Turkey season again. With my failed attempt at deer hunting and archery in general, I was glad to get a shotgun back into my hands.
Opening weekend, my brother-in-law and I were able to call in a nice tom. Lance shot him at 10 yards, full strut! It was about as perfect a hunt as you can get.
My first weekend to hunt started off with great weather. The birds were gobbling in the roost like popcorn popping in the pan.
The blind has served its purpose, albeit maybe too well. I don't know if you're supposed to feel comfortable AND drink coffee while hunting, but that ended up not hurting my chances!
I have yet to go hunting and NOT see something amazing or beautiful while I'm out. Whether it's interesting patterns in the clouds, new noises in the woods, or dew droplets in the wheat, God's creative nature is always on display. (Rom. 1)
I had arrived that morning about 6:00 am just as dawn was beginning to break. Basically I was showing up too late and risking getting spotted by a roosting turkey. Apparently that's exactly what happened because as soon as the turkey started flying down, they headed in the opposite direction of me. However, with so much activity in the woods, I was able to listen and call back to several different groups of turkeys within a half mile of the blind. Eventually, without warning, a group of Jake's came running out of the woods directly toward the decoy. I didn't notice them until they were already in range. All I had time to do was pull my gun up and aim at the "biggest" one. The turkey were so close together that when I pulled the trigger, not one but two turkey bit the dust! I couldn't believe it, but there were two turkeys flopping on the ground with five others milling around with curiosity. If I'd had more tags, I'd have kept shooting!
Even though the birds were young, (1 yr or less) they still weighed a fair amount. Short beards (3-4 in) and barely any spurs mean I won't get to brag on size, but I couldn't pass the blessing of two birds in one shot.
To show how cool it was, I photographed the ice-crystals on my boot from walking through the frosty wheat.
Photo-Op!!
Since getting two birds was so "easy", there had to be a challenge. Thus: plucking and prepping two birds with the skin on. The clock below shows 10:29 am. I shot that bird at 7:30 am. Besides driving home, that's how long it took to get one turkey plucked!
The nasty plucking process. The amount of bloody water left over made me seriously consider creating a short zombie movie and using that water for special effects. Problem is; I have no idea how to do that.
Back was sore at this point. I really need to talk to a professional about better plucking techniques.
This is not the final product, but the work was definitely worth it. (I finished the 2nd turkey right before lunch) We roasted this bird and it came out really moist and tasty! Even the upper leg meat was superb. (btw: that's not blood, but Syrup, BBQ sauce, Lemon juice, A-1 sauce, and a couple other secret ingredients!)
Recap:
1. Super blessed to be in the woods on nice day.
2. Super blessed to get two birds.
3. Really thankful to my wife for letting me spend all morning cleaning and plucking these birds and using her pots and pans and maybe getting a little blood on the deck while she watched our two boys.
The season between Thanksgiving and Christmas has become one of my favorites because of the copious amounts of family we get to interact with during this time. From siblings, to in-laws, to cousins, and relatives of all nature, we enjoy the time together and try to incorporate new activities into the festivities every time we get together.
This year after Thanksgiving, the guys got a chance to let their masculinity (and perhaps boyish dreams) shine through with a rousing game of Slingshot Paintball. Whether you believe me or not, slingshot paintball is perhaps more fun (and more economical) than paintball with guns. Imagine staring down your opponent, knowing they have only one shot, but being in the same situation yourself, and having to make a decision to let one fly or call their bluff and rush toward them with wild adrenaline-laced delight! It was a lot of fun. The majority of us were 20's-30 somethings but there was a 10 year old and a 50 something playing too which made it feel like a cross-generational game of monopoly; with welts and masks. However, the main objective for most of the day was to shoot everyone on the other team or sprint like mad to their flag and hobble like crazy back to your base.
Gearing up for battle. Don't worry, the bows were for another game called "Duck and Cover".
Keeping it "Rural". Although; those paintball masks could come in handy during a riot, or when the need arises to subdue the local population.
All smiles before the carnage but family only goes so far.
The cat really ruins the manliness of this picture. However, it's absorbent fur came in handy when suffering a head-shot.
Game on! Most of the time we were running and gunning or just running and puking. Shooting on the run was actually a horrible idea, but it sure got me amped up like a teenager on energy drinks!
Every good war camera-woman knows the only safe way to photograph destruction like this is by keeping a good trampoline-distance away.
It was a beautiful fall day for pegging relatives with a semi-frozen .68 caliber paint projectile.
What an awesome death pose...wait...What's that cuddly kitten doing in the pic again!?? That's it! We're releasing Rottweilers during next year's game.
The craziest part was when someone suggested playing "Civil War" paintball. Take one step toward the enemy for every shot you take. Not every shot broke, so you weren't "dead" until paint splattered across your body. I'm don't know how that's analogous to war since I'm pretty sure no matter where you got hit with a musket-ball, you'd tap out. Most of us took several shots before getting painted at 15 feet.
Whatever the cost to our physical bodies, our relational bond's were strong at the end. We shared some good welts and cheap shots, but enjoyed the physical challenge and the joyful memories enough that I think for Christmas, we'll be playing with tasers. (Now where is that kitty?)
Woke up at 5:10 am to get outside while the stars were still shimmering and the sun was still sleeping. Too bad the camera can't capture what a still, dark, starry morning has to offer. Maybe you should try it sometime! I sat in the blind for an hour listening to the woods wake up. First an owl whose tree I had apparently bumped into when I sat down; next a few turkeys and then all the song birds start when the sun yawns. B-e-a-u-tiful. I can't think of the last time there was no wind and the temperature was comfortable enough to sit for a long time without breaking a sweat or breaking into a cold chill.
In preparation for the fall hunting season, Emily (Andbeglad) made some delicious soup out of last year's pheasant and quail harvest.
Mmmm...baby back pheasant.
This got me so jacked up to go hunting again, I decided to head out to my blind (as mentioned in previous posts) to set up some more camouflage before the hunting begins for me. (I think she seasoned that soup with a little bit of "honey, this meat was free!" Gets me every time.)
While my 3 year old boy and I were out around sunset, the coyotes started kicking up real close and Gabe took off for the jeep. Well, he's too short to get in by himself but that's ok, because I quickly decided to follow his advice. Without my gun and some napalm, I get a little skeered in the woods at Sunset too. We sat in the jeep and listened to the coyotes. I couldn't see them, but I'm pretty sure the scene looked something like the picture below.
Getting pumped up to harvest a dear and or turkey. More to come in the future!
Recently, I had some time to myself and decided to go camping and
hunting. My plan was to hunt and fish for my food while away from
"civilization" for a few days without our usual camping necessities.
What follows is a documented conglomeration of fire starting, gigging
for frogs, cleaning and cooking frogs, and building a hunting blind.
Here are the tools and the spot for building this blind. Shovel, Chainsaw, Electric Screwdriver, Wood screws, a few 2X4s of various length and a hammer and nails in case I run out of juice.
The frame is going up against the trunk of the tree. A little trimming and digging is all that's happened beyond that.
Here's the frame up close. I plan on using as little "man-made" material as possible and cutting most of the camo from the dead wood laying near there. The ice storm from 4 years ago is still evident in all of the dead branches covering the ground.
Here's the unfinished view from inside. The jeep has no idea I'm in there...
Here's the (game) view about halfway through. Not too bad for our eyes, but a turkey would spot movement in there in no time. Need some more cover.
So here is where it stands as of now: A quaint house for 1 in the Shire. Lots of charm, and could use some love. These shots show my attempt to use the natural foliage and downed timber to create some camouflage. It still needs some work, but I'll help things along by pinning up camouflage burlap sheets on the inside. That should break up our outlines and help muffle sound in there. More pictures when it's finished.
No, that's not a tan-line.
Those of you who work outside a lot already know how dirty you can get, but I thought it'd be fun to finish this post with a before and after shot of my sock-dirt-line. See if you can figure out which one was after the shower....and yes, my feet could blind an albino bat.
