Hi Dad ...

Well dad, another deer season has come and gone. It seems they come and go faster and faster as I get older, but then again you always told me they would.
Things have changed throughout the years. We now have our own land and a nice comfortable house to sleep and cook in. No more tent trailer and mile long walks in the dark every morning and not returning to the trailer until well after dark. No wearing stocking caps to bed so we don't freeze to death. I do miss, however, your morning attempt to warm up carmel rolls over the stove with your bare hands. You never got them very warm but nobody seemed to mind.
There are five of us that hunt together now. A couple of the guys are fairly new to the sport. One guy got his first deer this year and I was happy for him. I still have a sneaking suspicion that he still spends too much time on that cell phone of his but what the heck. We never had to worry about cell phones did we? I was always to busy just trying to stay warm and my only divergence was eating candy bars and drinking hot chocolate. Things have changed so much.
I still shoot that 30.06 you bought me 41 years ago. I had it worked on a few years ago as there are inherent flaws in the design and the gunsmith said he did what he could because he knew how much that gun means to me. He just said to shoot it as little as possible. Well, it took me 8 shots to sight it in this fall. I cringed with every shot knowing I was stressing the gun. It's funny as I'm a lousy target shooter but when that buck came by last week, I was steady as a rock. It's like I had a steadying hand on my shoulder. Yeah I know that sounds kind of corny and is probably only wishful thinking on my part, but I can think that if I want.
Your grandson made another nice shot and got his deer. He's quite a hunter and I know you would be proud of the way he hunts and how he conducts himself in the woods. They say talent skips a generation. They are right.
We ended up with 4 deer for 5 guys though your grandson could have shot many more. I had a lot of time to think while butchering this week. I smiled when I remembered one of you favorite questions," Hey Duane, can I make a steak out of this"?
Thanks to you I have the memories of a lifetime. Your generation is gone, mine is next. Hopefully there will be those behind us to carry on.

I didn't want to have to post this...

For those people that know me well, they know that "What's Dewey Doin'" is about self deprecating humor in conjunction with my various exploits. I like to make people laugh and don't mind doing it at my expense - sometimes...
I post various pictures of fish and game that I and my buddies harvest along with the stories that MUST go along with them. After all, isn't that what's most important about such exploits?
Early this spring I dragged a lot of lumber way back in the woods to build a new bow stand. I called it "The New Hotel California." I told, and possibly bored, most everyone I know about how I had plans to shoot a big buck out of it. I had the right wind direction, trail cams and knew just when to start hunting out of it. I even made mention in a previous blog on my intentions to shoot the big buck.
Well, Wednesday morning at 10:45 that buck came by. After two years of shooting arrows, weight lifting every other day (which I hate to do) and all the preparation, I unleashed that arrow. Whether that buck took that extra step or I was slightly off with my shot, I didn't get the shot placement I expected. He ran off wounded. There was no blood trail and the misses and I spent 4 1/2 hours criss-crossing the woods to no avail. It snowed that night and was blowing pretty good Thursday morning. I went out anyway and spent an hour and a half looking some more. I didn't expect to find that deer but I had to look. I came home and put the bow away.
Back when Minnesota had that 9 day season, a buddy of mine told me about something his grandfather had told him. He said that if you hunted those 9 days just for that 1/2 second when you pulled the trigger, you should find something else to do as that would be a poor investment of your time. Fortunately, for me, I've never lived for that 1/2 second. Problem is, that 1/2 second is all I've thought about these last two days.
I don't know why that is. In almost 50 years of hunting, I've wounded animals before though. I'd like to think I'll never do it again but nothing is for sure, unless I were to put down the weapons.
This next weekend is the Wisconsin deer opener. All the guys will be coming up and I always look forward to that. There's plenty of deer and the bucks should still be in the tail end of their rut. I hope all the guys get some shooting. For me, I don't care if I even have the opportunity to shoot because I will not live for that 1/2 second. And yes, if the opportunity presents itself, I will pull the trigger.

The Times They Are A Changin'

So, I gave blood this morning like I always do every couple of months. If you don't, consider doing it!! At any rate, when I was done I was sitting in the lobby eating my Oreos and drinking my juice. You gotta do that before they let you leave.... At any rate, this guys walks in. He's about my age, tall, thin, wearing glasses. We nod and I go back to my juice and People magazine. I notice he's staring at me. He finally walks over, bends over and says "Do you know who you look like"?
I kinda grinned cuz in my younger years I had numerous young ladies say I looked like Clint Eastwood. No really they did!! Well at any rate I said "No, who"? And he says "Billy Graham" The grin left my face and I think he took that to mean that I didn't know who Billy Graham was so he says, "You know, the Evangelist".
Well, of course I said oh that's nice and told him that in my younger years girls thought I looked like Clint Eastwood. He acknowledged a bit of resemblance and wandered back to his seat.
I finished my juice and left vowing never to go back there again without wearing a baseball cap!
But then I got to thinking on the way home. I'm going out to Uweville tonight to hunt out of The Hotel California in search of a big buck. Maybe a little prayer wouldn't hurt.....

Huntin' Grouse...

Early Friday morning I headed over to Motley, MN to meet my good buddy Kurt. We drove up to Foothills State Forest, which I call Spider Lake, cuz of the little lake in the park. I've been hunting that area off and on for 40 years. A lot of people have camped out by the lake with me and walked the woods in search of grouse. I always think of that when I go up there and try to remember everyone I've been with up there. Now it's just Kurt and me......
The bird population always varies and new cuttings sometimes take away some of my secret spots but I enjoy the solitude the area provides. After a fruitless first walk, we ran into a state forestry guy. He said the birds seemed to be scarce and hadn't seen many hunters as well. Though that wasn't too encouraging, we hit the woods again and started flushing birds. Lately the grouse have been flying in a different direction than I've been shooting but Friday two birds decided to fly the same way I was shooting. They are now in my freezer.
I love hunting grouse for a number of reasons. You don't have to pay any extra money for a stamp, they are harder than heck to hit and I love that challenge and I have virtually no competition in the woods. Most guys walk trails or hunt out of their truck or ATV. No one seems to want to push brush any more... except me. Probably why I don't have many guys to hunt with as well. The older guys haven't got the legs or strength any more and the younger guys (if they aren't talking on their cell phone), don't seem to have the time or desire. Hunting grouse the old way is a dying sport.
There's a line in that Bellamy Brothers song "The Old Hippie" that goes "Pretty soon the species will just up and fade away". Hopefully we'll go with guns blazing.....

One Down......

I had posted that I had shot over a doe last week. Later trail cam shots showed that I nicked it in the back. Though the wound looked superficial, I wanted that deer.
Yesterday morning I only hunted until 8:00. I had a slight cold and runny nose which doesn't work well with face masks. Later trail cam photos showed that this deer walked by at 8:09. 9 minutes after I left....
So, I was out at 5:30 this morning even though it doesn't get light until 7:00. I had a doe and fawn walk by in the dark and at 7:20, the one I was looking for appeared. A thru and thru double lung shot and she only went 100 yards.
Now it's time to reposition my trail cameras. No more does or even little bucks. It's time to look for a big boy.

Time to Hunt Deer

Well, the archery season opened a week ago. Between some company, some wet weather and a trip to Bayfield for some apples, I've still managed to hit the woods with a vengeance. The plan this year was to pass on any small bucks, shoot a doe for the freezer and then concentrate on hunting for a big buck. I built this wonderful new stand I've dubbed "The New Hotel California" which I planned on using for my wall hanger. Well, a few days ago a nice doe walked out in front of me. I started thinking how I was going to be able to sleep in the next morning and start my plan for hunting the big buck. Problem was, I put my arrow over the back of the doe and all bets were off.
So, the next day I decided to move one of my portables. I dragged a 12' ladder through the woods and the portable stand as well. Took 5 trips up a tree to get it up properly and messed up my shoulders in the process. SO, the next day when that same doe walked by, I couldn't even get my bow pulled back to full draw. The doe, of course, saw this and ran away.... Sometimes I forget I'm not 21 anymore.
With my trail cams set up I have been able to ascertain that there are plenty of deer around but they seem to visit the spots I'm not hunting at the moment.
Plenty of season left and watching the sun set over the trees makes me feel good. Nostalgic for times and people that have passed but with anticipation for what lies ahead. I guess that's why I still do what I do....

Walking ditches

Once again, a small group of good friends took time out of their Saturday to walk ditches and pick up trash.
John and I have often said that if we had to, we'd walk those two miles all by ourselves. I have a feeling, however, that we will never walk alone.
To Dean, Tracy. Kurt, Mike, Sue, Tommy and Kevin, thanks for your support. It means everything to us.....

Road Trip 2011

Since Mikey had never visited north eastern Minnesota, we decided to take a little road trip. Heading up Hwy 61 past Silver Bay, we ran into something called "The Oberg Loop" It was supposed to be an easy 2 1/2 mile walk around this mountain top. What they didn't tell you was that you had to get to the top first. After numerous switchbacks and stumbling over an assortment of tree roots and rocks, we did make it to the top. You got a great panoramic view of miles and miles of forest as well as "The Big Lake they call Gitche Gumee"
At the top we ran into an older couple (yes there are people older than me). They wanted to know the name of the little girl who was in the movie "ET". Huh?? Only in my world.... I did give them the name and everyone left happy.
We then headed over to Ely and worked our way down to Virginia. Mikey and I saw this neat truck. I thought it would come in handy around the property but, as you can see, it had a flat tire. Not knowing how we'd ever get it jacked up, we decided to pass on the truck. Oh, and a new tire cost $6,100.00
Once back in our neck of the woods, we toured Wisconsin Point and Park Point. Wisconsin has this neat new deal where you can buy a 1 day fishing license for 10 bucks. SO, yesterday we went fishing. Never fished my local lake before in August and with the high temps of late and the huge amount of rain we've received, I wasn't sure if we'd have any luck or not. We nailed a nice mess of big crappies and sunfish. Good fishermen will not be deterred....
Then we went out and hung my new portable deer stand. I think that's number 13, but I'm losing count.
UFFDA! Now I think I need a nap.....

Visitors from the forest

We've lived up here for almost two years and never saw a bear. Well, I've got trail cam pictures, they destroyed one of my apple trees last fall and, of course, they leave their calling cards on the ground.
Last week, we were watching TV and these two wandered between our two garages and marched down the driveway.
A couple days later, one was standing on our drain field about 20 yards from the house. He walked across the road into the neighbor's woods. A minute later, a deer came charging out of the woods, stood in the field across the road and was hopping up and down. Not a happy deer. About 20 minutes later the bear wandered across the road and walked past my garage and up the little hill where I shoot arrows. I walked out the garage door to see what he was going to do. He walked up to the hay bale I use to support my target, growled and swatted my hay bale. I hollered "Hey" and he stopped and looked at me. I said, "What are you doing"? He stared at me for about 5 seconds and lumbered up the hill and into the woods.
A couple of mornings later, I walked out on my porch with my cup of coffee and saw the back of a bear as he wandered down that very same hill. I went downstairs to do my morning workout. When I came up an hour or so later, I was informed that a bear ran around the house and headed down a deer trail nearby.
It's funny as I now take a look around when I leave the house and more so when I walk in the woods. I'm not worried as there's a greater chance of running into trouble living in the cities than there is living in the country.
I actual am enjoying these sightings. As much as I hate losing an apple tree, I must remember that they were here first and we are intruding on their territory.
If one chews me apart someday, I'll probably change my opinion....

Return to Long Lake

It's been two years since we moved to the woods of Northern Wisconsin and I decided it was time to wander back to that lake I lived on for 10 years and fished for 35. Of course, my fishin' partner Mike was right there with me.
We left early Sunday morning and were on the lake by 9:00. I went over to one of my favorite spots and we hit the big sunnies and crappies right away. We caught sunnies as big as 10 1/2" and the crappies all ranged from 10-11".We tried a few other spots on the lake just for the heck of it but all the fish were in that small area only 20' wide and in 2 -4 ' of water.
We knocked off at 3:00 to visit with an old friend who lives on the lake. We had a couple of beers and then took him out for some dinner. We were face down asleep in our motel room by 8:00. No it wasn't from the beer. We were just danged tired from fighting big sunnies with our ultra light gear. Well...and I guess we are getting older.
Monday morning we hit the water at 6:30 needing 8 crappies to fill our limit. We were heading back to shore 15 minutes later with those 8 fish.
We said our good byes to my old friend and headed home. Then we had to clean all those fish. UFFDA The downside of being successful I guess.
It was a hectic two day trip. Good friends, good fishing and good weather....
Mike and I will be back next year.....

The Man Cave.....

When we took a road trip out west this winter, we stopped at numerous sites where native Americans had made their homes. North of Santa Fe, N.M. we toured some 500 year old ruins that contained a kiva. A kiva was an underground cavern where religious ceremonies were held. They always had a separate hole leading up to the surface so they could have a fire going and not die of smoke inhalation. I think the real reason for such a cavern was so that the guys could get together, talk stupid and smoke cigars...
I was wearing my Packers cap and it turns out one of the park rangers was from Wisconsin. She was quite proud of that fact and, for a change, I live where the football team actually knows how to win. Once again, thank you for the cap Mr. Anderson....

May 11, 1971

Normally people have a big party on their 40th birthday. 40 was kind of that passing from youth to middle age. I know you never had that chance Eric, but I just want you to know that I never forget. Never!
Happy Birthday son..... Love Dad

The "Opener" UFFDA!!

Last year we had 7 inches of snow on the opener so this year, it was a cake walk. Well...except someone forgot to tell the fish. With water temperatures in the upper 40's, the fish were not cooperating. Mike and I went after our crappies, as always, and only caught a few northerns, a couple of large mouth bass and one smallie. We did, however, get real nice tans on our face so we look really good. So, if we had caught a walleye, or a bunch of crappies, we would have looked real good in the photo. Oh well.....
Johnny and Tommy did catch one walleye so since that was one more than last year, we were able to declare it a successful opener. You see, if you set your sights really, really low, it's hard to be disappointed.
We did pull into the local tavern each day for lunch and met some interesting characters. If I ever want to snag suckers, I now know just where to go....
Mikey and I did make a corporate decision, however. Next year we're gonna wait until the third weekend to go fishing. Even if the fishing is lousy, we'll have better tanning weather.

Turkeys in the Spring

My buddy Al and I headed out last week on our annual spring turkey hunt. We were greeted with 8 inches of new snow and a wind to go with it.

Toughest turkey hunting I've faced but it didn't stop Al from bagging this 21 1/2 pounder the first morning.

My new white camo came in handy...well it made me look good but the gobblers weren't impressed. We saw numerous other birds but they weren't interested in our decoys or our calls. Oh, and then Friday afternoon we sat out for five hours in the pouring rain until dark. Good rain gear kept me dry and warm. Heck, I even had a gobbler within 75 yards during that downpour but no cigar. Must be something wrong with me...I enjoyed that evening.

It was a good trip. A good friend and more good memories. That's what it's all about.

Time to clean the dust out of the boat. Two weeks until the opener and between hunting and building yet more deer stands, I haven't done a dang thing to prepare.

March 27, 2001

Eric - 10 years have gone by since we lost you yet I still remember your voice. It's as clear to me today as it ever was. I don't have quite as many dreams as I used to and I have to say that is good. Waking up from those dreams was way too hard on me. I took your son fishing last summer. He had forgotten how to cast so I had to teach him again. I'll take him out again this summer. Your brother bought him a BB gun and he brought it up here. He shot off about 300 rounds and is quite a good shot. Hopefully someday he'll want to hunt with his uncle and his grandfather. Your shotgun is waiting for him. We watched him in a baseball game last year and he runs just like you. We rode bikes together and rode on the ATV as well. He's a fine looking young man Eric and I know how proud you would have been. I promise that when he gets older your brother and I will tell him all about you. He WILL know who is father is. I just want you to know how much I miss you son. You are always on my mind. Always! And that will never, never change. Eric, you were and are and always will be my hero. I love you my son..... Dad

Gene Clark - "No Other"

Just finished an 8 state 5,000 mile road trip to the Southwest. On the way home, I went 200 miles out of the way, traversing the backroads of Missouri to arrive in Tipton, MO.

I wanted to visit the gravesite of Gene Clark and pay my respects.

Gene Clark was a singer/songwriter and founding member of The Byrds. He never received the attention that some of the other members got which was unfortunate.

After The Byrds he went solo and wrote some great songs that never got the air play they deserved. A couple of those songs will be on my next solo cd "Dewey's Greatest Hits Volume II"

He battled his demons as so many of those musicians did and it's said that the cause of his death may have been attributed to his most famous song being covered by another band. I won't go into the details. You can look it up, ask me about it some time or just not bother wondering about it.

It was a quiet, damp, cold morning when I arrived at that cemetary. Tipton is in the middle of no where and I stood there thinking about being a member of such a famous band and yet his final resting place is far, far from the lights and the sounds and the glamour. I think that's right and fitting yet it some how troubles me. Maybe that's why I went to Tipton?

I heard a couple of young men were mowing the lawn at the cemetary last year. When asked, they didn't know who The Bryds were or who Gene Clark was. I guess all things must pass.

I wish I had brought something to put on his grave........ maybe next time?

Somethin' to Think About.....

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." - Ben Franklin

Fishin' Walleyes Back In Minnesota

I didn't get out ice fishing last year and did kinda miss it. Well John and some friends invited me up to Alexandria to drowned some minnows. They had never fished this lake for walleyes in the winter before, but what the heck, they decided to give it a shot.
We drove up Friday and attempted to put two portables up. The wind was so bad, they kept blowing over and with a wind chill far below zero, we were forced to head to shore without putting a line down. I think that's when John reminded me of something my dad always said, "And the women think we're having fun"!
We did fish all day Saturday and some walleyes did move in right before sundown, We caught 7 and kept 3.
Though I had fresh walleye for dinner tonight, what I really enjoyed was in hanging out with John and some great guys. Oh, and dad, we did have fun.....