HPPR proudly welcomes guitarist Beppe Gambetta and mandolin/fiddle player Peter Ostroushko in a very special evening of music on Thursday, March 7.  This show will be held at The Fibonacci, located at 3306 SW 6th Ave.  We'll open the doors @ 7:00, and the show will start @ 7:30.  Due to limited space, we highly encourage you to make reservations for this one, either by calling 806-367-9088 or sending an e-mail to music@hppr.org.  We'll have the usual great coffee from the folks at Evocation Coffee Roasters, and cookies from Molly Fuller.  Don't miss it!

Athletes compete to make the play-offs.  If effort and luck shine on coaches, managers, players, owners, and fans, two franchises make it to games such as the Superbowl, World Series, Stanley Cup or other legendary competitions.  Olympians dedicate four years to earn those few seconds or minutes they have to claim gold. Hunters spend seasons seeking the biggest buck, bull elk, caribou or other record setting trophy to decorate the family room.  After a week of packing a house we lived in for 16 years, I have decided homemakers need their own prize.

This week around the campfire, Larry Weishuhn and I were talking about winter varmint hunting.  Winter is a perfect time to get out and do some calling.  With varmints here on the High Plains, this is a true challenge.  You don't have to be a pro, even extreme novices can be successful using an electronic caller.  Now my friend Larry, you can't believe the sounds he can make with his mouth.  It is unbelievable.  He can sound like white tail deer, rabbits, but me, I have to use a call. 

The history of  the state of Texas is expansive and colorful.  It's boundaries have fluctuated.  It's flown six different flags.  It's background is steeped in tales of battles and wars, including the war with Mexico, the Civil War,  and many Indian battles that include the Red River War, but until recently, I was unaware of a battle that was waged for 70 years. 

A trip along the history trail that tells of the settling of the west is littered with the remains of hundreds of ghost towns.  The lives of many of these settlements were very brief, as they boomed when they bet on the tracks of the railroads and then busted as they watched from a distance as the trains pass them by.  One of the largest communities was called Ivanhoe, and was developed between the Arkansas and Cimarron Rivers on what is now U.S. Highway 83.  Today we’ll visit what remains of this once-bustling community – the cemetery.

Let me tell you, folks, some of my favorite hunting memories are not about bringing home a trophy buck or making the record book, but about some of the mishaps that have happened along the way.  One of those times was when Larry and I were out deer hunting.  We were not having much luck, so we decided to do a little calling.  We were getting a little hungry, nothing was happening, so we decided to head back to camp to get something to eat.  I pushed on the door to open it, and the thing did NOT move.  The hasp had slipped down and locked us in!