Christmas Eve.... In My Deer Stand

Yup, that's where I sat until dark tonight. It was quiet and peaceful. No deer wandered by but that was ok as we were invited over to our friend's house for a highball and shooting a deer would have just been an inconvenience anyway.
Tomorrow John and the girls will be here and we will celebrate Christmas. Yeah, I'm old fashioned and I still use the word "Christmas" rather than "Holiday". I may not be politically correct, but then like I care anyways.....
How lucky we are. And to Pvt. Malone and all those that followed him... Thank You, and may you rest in peace....

The Sounds of Silence

Yeah, that might be the title of my favorite song but it also describes this year's deer hunting season. For the first time since I don't know when, no one pulled the trigger.

Oh, there were deer. I saw 14 myself and could have shot a few of them, however I was still looking for another buck or a big doe without fawns.

Now the archery season kicks back in for another 5 weeks. Since I have already filled my buck tag, it's a doe or nothing. Wisconsin also has a 4 day does only rifle hunt scheduled 2 weeks from now. I've got plenty of doe tags left so we'll just have to see. Last year the weather turned so cold I didn't bother. Sometimes its just nice to get one in your sights, grin and not pull the trigger. Maybe I'm just getting soft....

We took the granddaughters to Duluth one night over Thanksgiving to attend the light show at Bentleyville. It's down by the harbor, colder than all heck but the lights are spectacular. Free cookies, hot chocolate and coffee and wood fires burning everywhere. People from 1 to 80 all bundled up enjoying the lights. It was cold but no one seemed to mind. These Northlanders do know how to stage a festival. It runs until December 26th I believe so if you get up this way, check it out.

Storms coming so for the first time in 9 days, I'm sleeping in. The bow is ready to go but I need a couple of days off....

FINALLY....

October has always been my favorite month but this one has been very challenging.

After seeing tons of deer, and hitting one, in September I didn't see a one the first 10 days of October. Then I got the news that my mom was failing so headed for the Cities. Mom did finally pass away but did live 93 years. She had a good life and is in a better place now.

After nine days I was anxious to get out of the chaos and stress in town and get back home to some peace and quiet. I needed some time alone in my tree stand.

Well. the weather turned. We had rain, snow and high winds that actually dropped a tree on our porch. After five days of that I had had enough. I hit the woods well before first light this morning. The rain had stopped but the winds were still real strong. I picked out a spot where the wind wouldn't knock me out of my stand and set up. At 7:15 this nice fork horn came by and I got him. My buddy Al helped me drag him out. Tomorrow it's time to start butchering and then Saturday it's back to the Cities to attend the wedding of a good friend. A good buddy will be up the following weekend to hunt grouse and two weeks later the whole crew will be up for the rifle season.

Oh, and if anyone wonders how I can talk about deer and losing my mom all in one blog, well then you didn't know my mom.

Her comment today would have been, and I quote, "Duane, that's a nice one".

Huntin' "Sconnie" style...

My good buddy Kurt came up this weekend to help me build another "edifice to the gods", a.k.a. deer stand. That makes number 11. Pretty soon I'm gonna need more woods. At any rate, after we were done it was time to walk the woods for some grouse. We didn't jump any but I told Kurt one or two normally come out before dusk and eat clover right beyond my drainfield. So, there we were, drinking a beer, sitting in lawn chairs waiting for a bird to appear. None did but we did enjoy our beer. Sorry the picture is bad but one of the girls took it with a cell phone through the screen on the porch.
This morning we did some more walking. We kicked 6 birds and got shots at two. Unfortunately those birds were once again flying in a different direction than we were shooting. We discussed the possibility that we were slowing down a bit....can't be can it??
Oh, and when we got back and put away our guns, a grouse walked across the drainfield..... Uffda!!
Ten days ago, I hit a doe archery hunting. My buddy Al and his two sons helped me track it. We spent two hours in the dark, with flashlights, sometimes down on our hands and knees trying to stay on the blood trail. We crossed a couple of swamps and finally lost the trail at 9:30 at night, a long way from my house. I went back the next morning and looked for an hour but couldn't pick up the trail. Hopefully the deer made it, but I don't know... I had the same shot two days later and passed on it. That was wrong. I should have taken it. You have to trust yourself. Lesson learned.
The deer have pretty much vanished during the day light hours. Probably the heat. It's so bad, I haven't hunted some evenings. Why? Cuz of the ^&**(*&&^ mosquitos. Pretty hard to be still and quiet when you are swatting those little guys. We need a good freeze!
Gonna have a T-bone steak tonight and pass on the hunting. But tomorrow morning.....

Bowhunting...Time to Hunt.

Well, after launching 2,000 arrows (one of which is still missing), building three stands, assembling broadheads (and bandaging a finger after that project), storing clothes in pine boughs. checking wind directions, etc. it was time to hunt.
I've seen 12 deer since yesterday morning. I've had them walk under my stand, and stand broadside looking at me. Some huge does but they all had fawns and I won't shoot fawns or a doe with fawns.
Tonight I went out to the meadow a quarter mile west of the house. A huge doe and two fawns appeared and wandered around for half an hour. A yearling appeared and was chased away by one of the fawns and then the doe. When the two fawns finally bolted into the woods, I thought they had got my scent. When I saw the large blur out of the corner of my eye, I thought it was the big doe following her fawns. Well...it was a huge buck. He hit the brakes 25 yards from me. I learned a valuable lesson at that point. I had moved my stool back a few inches and when I went to draw my bow back, my elbow hit the tree. I uncocked the bow leaned forward and brought it to full draw. Oh, had I mentioned all the mosquitos that were making my life miserable? Well, I had a face mask on cuz of the bugs and it slid up in front of my right eye as I was aiming at the buck. Not wanting to take a chance on wounding him with an errant shot, I pulled down the bow so I could pull down my face mask. Though he still hadn't seen me, he decided at that point to continue on his way.
I learned a couple of valuable lessons and got to see a huge buck. Maybe me or one of my hunting partners will see him again this fall. After all, it's the anticipation that makes it so worthwhile to me.
I'll hit the woods early tomorrow. Mikey and Sue are coming up for a few days so we'll do some driving up the north shore and look at all the colors. I've still got two months to hunt before the rifle season starts.....

"Let's Roll"

To the heroes of United Flight 93 - Thank You!!

Bears and Apple Trees

Last fall we discovered a big old apple tree not too far from the house. The apples weren't all that good for eating but I fed them to the deer and took pictures on the trail cam.

We decided to buy a couple of trees right away cuz we like apples and figured that big old tree would be great for pollinating. Lo and behold, both new trees were full of apples this year. One was ready to pick next week and one is a late tree, due in October. Well, we had a visitor last night. He tore up the tree with the ripe fruit, and ate all the apples. He hit the other tree as well. That tree was so loaded, the branches were bent down so he, or she, didn't have to bust up the tree to get the fruit. There's still some apples left but don't know if we should pick them or not. They are still kinda little.

At any rate, we pulled back the two branches on the one tree and wrapped them together. We'll see if that takes. If not, we'll have a really short tree next year.

Oh, and last week I went out and bought yet another apple tree.

And when I lived in Minnesota, all I had to worry about was racoons.... Uffda!!

Bowhunting, Part 3 - The New Stand

I picked this beauty up when I was in the cities a couple weeks ago. Ok, it's not too far off the ground, but it is easy to get into, is right next to the house so I can sleep in a little bit longer, and is right on a deer trail.

There has been a persistent rumor going around that I fall out of deer stands. Ain't no way I'm gonna get hurt falling out of this baby!

Actually we spent about an hour yesterday, with two ladders, trying to get this sucker up a tree where I want to hunt. We didn't get it up as high as I would have liked. My helper is only 5' tall. We did the best we could.

My trail cam keeps picking up this doe and her goofy fawn. I have orders not to shoot a doe with a fawn so hopefully something else will wander by. Well, then there are those two dumb turkeys that seem to like to get their picture taken.

I did build another stand 13 1/2' off the ground not too far behind the house. Gotta build at least one more.... so much to do.

Bowhunting, Part II - The New Bow

Well, I figure I had shot somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 practice arrows with that bow I had borrowed from my buddy. I had the poundage lowered to give some relief to my neck and shoulder muscles and had even found one of my missing arrows. Though I was getting quite used to the bow and how it shot, I kept thinking that I should really investigate buying a new bow. The technology has changed dramatically in the last 5 or so years and, well, I'm not getting any younger so I decided that if I was really gonna deer hunt with a bow, I probably should get a more powerful, more modern one.
After much research, I ordered a new bow and it arrived last week. I won't give out the make and model cuz I'm not in the advertising business. Let's just say it's one of the brand names out there and, well, they did give me a free cap.
I increased the poundage on the bow, since I'm now getting so strong, had my arrows shortened to accomodate my draw length, and with the new parallel limb technology, this bow shoots one fast arrow and much quieter as well.
There's only one problem with this scenario. When you miss the target, your arrow tends to go much farther much quicker. This would explain my activities of yesterday morning as I spent a half hour searching for a wayward arrow I let fly on Thursday. I did find it, however, so still have my five arrows.
I still haven't built myself up to a point where I can shoot this bow 60 arrows in a session. The bow is strung too tight for that so I have to build up my shoulder a little bit more.
Now I gotta build some bow stands. I have seven stands on the property but they are rifle stands and won't work for bow hunting. I've got three spots picked out so far. So, now it's time to fight the bugs and the heat and start dragging lumber out into the woods. The season starts in seven weeks.

Walking Ditches

We drove down to the cities this weekend. It was time for our annual road cleaning. We've got 2 miles of road dedicated to Eric and, along with some great friends, clean it every year. It's not allowed to rain when we pick up trash, and the rain did hold off until the last few minutes of our walk.
So, on behalf of Johnny, Marcy and myself, I want to thank Blase, Kurt, Uwe, Mike, Sue and Tommy for taking the time to pick up trash, and more importantly, not forgetting us.
An old farmer told me a few years ago, "life goes on". I never did like that farmer...

Fishin' With Mikey

Mike is technically my brother-in-law, but more like a brother. About 30 or so years ago, I asked him if he wanted to do some fishing. He's been in the bow of my boat ever since.

We almost exclusively fish crappies. We like constant action, setting the hook and ripping lips. I have no idea how many fish we've boated but that really doesn't matter. We've had a million laughs and have told so many stories that the boys around the campfire roll their eyes when we get started. We don't care...we'll keep telling them forever!

We no longer get up at 5:00am to fish as we have discovered that crappies don't wear wrist watches and seem to bite whenever we are in the boat. Same goes for that late pm bite and fishing for 8 hours at a crack. Maybe that's just age setting in or maybe we're just getting really, really smart.

No matter for as long as we can still push that boat off the trailer, we'll keep fishing together.

Thanks for the memories Mike!!!

May 11th

E - You would have been 39 today.... Love you, Dad

Fishing Anyone?? Uffda!

I had a big fishing weekend planned. Me and Mike hit the water Thursday afternoon in seach of crappies. All we got was cold.

Friday morning, with Kurt along, we launched in the rain. All we got was wet. I returned home only to discover a flat tire on one of the trucks. At least that gave us something to occupy our time in the afternoon.

Johnny and the boys showed up Friday afternoon and the plan was to hit two different lakes Saturday. This is what we woke up to Saturday morning. Snow, however, does not stop intrepid fishermen. We put on our deer hunting clothes and hit the water. We picked up 4 smallies and a northern. The boys caught 4 northerns. Uffda.....

Turkey - Wisconsin Style

I've shot enough turkeys but this is my first one in my new state. The Eastern strain is what lives in both Minnesota and Wisconsin but I think the "Sconnie" birds might be a little bit heavier due to all the cheese they eat...
Nevertheless, I got this guy opening morning. I called him in and ruined his morning. He weighed 21 pounds and had a 10 1/2" beard.
I sat with my buddy for the next three days but he didn't have an opportunity to bag one.
We have a permit for our land that starts this next Wednesday. Not too many turkeys up here but a few have been gobbling. It's fun to just get out. Not much else to hunt in the spring.
Then it's time to get the boat ready for the guys coming up the week after next. Time to wet a line. First time for me since last June. We're hungry for some fish.

Dewey - The Bow Hunter???

I've got this good friend who I turned on to deer hunting almost 30 years ago. He now hunts most everything and is quite proficient. At any rate, he says he is indebted to me for starting him hunting and that his debt to me won't be repaid until I arrow a deer. There's only one problem....I've never shot a bow.
So, since I can't live with this hanging over my head, I've decided to learn to bow hunt. I didn't want to go out and spend a grand on equipment right away so I borrowed his old bow. We outfitted it with sights, I got arrows, a quiver and all that good stuff. Only cost me $183.00 so far so that wasn't too bad. Of course, I'll need more arrows but I'll cover that later in this story.
So, Monday he had me shoot at a target. I shot probably 60 arrows and didn't do too bad. I decided, however that I needed to shoot every day. Well, Tuesday, my shoulder was so sore I had to take the day off. Wednesday I had to get black dirt and lay paving stones. Then it rained. Thursday I had to give blood so that got me to this morning.....
Though it was windy as all get out, I had stalled long enough. I took my 6 arrows (remember that number) and set up my target. My first shot from 20 yards landed in the dirt in front of the target. I figured my sights were off so move 10 yards closer and fired the second arrow... do not know where that arrow went - still don't. I realized I had forgotten to use my peep sights, so muttering to myself I shot the rest of my arrows. I did pretty good with the 5 remaining arrows, pulled them out of the target and shot them again. I did real well. The next time I fired, the last arrow made a "thwock" sound. That sounded like arrow hitting the wood below the target and indeed that is what had happened. Though I was finally able to get the arrow out, the head was shot so I was down to 4 useable arrows. It was really getting windy but I decided to shoot again. After the first arrow hit the target, the wind blew my target over. I went out, picked up the target, pulled my arrow out and debated whether or not I should hang it up. I decided to shoot one last round...unfortunately. The first 3 arrows were a little low so I made a mental adjustment, aimed higher and fired. To my knowledge, that arrow is still flying. I looked and looked but to no avail. I did find a nice patch of daffodils and a pile of junk, but no arrows. So, I now have 4 arrows but only 3 heads....Gonna have to go buy more I guess as for some reason, I don't think I'm out of the woods with this bow hunting yet.
Next week it's time to hunt turkeys. Though you can legally shoot them with a bow, my trusty borrowed bow is staying home. It's time for the old Remington 1100....

March 27, 2001

Eric - I can't believe it's been 9 years since you have been gone. Sometimes I try not to think because it makes me crazy, yet I have to because I have to remember AND I WILL NEVER FORGET! Does that make any sense? Who knows and who really cares....

I had a dream last night about you and me. Your old Ford Bronco broke down and we had to fix it. Well, you were going to fix it cuz I'm just a klutz at that kind of stuff anyway.

I hate it when I have those dreams...but I can't stop them.

Your son is growing up so fast and looks like you. We've done some fishing and will do more this year. Hopefully, someday he will want to hunt. Your shotgun will be ready for him and we'll talk about the man that used to carry it.

Eric, you were, and are and always will be my hero... Love, Dad

Sammy - The Big Dog With The Even Bigger Heart.....

We had to put our friend down this morning. Though his hips had continued to deteriorate, his will to live never diminshed.
At 1:00 this morning, he had a seizure. We sat up with him and got him to rest at about 2:30. At 8:00 this morning, I got up and let him outside. I looked out a couple of minutes later and he was having another seizure in the driveway. We knew it was time.
I sat with him all the way to the vet's office and we both held him as he took his last breath....
A friend of Eric's sent me an email last December. I've been saving the words for this moment.
A Pet's Ten Commandments
1) My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.
2) Give me time to understand what you want of me.
3) Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4) Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.
5) Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6) Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget.
7) Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.
8) Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or week.
9) Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.
10) On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.
Sammy would have been 12 on Thursday. I love you Sammy!! Dad

Took a Drive Last Week.....

I got an email last week from "The Great Indoorsman" His mother-in-law had passed away after a long illness. She was a nice old lady. She always brought me turkey jerky from Frazee and made trail mix for our annual memorial fishing weekend. I thought it was worth the 4 1/2 hour drive to pay my respects.
While I was heading out that way, I took the opportunity to stop in and see the folks where I worked before my retirement. I'm glad I stopped in. I worked with a great bunch of people and although I don't miss the long hours, I do miss the give and take and even the arguements we used to have.
The young guys that worked for me knew nothing about the music I grew up with so I made it my mission to enlighten them on the great music of the 60's. The three hours I was there went so fast and I had so many people to talk to that I never got to test them on how much of my music knowledge they still remember.
I may have to go back there again some time.....
.

The old treadmill, and other stuff......

I bought this treadmill four years ago. Running on gravel in the winter just became too much and though running indoors gets boring, I have my tv to watch. By nine o'clock in the morning, I've put in 4-5 miles and have all the latest news from CNN, Fox and HLN. When I get too much info, I switch over and watch country videos.

I decided to adjust the tread tension this weekend so pulled out the book on the machine. I come to discover that it stores all the miles and hours I've put on it. Guess I should have read that book before. At any rate, I pushed a bunch of buttons and discovered that I've put 1,756 miles on it. Uffda, that's a lot more than I thought I'd run. It made me so tired I just walked today.....

Some good friends were up this weekend. We walked all over the place and made plans for a couple of new deer stands. I've become so knowledgeable on stand placement that the deer have no chance this fall. Stands will be built this spring before the leaves (and ticks) come out so the deer have time to get used to them. See how smart I am?

Turkey hunting happens in late April and plans have been made for a big fishing weekend up here in early May. Like the deer, the fish will now be in trouble. I've even got my "Sconnie" license numbers for my boat. Hopefully Johnny will let me have my boat back.

I know that winter ain't over yet but you gotta plan and dream. Oh yeah, and then there's that yardwork.....

Dewey Gets a New Garbage Can!

I think us country folks spend a bit more time contending with the issue of garbage than do our city brethren.
Spring, summer and fall you don't dare bring your garbage down to the road until the morning of pickup. To bring it down the night before risks a visit from a bear. If that occurs, you will find your trash distributed over the tri-state area. If you don't know your geography, that's Minnesota, Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan. And, since our garbage man come so &^^&*(*))* early in the morning, one must get up at 5:45 A.M. to drag it down the driveway.
In the winter, however, you can drag it down the night before which is exactly what I did one week ago, along with our recyclable container. When I looked out the window the next morning, only one container was visible and it wasn't the garbage can. I put on my coat, assuming it had fallen in the ditch, and went outside to retrieve it. Problem was, it wasn't there. I looked up and down the road but no garbage can. My neighbor's garbage had been picked up so I knew the truck had been by.
"Great", I thought, now I gotta call the garbage company and tell them my can had disappeared. I wondered what that was gonna cost me. Well, the nice youg lady on the phone said that this happens all the time. Seems, sometimes the forks on the truck arm aren't tight enough and the can falls into the truck. At any rate, they sent me out a new can at no charge.
It's the little things in life that are important, isn't it?
I know folks are starting to wonder about the next compilation by "The Old Norwegian" and "Real Texas Fish". Well, Mel and Dewey's Greatest Hits Volume II "The Women of Rock, Country and Whatever" is starting to take shape. As with our previous effort, this will be a collectors item for sure.....
Lastly, I finally had a chance to go ice fishing on Lake Superior for some walleye but came down with a cold and had to cancel. I'm getting withdrawl pains for some fresh fish! Thanks Uwe for the offer!

41 Years Ago......

Yeah, 41 years ago Glenda and I were married. Hard to believe it's been that long. "Life is what happens while you are making other plans" - John Lennon. I know there was more than one person that thought we'd never make it. Fortunately, I never gave a rat's a__ about what some people thought or had to say anyway.
We've lived a life. Owned three houses in the Cities, chucked it all and moved up north during my "peak earning years". Then sold that house, quit our jobs and built a home in the woods in another state. And who said I was conservative??
We held each other tight when we buried our youngest son.... We've always done what we had to do and we've always done it together.
Don't know what the future will bring but we'll hit it head on as we always have. We don't look back or second guess. It does no good anyway......
Happy Anniversary Hon!!! Love, Me

Peace on Earth

Whoops!! Sorry about that. The holiday season is over and it's back to business as usual.
After the last snowfall, it was so pretty outside I just had to go out and snap some pictures. I'm, by nature, a lousy scenery photographer but in all fairness, it's hard to capture peace and tranquility on film. I don't know why I even try.
It's still possible to walk in the woods. It's quite a workout but worth it. Deer beds are everywhere and lots of little critters making tracks in the snow. Grouse season is still open but those birds like to bury themselves in the snow and you almost have to step on them in order to get them to fly. Then they blast out of the snow like a missile shot out of a submarine. Once one recovers from the near coronary, it's time to fire the shotgun, normally in a different direction than the bird is flying. Of course, since I now normally hunt by myself, I can always claim that I never shot.....
I've become a news junkie this winter and have become extremely knowledgeable on a wide variety of subjects. Global warming, health care, war, the economy, Norwegian rights (I just threw that one in). I don't care what side of the fence you are on, or even if you like to sit on top of it. EVERY senator and representative will tell you that they only have our best interests at heart (can you spell earmarks)?
Only two things scare me, a smiling congressman and a guy who can throw a good curveball......