Rakin' in the Doe

The Mighty Hunter and his faithful sidekick Psycho Seth went out for the hunt this afternoon. Psycho Seth perched in his favorite hay bale blind and spent the afternoon watching doe after doe frolicking around in the pasture.
There was a buck somewhere in the area because the Mighty Hunter heard him grunting. The Mighty Hunter did call to the buck and rattle some antlers to which the buck responded with more grunts but he never came into an area where the Mighty Hunter could get a good clear shot at him.
Meanwhile, back at the blind, Psycho Seth grew weary of watching all those does. He was ready for some antler action. Alas, it wasn't meant to be and as the day grew short and the shadows grew long he finally decided it was best to have a doe than to go empty handed. He picked out his favorite and took her down with one shot.
(and I must say, she is a beauty!)

Here a Buck, There a Buck, Everywhere a Buck Buck

I awoke this morning to the sound of rainfall. It was a little disappointing to hear that sound because my Mighty Hunter had plans to take down the great buck this day but deer don’t come out when it is raining.
I rolled over and looked at the clock. It was only 4a.m. Perhaps the rain would let up by sunrise and there would still be time to hunt. I quietly slid out of bed, not wanting to disturb the Mighty Hunter, and went downstairs to watch the weather report.
Sure enough, the report stated it was early morning showers which would be stopping soon and clear sky was coming in behind it. Perfect for hunting! I got G.I. Joe rollin’ and made breakfast. By the time I left with G.I. Joe towards town the rain had quit.
Upon my return home I suggest to the Mighty Hunter that he might want to get out on the hunt this morning, seemed the perfect conditions for a good hunt. Of course he just kind of grinned at me--what do I know about hunting, right? It’s not like I’ve ever been out in the pasture up in a tree stand to observe every intricate detail of deer behavior. So we made plans to do some running around in the morning and then the Mighty Hunter and his faithful sidekick Psycho Seth would head out for an afternoon hunt.
We gathered a few things we needed for our errands and headed out to load up in the Flaming Minivan of Death. Down the driveway we went. No sign of deer, no shots ringing on the still morning air. Just a beautiful, quiet, overcast morning, the grounds freshly washed from the gentle rain.
We pulled out onto the highway and drove about a half of a mile when, to our right, standing right smack in the middle of a wide open pasture was a buck. A nice young buck. We slowed and admired him from about 30 yards away and he just turned and watched the car as we went by.
Well, kind of funny to see a buck out this late in the morning.
Along on down the highway we go--over the river and through the woods as it were. Three miles later I glance out my passenger side window as a flicker of white catches my eye. Sure enough, there’s a nice big doe standing in a pasture right next to an electric fence.
Then I see him.
The great buck!
He stands just on the other side of the electric fence, all attention fixed on the beautiful doe.
I jump in my seat and yell to the Mighty Hunter who immediately applies full brakes and puts the car in reverse (maneuvering as only the Flaming Minivan of Death can). We back up and the view that unfolds is one of those rare scenes which just stays with you until the day you die: Standing about 20 yards in front of us is a great, magnificent buck--huge, wide rack just bristling with points. It was difficult to count how many but there had to be at least 12, probably closer to 14 points. He stood there in all his regal glory daring us to take a breath.
A truck coming toward us from the other direction on the highway slowed to see what we were staring at and as the driver caught sight of the great buck I watched his eyes bulge and his mouth drop open. I’m pretty sure at this point beautiful light shown down from the heavens and an angelic melody rang through the air.
But I didn’t hear it, only the guys did, because of course I’m not a hunter and I don’t know anything about deer.
After shaking the Mighty Hunter from his deer-induced stupor, we continued on our journey down the highway. Soon we came to our turn-off which is a dirt road running along farm area. Along we sped, dodging the worst of the potholes and running over the old-troll bridge. Another mile or two down the road we glanced into yet another open pasture and sure enough, there stands yet another beautiful buck, maybe 20 feet from the road, just watching us drive on by.
As we continued our journeys through the morning we saw several more deer--one running across the road right in front of our car, another along the side, in the ditch next to the road, another standing right in the middle of a road we went past. All in all we saw nearly a dozen deer this morning.
But of course that was all just luck because I don’t know nothing’ about the behavior of deer or when is the best time to be out huntin’. ;)

The Mighty Hunter and G.I. Joe

It was early afternoon. The Mighty Hunter and his two boys were just arriving at the Happy Hunting Grounds. The day had be overcast and a touch frigid but now the sun was coming out and the bright rays warmed the pastures.
The hunting party walked the trail back into the woods. Seth was the first one to nestle into his spot. He had a small blind made of hay bales Poppy had carefully stacked for him. As Seth began to prepare his gear and get set up for the wait, the Mighty Hunter and G.I. Joe walked on down the trail.
Next they came to the Old Faithful tree stand. Many a deer have passed by this tree stand. A few have traveled no further. In fact, just that very morning a doe had made the fatal mistake of gazing upward toward Old Faithful to glimpse the final scene she would see in this life.
G.I. Joe decided this would be his post for the afternoon. He scurried up the ladder, rifle slung over his shoulder, and seated himself on the little pad. He busied himself loading his rifle, checking his sights, and doing all those things hunters do as they wait with excited anticipation.
The Mighty Hunter walked on down the trail a bit then passed over to the other side. Crossing a small stream and a thin line of trees, he soon came to an open pasture and the tree stand he had selected as his afternoon abode. The Mighty Hunter did not hurry: the afternoon was still early, the deer would not be out for at least another hour--more than enough time to get set up and have a little chance to think and ponder on life's great mysteries. Up into his tree stand climbed the Mighty Hunter. Up he hoisted his trusty rifle. He settled in his seat and had a look around the area. Still plenty of time, no need to set to work right away. Nothing wrong with taking a few minutes to enjoy the quiet day.
And then there was movement.
Three does walked into the clearing. The Mighty Hunter froze. The does walked along, looking this way and that, snowy white tails flitting back and forth. As the Mighty Hunter watched, the does walked right under his tree stand. While they moseyed around there was another movement in the corner of the pasture. A buck, a b-u-c-k, hot on the trail of the three lovely ladies.
The Mighty Hunter felt his breath quicken, his heart beat a little faster, buck fever was setting in. He raised his rifle, looked down the long scope, found the sweet spot right behind the shoulder of the buck and squeezed his trigger.
The shot went slightly askew, missing the heart and hitting the shoulder instead. The buck jumped and began to run. The Mighty Hunter sighted in with his scope again and shot to put the poor buck out of his misery. But now the buck was in a dead run and it was very difficult to track him with the scope. The next shot missed, barely grazing the running buck on his hip.
The Mighty Hunter was out of ammo. He had not had time to reload his gun and ready it for the hunt. The sudden break in the clouds had brought the deer out early. In desperation he radioed to G.I. Joe, instructing him to quickly bring his gun so that the Mighty Hunter could get another shot into the wounded deer.
G.I. Joe scrambled out of his tree stand and began to run to the Mighty Hunter. As G.I. Joe was on his way, the Mighty Hunter realized that the buck would be out of range. The Mighty Hunter radioed to G.I. Joe, giving him the news that he would have to change course and try to head off the mighty buck: G.I. Joe was on his own.
G.I. Joe quickly swerved around and ran back the way he had come. He passed Old Faithful tree stand and put all the speed he had into every step. He ran almost 100 yards when he saw the bolting buck. G.I. Joe planted his feet, took aim down the sights and pulled the trigger.
The Mighty Hunter, who was coming down the trail behind G.I. Joe heard the shot. He stopped and waited for another shot but none came. The Mighty Hunter picked up his radio and called to G.I. Joe.
There was silence.
Then the reply, G.I. Joe answering the call.
The Mighty Hunter slowed his pace. As he walked, he looked down at the trail beneath his feet and saw a glove laying on the ground. He stooped to pick it up. Inspecting it, the Mighty Hunter realized it was one of G.I. Joe's gloves. He shoved it into his coat pocket and continued on down the trail. After several more steps the Mighty Hunter came upon another glove thrown carelessly on the ground, mate to the first glove, shed in a moment's haste. He picked this glove up from the ground and put it in the same pocket with the first.
Several yards later the Mighty Hunter came to where G.I. Joe was standing over the deer. Everything that had transpired became apparent to him as he neared the boy and his buck: G.I. Joe had raced over a hundred yards in a dead run trying to head off the deer. Finding a good place ahead of the deer as it turned, in an instant G.I. Joe had braced himself in a shooting stance (there was no time to drop to one knee and the grass was too tall for him to see from a crouched position anyway), shouldered his rifle, taken aim at the running buck and made a kill shot to the neck. The buck had dropped as soon as the bullet hit. The Mighty Hunter stood, gazing on the scene in amazement.
All this, and earlier what was G.I. Joe's reply to the Mighty Hunter's radioed question inquiring if he had killed the buck? A casual, "....yeah."
So the three hunters took the deer up to Poppy and Baaboo's house where Joe helped Baaboo clean his buck and made constant "deer zombie" comments and jokes and chased his mom around with his yucky hands.
I guess all that time in front of his Call of Duty game has finally paid off for G.I. Joe!

I need more Doe

Morning of opening day we found Seth and the Mighty Hunter sitting in the woods watching deer. A group of three deer meandered around the area, stopped for a couple of moments to look Seth in the eye and then went back to grazing. All three were doe, no mighty bucks to be found. After waiting for about 20 minutes the Mighty Hunter decided to go ahead and take a doe (at home mama was glad 'cause nice tender doe meat is so much better eatin' than that tough ol' buck!). He figured it'd be better to get a doe than to be empty handed this season as has happened in the past. It's sausage makin' time!!!!

Do you think your generation will have an impact on America's future?

This is an essay Seth wrote for a school class a month or two back. A couple of days ago he was asked to go to the local radio station and make a recording of it.
He was a little nervous and had to do a cold read as he hasn't seen the work since he turned it in to his teacher. I think Seth did a good job and he has a good message.
And of course being the mama that I am I have to share it with everyone! I'm proud of my boy!!! :)

Dog and Pony Show

The kids out enjoying a warm evening.

Ward Halloween P-A-R-T---Y?! Cause I gotta!

We had such a fun party this year. There was a chili cook-off with many good and interesting recipies brought in (everything from "John Deer" chili to chili with bear meat and a whole range of seasonings). Many awesome costumes showed up--I almost got taken out by a ninja, good thing I know his weakness: marshmallows! The pumpkin carving contest was a lot of fun with many imaginative designs and great carving skills. The evening wrapped up with a trunk-or-treat for the kids out in the parking lot.

Who are the People in your Neighborhood?

It's a Bush!

Ha! No it's not!

An Identity Crisis:


The Communist Party:

The Mad Hatter:

Losin' My Head

O.k. Mom, I'm postin' pictures!!!!!!!!!
This is the Marie Antoinette costume that I made. Thankfully I have my sister Nellie and my mom who answer their phones when I have questions about sewing directions!