The Hunting Times

Most of you have heard the story before, but here it goes again... Since I was 13, I have joined my Dad, Cousin Shane, and Uncle DC in the deer woods.  Our "Thanksgiving Dinner" was usually a cold ham sandwich and a pop.  Back then, you could only shoot bucks in Indiana, so we usually came home empty handed. Flash forward to 2018 (last year) and it's the first year that the 'Old Men' decided against hunting.  We Young Bucks were still planning on going, but we ended up at the barn telling stories and maybe drinking a cold 'pop' or two. This year, we didn't even pretend that we were going out hunting.  Instead we met at the barn at 8 am just for the purpose of seeing everyone and reconnecting. What Uncle DC shared was that this was the first time since 1961 (58 years) that he has not purchased an Indiana Hunting License.  I planned ahead and brined a deer roast and 3 pheasant breasts prior to smoking them on Wednesday.  I cut them up along wit...

We took a break from hunting deer and went to my mom's (Grandma Barb's) for lunch this Thanksgiving.  Sandy had to work, but the rest of my family made it. Grandma slaved over the stove for hours and hours to make pork loin, cranberry salad, cheesy potatoes, and pumpkin pies.  I took a left-over carrot cake from the Albitz Thanksgiving celebrated last Sunday. We counted 10 and 3/4 because Shelby is due next month.  You could argue 8/9ths.  After the great-grands were done eating (which for Mallory was immediately), they got some books off the shelf and read stories to each other for entertainment. Here is the result.  Too cute.   2.5, 4, and 2.5 year-olds reading stories at Great-Grandma Barb's (Cousin Mallory, Brother Will, and Sister Hadley)

Back in 1886, the C.S. Bell Company of Ohio cast a bell using what they called Crystal Steel (a steel alloy - which was very rare - only two companies at the time were using alloys).  The #3.  Well, in fact, they cast about 20,000 bells annually.  They made farm bells, school bells, factory bells, fire bells, and just about any bell you wanted.  They were sold through Sears & Roebuck catalogs, with their largest bell (54" diameter) selling for $375 in 1921.  That's a whopping $5,400 in today's money, accounting for inflation!  Refurbished C.S. bells today run from $350 to $5,000.  The particular bell I am most interested in is worth more to the family than the money.  You see, this one saved my grandparent's lives back in the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak on April 11, 1965. How this bell came to be part of the old homestead is lost to history - at least to me.  What I do know is that Grandpa was in the barn & Grandma was in the hou...

So we have decided that parking our vehicles out in the elements has come to an end.  But, in order to get our SUVs into the garage, it must be expanded.  So that's what we're doing.  Actually, that's what we have hired a contractor to do for us. The S wall was brick, so we saved those to put back on the W wall.  This way they will match. We blew out the S wall and are adding 6 feet 8 inches as that will allow the proper spacing for the rafters as well as give us enough room for wider garage doors. The E wall, where the doors are, will get a new header & wider doors installed. We grabbed a permit, had the foundation dug, and the floor is now poured.  Making progress!   S wall gone (tarped with black pastic) and footers dug   Concrete has arrived   Concrete footers being poured   Slab floor being poured   A view from inside the garage facing out (to the S). Floor is poured and finished.

Eric slept thru his alarm this morning and did not join us.  Nick?  No one has heard from him.  So Alex and I met RePhil and A-A-Ron at the course at 6:45. A-A-Ron went to Jenkins, but sat in the fence row along Hole 7.  He's seen deer running there. RePhil went back to the top of the Hill on Jenkin's NW corner. Alex sat over-watch on 16.  I went back to the fence row on the N side of the property along Hole 11. I saw deer running S at 7:30, heading either to RePhil or Alex.  I heard RePhil shoot. Then A-A-Ron shot. Since Alex had to leave for church at 9, I walked back to get the Gator at 8:30. We ended up tracking RePhil's deer from the bowl back up to Hole 14.  I drove the Gator into the woods so we did not have to drag. A-A-Ron's deer was a mess.  He shot her in the head.  He had previously shot one in the shoulder and never recovered it.  He got this one.  While all of this was going on, we pushed a doe to Alex who...

It was a cold, frosty morning.  Alex, Eric, and I met RePhil on the golf course.  We stayed out until RePhil had to leave at 9:30.  Something about being "whipped" and having to go home. RePhil sat on Jenkin's NW side.  Eric was over-watch on 16.  Alex was down in the bowl on 15.  I sat in the fence row on the N side of the course along Hole 11.  This is where the buck ran out opening weekend.  I am now W of his path and will shoot to the E.  Cannot shoot W due to houses. It was pretty, but the only deer we saw never offered a shot.  Poor Alex never even saw a deer. Still a beautiful day to be out.   Sitting in the fence row, facing SE. Not the frost.  Chilly.

RePhil came over tonight and we went out to Marhall's.  Actually, he sat in the E deer stand on Neal.  He never saw a thing.  Me?  Well since I had seen the two doe on top last night, I walked in on top this evening. I walked to the second finger, one N of Bailey's house.  I sat in the woods, over-looking the bottoms.  I watched a young buck come from the N and enter the finger.  He chased out two doe. I put the cross hairs on the closest one and squeezed the trigger.  Click.  Seems I did not have the bolt closed far enough.  I racked it again.  This time - success. RePhil and I went to get the Gator to haul her out.  It was a nice evening to be out.   In the woods, over-looking the bottoms   Sun going down over the beans   It's November 22nd and the corn is still standing in Indiana! Makes for a pretty picture though.

It's raining tonight.  Not hard, but raining.  At least it's 54 degrees out.  I headed out about 3:30 pm to Marshall's bottoms to hopefully be protected from the wind and rain. I got in front of Bailey's house, sitting on some deer trails.  RePhil texted - are you hunting in this rain?  I sent him this picture... About 4:30, two doe came walking from the N to the S, but along the top.  I never had an opportunity for a shot as they stayed up there. I walked out at sunset, 30 minutes before legal light ended.  It was dark enough in the trees and I didn't want to track in the dark or haul a deer out by myself. So ended Thursday.

We had a thinned out crowd for our Sunday hunt at the golf course.  Nick & Kathy slept in.  So Alex, Eric, and I went back to the course.  This time Alex sat on 16, Eric back in the bowl on 15, and I walked just N of 14's tee box where deer like to bust N. It was colder today by 10 degrees, being 25 out.  Frost was everywhere.  Poor Alex had a buck run by him at about 10 yards.  He said he nearly wet himself.  Running, so not shot.  Not that he could have hit it anyway in his condition of fright. Mr. Fox came trotting by again this morning.  This time I saw him before he saw me and I got some photos.  I did not zoom in, but you can tell there is a red fox in the picture.   Next thing I know, Alex shoots twice.  Said he had a doe down.  Eric was seeing a lot of deer, just none close enough for a shot. I had a mama and a yearling run out of the woods from the S and pass W of me - just as I had planned.  They...

Five of us hit the golf course for the deer firearms season 2019 opener on Saturday, NOV 16.  Kathy sat on 4, Alex sat over-watch on 5, Nick was on 16, Eric was in 15's bowl, and I sat overlooking 17's fairway.  It was dark and 35 degrees. The first shot went off at 6:56 am.  This is unusual, as legal light was not until 7:05 am.  I hoped no one just shot themselves climbing into their stand. Action was quick, hot and heavy for about 30 minutes.  Nick took two shots at doe.  There were shots S of Kathy, that I thought were her shooting.  Eric busted a small doe.  I heard Aaron shoot over on Jenkins property.  Basically, deer were running everywhere. Me?  I saw one doe heading W and then S that eventually passed Alex.  And I had a fox come trotting by.  I tried to get a picture, but it was not interested in that. Things slowed down for about an hour.  Except for Kathy who had a hunter and then 4-wheeler pass by....

Me and Davey and RePhil and Krueger just got back from an awesome pheasant hunting trip in North-East Nebraska (about 20 minutes S of the Missouri River).  We went with an old buddy of mine I met at work.  He retired and built a lodge out there in Nebraska.  This is the third year we have visited with Kent to hunt pheasants. We drove out last Thursday with no issues.  We hunted birds on Friday, walking over 8 miles in the tough stuff.  We hunted Saturday in our t-shirts as the temps hit 70 degrees.  We put another 7.5 miles that day.  On Sunday, the weather came in.  The high was 35 and it was 24 at last light with 20 mph winds.  We only put on 5.5 miles on Sunday. We got up early and drove home Monday.  There were about 2, maybe 3, inches of snow on the ground and it was blowing.  We made okay time until Coralville, IA where we got off the interstate and took back roads all the way home.  It was slow, but at least we were ...

Finally we have run out of excuses to hit the deer woods.  First it was too warm, then too wet.  When it cooled down, then it was too windy.  Put it all aside... RePhil and I went out on Tuesday evening.  I headed to Marshall's bottom ground while RePhil sat up in the wind on Neal. It was 3:45 pm when we got out there because we had to put new batteries in the crossbow scope, shoot it in, all of course after finding it in the back corner of the basement - talk about being unprepared.  It was 45F with brisk winds from the SW.  And I still don't know where I hid all my face paint... After an hour of walking, I was not yet at the N-side of Bailey's house.  However, one squirrel and two doe busted me.  So I decided instead of going N - through the VERY NOISY leaves - that I would head E and sit along the creek. The Path N that I should have taken to the opening up there... And the Path I chose to take, E, and later to regret... I m...

We have been seeing and hearing ole Wile E. Coyote all over the farm.  We have had plans to hunt them for a few weeks, but Mother Nature is conspiring against us.  Even today she supplied a nice gust of 10 mph winds - and we went hunting anyway. We set up at the S property line and called E to the woods behind the retirement village.  Nothing. Nick did call Alex and sent me a text.  He heard a rabbit in distress, faintly.  But after hearing the coyote pups in distress he knew someone was calling coyotes.  Wanted to make sure it was us.  Funny. We drove all the way N and set u E of Katzman's.  Same. Finally, we drove all the way across Kirkoff's to Pyle and called the Lewis & Clark woods into the wind.  A nice 6-point buck came running to the mouse distress call.  He stood less than 100 yds away just watching and listening.  I played a buck grunt and fawn in distress call - way too loud.  He bolted after standing ther...