The Hunting Times

From time immemorial, it has been the custom of Barb and Jerry to have the kids sit on the stairs and have their pictures taken BEFORE getting the stockings and THEN FINALLY getting to open Christmas presents.  To this day, the custom continues... In the past couple of years, we have taken to doing our own "brand" of stair pictures at the household of Sandy and Craig. In 2011, we did a Thug theme.  All the kids got knives and turned their hats sideways or pulled their hoodies up.  It made for a really interesting picture. For 2012, well we have added Shelby and changed themes....see for yourself. Yeah, sometimes that's what it takes to get through Christmas with this family!

Boppum got an email from Brett Robinson wishing them a Happy New Year.  Said email included a picture of his family and a note to pass along to Trent and me.  It went something like this... Wish Trent and Craig my best and tell them that if I were back in Indiana, Todd and I would have kicked their asses at football this year. I had just told the kids (Kathy, Alex, Nick, and Shelby) last night about how we used to play 2-hand touch football every New Year's Eve back at G&G's - regardless of the weather.  It would be Brett and Todd Robinson versus Trent and I.  If I recall correctly, the Seagers usually were annual champions.  There may have been a time or two (nothing more) that the Robinsons won; but that was RARE indeed. Most times, someone would have to come out and give us the countdown so we could make it back inside for the celebration.  After a quick warm up inside, we were right back at it again. I can't tell you how many football...

We had a smaller crowd than usual.  Only 20 people made it.  We partied anyway. Some folks were ill (sorry to hear about that).  Some folks stayed home due to the winter weather advisory - which turned out to be a bust.  We were due for 2 - 4", but barely got a dusting.  The roads were slick though.  Regardless, we had a good time catching up, playing Mexican, and a new card game called Beer.  You know it has to be an awesome game with a name like that. Well, since I did almost nothing (smoked some salmon) for the party, I took it upon myself to cook breakfast this morning.  Then I started a fire, burnt the trash, and cleaned up. Afterwards, I loaded another 100 rounds of .223 ammo to finish up Krueger's 1,000 and then adjusted the dies on the reloader. Finally, I did a load of dishes.  What would not fit into the dishwasher, I did by hand. Everyone else?  Well, Eric left about 11.  Kathy and Alex booked by 1. ...

The kids wanted to go sledding in the approximately 5" of snow that we received.  They wanted to be pulled behind the truck, since we don't have any hills that make it worth our time.  So, I obliged and drove.  They rode in the back and took videos of our 2 X 2 jaunt through the bean fields.  Don't reckon I made it over 40 mph in the field, but the turbo chargers did kick in once or twice.  They could only go once around the field before their faces got too cold and it was time for a break. City boy Alex did not believe Kathy when she told him that this is what we were going to do.  So this ended up being another "first" for him on the farm.  Shelby, on the other hand, had been pulled by snowmobiles and 4-wheelers before. Good fun had by all.  All photos by Boppum Barb.  Video links at the end.  Kathy and Shelby coming around for a photo op by Boppum. Kathy and Shelby.  Note the "clear" spots on the back window so Ni...

The true story is that Meijer had soda on sale for $5.50 a case.  We stocked up 'cause it ain't gonna go to waste. However, it appears as though we're preparing for the Mayan apocalypse. I'll miss you most of all, Mt. Dew!

Davey, Alex, and I went out on Sunday evening, 23 DEC - the last day of muzzle loading for our county. As Alex walked in, he jumped 8 doe due E and off our property.  I watched them continue E, stop and start feeding after jumping the fence and getting about 1 mile away from the "danger" of Alex. I went back into the woods and jumped 3 more doe, and they ran N.  Seems like Alex and I are both "Bad Dogs."  I ran back N to try and cut them off.  I then cut diagonally through the woods.  I came upon 4 beds, which I diagnosed as 3 doe and 1 buck - due to the location of the urine stains.  I thought that maybe the buck was still in front of me just over the rise. I made the top of the hill and surveyed the woods.  I saw nothing.  So, I got my camera out and took a picture of the sun setting in the SW.  Here it is. Blow it up and look closely, as outlined by the arrow in this picture.  There's a deer in the field watching me. ...

Davey, Re-Phil and I took a day off to head for Batesville to hunt pheasants.  We drove down for 2 hours and walked around 2 different properties on Tuesday, 04 DEC. We saw absolutely nothing.  N'er a shot was fired. We drove on it to Oldenburg and ate lunch at Wagner's.  We had the place to ourselves, so Phil thought he'd have a shot at the bartender lady.  Wow, he can have her. We ate fried chicken and drank Warnsteiner Dunkel.  We left after lunch so we could make it back for the Wildcat Conservation Club's rabbit fry. Re-Tard made the mistake of leaving his hat in the back seat with Dave when he got out to pee.  Come on Man!  You know something like this is going to happen... Yes, that's Re-Phil's hat coming out of Davey's pants.  THAT'S gonna need a washin'!