.  So how on Earth did I end up sitting in a hot, stuffy deer blind surrounded by bugs deep in South Texas...

Written: 02/08/2007 12:01 by: Jason Parrish View

I am proud and a little surprised at how good my son did taking photos while we were checking wildlife cameras this week. My sister is a professional photographer so he has been around cameras all of his life. He asked to walk around taking photos while I was working. Notice how well he centers his ...

Written: 02/05/2007 17:18 by: Jason Parrish View

I spent my summers on our family farm in East Texas. We have a family cemetery. My father is a tough old man who thinks sardines are a good lunch and drinking bottled water is worse than driving a foreign made truck. So, you might think I grew up around football, but the truth is I grew up overseas...

Written: 01/29/2007 11:27 by: Jason Parrish View

It is rare to have 35+ organizations, representing every aspect of the Texas Outdoors, share a common voice. However, with critical funding issues facing Texas Parks & Wildlife, what better reason to unite? Millions of hunters, anglers, landowners, and others who have a strong interest in sustaini...

Written: 01/29/2007 11:27 by: Jason Parrish View

Overview   We are pleased to present the TPWD Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR) for fiscal years 2008 and 2009. Our mission is “To manage and conserve the natural and cultural resources of Texas and to provide hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities for the ...

Written: 12/27/2006 12:25 by: Jason Parrish View

New "Outdoor Journal" is Myspace Gone Wild Summary Whether you call it a Blog, Myspace, Diary, or Journal, it is a place for Outdoor Enthusiasts to express themselves. The purpose of the "Outdoor Journal" is to tell a story about the one that got away, to write about an experience you will never ...

Written: 12/13/2006 18:08 by: Jason Parrish View

The purpose of this sequence of photos is to show you the Before, During and After phase of setting up a food plot dedicated to birds. As you scroll through the photos you see a hay field, then you see it in stages being prepared, and then you see a Happy Dove Plot. I didn't have the heart to photo the dead plot, I just mowed it down.

Written: 12/13/2006 17:00 by: Jason Parrish View

I was invited to tour the Thunderhill Ranch in Llano County. Not only is it a beautiful 900 acre ranch, but it happens to be one of the most state of the art whitetail deer breeding facilities in Texas. Don't believe me, check out the photos and then read some of the articles (links below). It was...

Written: 12/10/2006 21:19 by: Jason Parrish View

We have had an annual family gathering the fourth Sunday of June every year of my life - before I was born it was a tradition - and hopefully after I am gone it will always continue to be a tradition. This year, we added some humor with a "Redneck" Party at my cousin's house the night before. The ...

Written: 12/10/2006 13:37 by: Jason Parrish View

My mother sent me these photos to remind me that I started young in pursuit of the great outdoors.

Written: 12/09/2006 17:44 by: Jason Parrish View

Having grown up overseas because my father is a deep-sea driller, I also grew up with a strong US Military presence and an awareness of safety. Having spent every summer vacation of my life on our 6th generation family farm in East Texas, I grew up with a fishing pole and a gun. We didn’t have mu...