8 posts tagged “hunting”

Thumbs Down:

1. A woman looked at our house last week and just loved it.  She brought her husband to see it on Monday and he was very quiet except to say one of the bathroom's needed remodeling and they'd already done a lot of that on their current house.  Our realtor is hoping the woman just needed some time to talk her husband into it.  I'm afraid it was a woman who thought she needed a new house and her husband didn't. 
2. I was a crabby patty today.  It's not very often that I'm in a cranky mood all day but this was one of them.  Several little things that put me in the mood. 
3. My great uncle passed away.  He was my step grandpa's brother.  Grandpa died when I was 12 but he lived in town and I spent tons of time with him.  Out of his 3 brothers, this was the one I was closest to.  He and his wife have lived in AZ the past 10 years and had just moved back to MT to be closer to family.  I've made at least 3 trips to Billings and wanted to stop and see them but always had other things to do.  Now, I regret waiting.  I'd also like to go to his funeral tomorrow but it's not going to work out.  He has such a twinkle in his eye.

Thumbs Up:

1. We really are making good progress on the house.  We've started painting the basement even though we don't plan to totally finish the basement right away.  The tile is done in the foyer and Lily's bathroom floor and shower.  Ray's started hanging interior doors and putting on base trim so the carpet installer can come.  2/3 of the kitchen cabinets are done.  I need to get pictures of some of the lights Ray's installed because they are gorgeous!  We're very tentatively hoping to be in around the end of the month.  (No laughing, mom).
2. There's no school tomorrow so Ray's taking the boys hunting.  This will be Cody's first time going as an official "hunter" since passing Hunter's Safety.
3. The 1st quarter is done at school.  Cody really struggled the past few years but is finally taking school more seriously.  There is still room for improvement but he made the Honor Roll so we're very proud.  All his teachers had great things to say.  This is Jace's first year to receive letter grades and he earned all A's and B's.  He's also suddenly taken a huge interest in reading.  He's always hated reading but is now reading 300 page novels!!  Lily is also doing well.  All of the kids' teachers are very impressed with their transition into new schools.  It truly has been amazing and we couldn't have asked for the move to be any smoother.
4. Cody has started Middle School wrestling and his first tournament is Saturday.  Wrestling is such a different environment here.  In Jamestown, Cody was teased a lot for being a wrestler instead of playing hockey or basketball.  Here, wrestling is huge!  Last night, they had a photo shoot for their team poster!!  He's best friend here is also a wrestler and a super, nice kid.
5. Though the weather in October was awful, November is off to a gorgeous start.  It's even supposed to hit 60 tomorrow.

 

Aside from the 29 inch walleye my brother caught, the fishing was a total bust this weekend.  That's pretty typical for August.  So, the kids entertained themselves trying to catch one of the many rabbits around the cabin.  Cody made a trap and put a slice of bread in it since we didn't have any carrots or lettuce.

There was a rabbit in the trap twice but they didn't get the rope pulled fast enough either time.  Then, they decided to move the trap closer to the long grass.

Cody spent hours watching the rabbits which is incredible for him.  They finally got a big rabbit trapped but he managed to get himself out before they got there.

My brother and I taught the kids how to play the dice game Zonk (also called 10,000).  We used to play with my Little Grandma but really haven't since she died to we had to look up the rules.  The kids absolutely love it and it's something we can all play together.  We've also got my brother playing Squeak.

 

 

Rascal didn't take a swim with the kids but got splashed a lot.

My parents' cat looked for some leftovers. The guys went out to the ranch hunting on Friday. This porcupine was the only thing they got. On Saturday, Lily joined the boys on her 1st hunting trip. Their luck was the same and they only ended up with 1 porcupine.  As you know, mom & I were more successful in getting a deer. Jace & Grandma played squeak. I didn't get near as many photos as I hoped to throughout the weekend.  Also, all the photos from the ranch were taken by Ray.

My mom and I had a nice visit with my grandpa today.  The nursing home he's staying at for now is pretty good but seems a lot like a hospital to me.  There must be some way to make those rooms more homey.  We picked up some finger steaks at our favorite restaurant there, the Airport Inn, and took them to the nursing home.  That was a nice treat for grandpa.

It's a 2 hour drive each way to visit him.  I drove but we had my mom's Yukon.  About 35 miles from Sidney right at dusk, I turned my head to say something to my mom, when a deer ran right in front of us.  I said "oh sh*#!" and stepped on the brakes but we still caught its hindend on the front passenger side.  I pulled off the road right away to inspect the damage.  Mom got out first and said we were just missing a headlight and that she couldn't see the deer.  I decided to inspect for myself and thought I could hear a hissing sound which made me concerned that the radiator had been punctured.  (See, I learned something watching Ray put together cars all those years when we were dating).  I looked under the car and there was a small drip.  It didn't look green like antifreeze but I was still worried.  I also couldn't see the deer but didn't do a lot of searching for it.

I climbed back in and mom said we should just go.  We were in a bad spot for cell service so mom wasn't having any luck reaching the boys.  She said to just keep an eye on the control panel because it would give a warning if anything was wrong.  We were 15 minutes from a small town with one gas station so I was just praying we'd get that far.  About 10 miles down the road, I thought it looked like the temperature gauge was higher than normal.  Soon after, it was definitely climbing.  Then, the following warnings started appearing on the control panel, in order, when the next town was in sight: 

1. Low Coolant Level
2. Engine Overheating
3. Engine Power Being Reduced
4. Something about a system being disabled?

We basically coasted into the gas station as we were losing power.  I couldn't get out of the car fast enough because I didn't know if there was danger of fire in that situation.  Rascal was with us so I grabbed him and got right out.  We went in the gas station and explained to the woman what had happened (figured she'd wonder why I was bringing a dog in even though I was carrying him).  She let us use her phone since we still had no service and mom reached the guys who had just gotten back to town from hunting.  She was so nice and opened up the employee lounge so we'd have chairs and a table to sit out while we waited for our rescuers to make the 20 mile drive to pick us up. 

Ray came and got us while my dad stayed at the house with the kids.  They hadn't had any luck on their hunting trip except to get another porcupine so Jace really wanted to come with and keep the deer.  He was disappointed that there wasn't one to be found. 

The car will be towed on Monday morning.  I filled out a police report and we called their insurance company.  That's the only accident I've ever had aside from having someone back into me in my high school parking lot 2 wks after getting my license.  I have to say I was proud of myself for not swerving to miss the deer.  I always thought that would be my reaction in that situation but it didn't even occur to me to do anything but hit the brakes.  Of course, the guys were giving me a hard time for not swerving because then I could've missed it.  But, we also would've ended up in oncoming traffic as it's a 2-lane road.

Today is the official start of the holiday shopping season. Are you planning on doing any shopping today? What are you going to buy?

Yes, but I'm in no hurry and in this little town, there shouldn't be bad crowds.  There's no Walmart, Target, etc.  Lily, my mom, and I will just leisurely check out the little stores.  I will probably see if there are any good online deals.  The guys have already headed out to hunt at the ranch.

Thumbs Down:

1. Our friend's brother was killed in a hunting accident over the weekend.  He leaves behind a wife and 3 teenagers.  His friend's gun accidentally discharged in the vehicle.
2. We watched "We are Marshall" this weekend.  I love a good football movie.  However, I cried through almost the entire thing.  Who knew a football movie could be that sad?

Thumbs Up:

1. Sleeping in because there's no school today.
2. A yummy, new recipe I made last night - Chicken Broccoli Divan.
3. I had my last p/t appt. yesterday.  The progress has been remarkable.  More than anything, I have to watch my posture.  My lower back is getting a little sore because it's used to slouching but I'm even walking straighter.  When you're only 5'0", you can take all the extra height you can get.

What's the infamous story people tell about you? 
Submitted by Cherney.

I guess this particular hunting story comes to mind since I just shared it with my brother's girlfriend this weekend.  I was in h.s. and DH and I were dating.  We went out to the ranch to hunt deer with my dad & brother.  I'd gone out hunting for birds with Ray several times but never big game.  I just loved driving around that beautiful country and being with him.   This is a photo of my dad & brother walking along the top of Devil's Canyon.

Not long after we got out there, Ray shot a doe.  I was getting out of the truck with him when he suggested I stay in the truck.  I told him I was fine and went to where the doe was with him.  Big mistake.  I looked right into that sweet deer's eyes and started crying.  I went back to the pickup where I sat crying and thinking that hunting was the cruelist thing ever. 

They loaded up the doe into the back up the pickup and we continued on to look for more deer for my dad & brother.  They found a group of deer so decided to get out and follow them on foot.  I decided to stay a few steps ahead of the guys the whole time.  Ray was definitely getting suspicious of my behavior.  We came onto a cliff and the deer were in the bottom of what we call Devil's Canyon.  I immediately started yelling to the deer, "Run!  Run!".  Then all hell broke loose.  Deer started running around and my dad got all excited.  He has buck fever to begin with and I didn't help.  He was yelling at me and then aimed and shot a buck down in the canyon.  I was devastated and started sobbing and walked back to the truck.  The following was the conversation between my dad & Ray after the buck had been shot:

Dad, "Don't ever shoot a deer down there".

Ray, "Why"?

Dad, "Because you can't get them out".

Ray, "Well we're going to find a way or Heather will really be ticked off"!

(Another shot of Devil's Canyon)

They did walk down the canyon and drag the deer up out of there.  Needless to say, I was never invited to go hunting with any of them again nor did I ask to go along.