With the fall season finally in full turn, I've been thinking a lot about going hunting. I haven't been out much for several years and I really miss it. I grew up hunting and these cool mornings remind me of that all the time.
I remember those cool mornings when dad and I, or my old friend Joe and I would head off to the woods squirrel hunting. Even most fall afternoons after school were spent hunting. The leaves were gone, the air was cool, and I was most at peace sitting near a big hickory tree watching for bushytails. Most of the time it didn't even matter if I came home empty-handed. I was in the woods where I belonged. I never felt more at ease or at peace than those days sitting against a tree. When Joe was with me, the smell of Swisher Sweets cigars wafted through the woods with us. They became a tradition when I was around 16 and have been a constant ever since whenever I set foot in squirrel woods.
Soon the snow began to fly, and that meant one thing. Rabbit season. Dad and I would have already had the beagles out to run, but now that snow was on the ground, it was time. Rabbit season gave me some of the best memories of my life. I can walk (what's left of) those woods now, and almost every spot holds a memory. I remember the exact spot where I shot my first rabbit, I remember places where I would see dad smile. I remember tree's that always managed to get a squirrel, or a brush pile that always held a rabbit. For the most part, my life is written in the pages of trees somewhere in those woods. But now thanks to greed and logging, the woods are mostly gone. What was once acres of big open trees are now masses of thick underbrush thanks to the logging. The best rabbit areas are now acres of green briar and vines. Most of my favorite places are nearly inacessible.
I was always with dad, and usually surrounded by friends and family. My uncle Glen, my cousin Walt, my friend Joe and his dad Big Joe; they were always around during rabbit season. I miss them all. Glen passed away years ago. Walt quit hunting. I rarely speak to Joe anymore, and big Joe no longer hunts except for one deer each year in West Virginia. My dad can't even get out of the house now due to health issues. I'm pretty much alone in my hunting now, but I'm working on that with an old friend Bob who we've been back in contact with for the past year and a half or so.
Thanks to spending time behind the counter at a gun shop, I generally stay clear of public hunting land. Believe me, if you spent time meeting some of the folks that go to public land and hearing the horror stories, you may not either. But....now the time has come where I really have no choice. My old friend Joe called me over a month ago to tell me about a new public land just 20 minutes or so south of here. It's so new in fact, that it isn't listed on the state DNR website. I'm hoping that this may mean it isn't being hunted as much. *fingers crossed* Bob is going to get a map of it today, and we may head down on Saturday morning to check it out.
I'm still leary of public land, but I can't resist anymore. I *HAVE* to get out in the woods. I feel lost this time of year sitting here looking out the window. Maybe this place will be a great spot. Maybe I'll have some new squirrel woods. Maybe I'll bring home a few for the stew pot. And who knows, maybe it's time to start making new memories. I truly hope so......................
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
No longer MIA!
Wow, it has been a while since I have posted here. I knew it had been some time, but I didn't realize that it had been this long.
I think that for a while I just got bored with this whole blogging thing. Nothing against anyone out there, but I just got tired of writing the same old same old, and getting the same responses back. I know that not everyone who reads has the same interests as I do, and frankly I'm not sure what I really expected to get back out of it. Maybe somehow I thought that I would enlighten some people with things that I do. Maybe I thought that producing nearly 1100 pounds of food from one acre would be more impressive. Maybe I thought that occasional rant from atop my soap box would get more "ohh yea" kind of responses, but it hasn't. I just took a break for a while from this blog to re-think a few things and possibly make a change, maybe even go in a new direction. But..I've decided not to. I've decided that I'm keeping this blog more about me than going after readers. That really wasn't the intention to begin with. I just had to remember that.
Instead, I'll get back to this and continue to make it about everything we and I do. Whether that is gardening, the chickens, camping, preparadness, shooting, or anything else that we do here. I have many hobbies and many interests. I'm complicated yet multi-talented. I like to consider myself as a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none. I like to dabble in things that I may find interesting that to others may seem silly or a waste of time. I do so many things that I can't possible just keep this blog about one or two. I want this to be more of an online journal kind of thing, and just take you few readers along for the ride.
So....rather than go on and on about my reasons for not being around, lets start up that first hill for the new rollercoaster ride.........
First of all, last weekend was the big Halloween bash. We had nearly 50 people show this year, and almost all came in costume. It took 3 weeks to decorate the house and the front yard. What was 15 feet of decorated outdoor space last year was 60 feet this year. I made 6 more dummies, 2 stone & marble full sized crypts, 12 more headstones, 4 graves, fog machines, colored lights, a cage full of zombie babies,and lots of other decorations that we didn't have last year.
Inside we had an AWESOME old organ (thanks to a craigslist freebie), last year's coffin, and more little things than last year. We had plenty of food that Lisa had made, and others brought food with them. A friend of ours brought an amazing giant Halloween themed cake that she had made. I'll have to do a second post with all of the pictures. YEA! Pictures! We ended up with over 100 this year, which was awesome considering we had barely 20 at last years party.
For now, I have to get a few things done around here, but I'll post those Halloween pictures later today.
I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack
I think that for a while I just got bored with this whole blogging thing. Nothing against anyone out there, but I just got tired of writing the same old same old, and getting the same responses back. I know that not everyone who reads has the same interests as I do, and frankly I'm not sure what I really expected to get back out of it. Maybe somehow I thought that I would enlighten some people with things that I do. Maybe I thought that producing nearly 1100 pounds of food from one acre would be more impressive. Maybe I thought that occasional rant from atop my soap box would get more "ohh yea" kind of responses, but it hasn't. I just took a break for a while from this blog to re-think a few things and possibly make a change, maybe even go in a new direction. But..I've decided not to. I've decided that I'm keeping this blog more about me than going after readers. That really wasn't the intention to begin with. I just had to remember that.
Instead, I'll get back to this and continue to make it about everything we and I do. Whether that is gardening, the chickens, camping, preparadness, shooting, or anything else that we do here. I have many hobbies and many interests. I'm complicated yet multi-talented. I like to consider myself as a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none. I like to dabble in things that I may find interesting that to others may seem silly or a waste of time. I do so many things that I can't possible just keep this blog about one or two. I want this to be more of an online journal kind of thing, and just take you few readers along for the ride.
So....rather than go on and on about my reasons for not being around, lets start up that first hill for the new rollercoaster ride.........
First of all, last weekend was the big Halloween bash. We had nearly 50 people show this year, and almost all came in costume. It took 3 weeks to decorate the house and the front yard. What was 15 feet of decorated outdoor space last year was 60 feet this year. I made 6 more dummies, 2 stone & marble full sized crypts, 12 more headstones, 4 graves, fog machines, colored lights, a cage full of zombie babies,and lots of other decorations that we didn't have last year.
Inside we had an AWESOME old organ (thanks to a craigslist freebie), last year's coffin, and more little things than last year. We had plenty of food that Lisa had made, and others brought food with them. A friend of ours brought an amazing giant Halloween themed cake that she had made. I'll have to do a second post with all of the pictures. YEA! Pictures! We ended up with over 100 this year, which was awesome considering we had barely 20 at last years party.
For now, I have to get a few things done around here, but I'll post those Halloween pictures later today.
I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
