Walking in a winter hunters land

It is the end of December 2012 and the freezer is full of fresh venison thanks to Ariel's skill with her .243 and several well placed shots with .35 caliber. While Ariel loves deer hunting with her dear o'l dad,  Alex has not been bit by the deer hunting bug due to his dislike of sitting still and being quiet for extended periods of time. Earlier this year Alex inquired about getting his hunting license but made it clear he only wanted it in case he decided to try deer hunting in the future. I asked him why he wasn't interested in deer hunting and he explained his concerns with me. I then informed him that there were lots of other types of game that we could hunt together. While my schedule doesn't allow me to spend as much time pursuing smaller tasty critters as I use to I still love any time I get to spend in the woods.

Last night I was reflecting on how long it's been since I had a couple squirrels cooked up nice and tender in a crock pot. I decided to see if the kids wanted to go out in the morning and try out the new guns we got for Christmas while attempting to put more tasty meat in the freezer.

My alarm went off at 06:30 this morning and after waking both the kids from their peaceful slumber Ariel decided that she wanted to get some more sleep so Alex and I headed out together. We went to the farm Ariel and I do most of our deer hunting at which has plenty of hard woods and an abundance of squirrels and  rabbits.

Well when I'm deer hunting there is always an abundance of squirrels and rabbits, now that we were looking for them they were nowhere to be found. Alex and I spent over 3 hours working our way along the edges of the fields and eventually made our way through the hard woods. We would walk a short distance and sit down to observe the world around us. Eventually Alex saw one grey squirrel but it was on the adjacent property so we watched it from a distance as it disappeared into the woods. While we didn't see any other game we took advantage of the snow on the ground to figure out what kinds of critters were in the woods around us. Of course there were lots of deer tracks but we found lots of other animal tracks which made the morning exciting. We found coyote tracks, raccoon tracks, squirrel tracks, rabbit tracks and the most exciting find was bobcat tracks!

While we didn't end up harvesting anything the time I got to spend with my son was precious. We talked about the different types of trees surrounding us, I helped him identify the multiple animal tracks in the snow and speculated where the different animals were coming from and where they were going. We marveled at all the geese flying overhead and discussed how the ones in the back of the flock make lots of noise to encourage the lead goose and how they take turns leading the draft. I was able to spend time reinforcing the importance of safe gun handling and share my love of the great outdoors with him in a way that he enjoyed as well. Much to his surprise we spent time sitting quietly on snow covered logs observing the forest floor all the way to the tops of the mighty oak trees without making any sounds. I am proud to say that during the 2013 hunting season I will have a new partner for small game and hopefully some waterfowl hunting. Who knows by this time next year maybe he will have changed his mind about deer hunting but if not that's okay too. I'm blessed with two kids who enjoy the great outdoors in their own individual ways and I'm happy that together we make memories that last a life time much like we did today.

As we were leaving the farm the 4 young bulls took an interest in us as we were driving down the access road so I stopped the truck and Alex went to get a better look. Two of the bulls came right up to the fence and not only let Alex rub their snouts but one kept coming over and licking Alex's hand. This one time I decided there was nothing wrong with Alex playing with his food!

It's days like these that I am glad there are grocery stores to pick up dinner at on my way home so we don't go hungry but I wouldn't change a moment of the morning I got to spend with my son walking, sitting, talking and just plain enjoying a winter hunters land!

Twas' a Very Merry Christmas

This Christmas was filled with Joy, Peace, Love, Family and of course plenty of food. Luke and Jackie made the trip from PA. with the kids to spend Christmas with us which was the highlight of Alex's holiday season as he was able to spend quality time with his cousins. Grandpa and Uncle Kenny spent a day with us which resulted in some candid family photos we will cherish for years to come.

This year we spent some time as a family every night of December reflecting on the Advent season and examining the reasons why we celebrate Christmas. It made the holiday special and with the days spent visiting with different family members it seemed like Christmas was over a week long!

As is our tradition we spend Christmas Eve with my Mom and Roger. This year I finally convinced my mother to relax and enjoy the night with us and I made the dinner. My cousin Kim and Debbie made a surprise visit which made us all happy, especially my Mother.

Christmas morning was spent listening to the kids open their stockings and eventually getting dragged out of bed by Alex so we could all open our presents. We were truly blessed this year and while the presents make the day exciting and fun, I found myself reflecting on my family and how much they mean to me. After a breakfast of Eggnog and fruit danishes we took the trip to Rebecca's parents house to spend the remainder of the day. In addition to Mom, Dad, Luke, Jackie and the kids,  Nina, Uncle Fred and Aunt Joy were all there to celebrate with us. 

I was the annoying person with the camera whenever I was around this week but thanks to my persistence with the snapping of the shutter I have a great slide show below with which I can use to share the memories of our families 2012 Christmas Celebrations.

Christmas 2012

Logic and Reasoning

As everyone across the United States knows the Town of Newtown in Connecticut was the sight of a horrific tragedy. A monster unleashed his wrath on over 2 dozen innocent people, most of which were children. Children who were just starting their lives and held no ill contempt against anyone. My comments here are not in any way shape or form meant to show disrespect to the victims, the ones who died or the ones left scared with the memories of the days events the remainder of their lives. I have spent a lot of time in prayer for the families the lost loved ones, the families of those who survived as well as the police, medical staff and other emergency personnel who were forced to witness a scene that is nothing short of heart breaking. My comments are about the knee jerk reaction of our elected officials and citizens of the United States of America.

The day of the shooting I was working for the local police department two towns south of Newtown. You can only imagine the atmosphere in the building as we all listened in horror to the radio transmissions during the days events. While I don't live in Newtown or have direct ties to anyone involved I felt tied to each and every person as I went through the day seeing the toll it took on those around me. I am not a disconnected right winger. I am a parent who would give my life to save not only my family but the life of a stranger as well. I have been put in a position to draw a weapon on a sorry excuse for a human being but at the end of the day I struggled with the fact that no matter how evil the being was they were still a human and the severity of the situation was not taken lightly either in the moment or in the hours afterwords.

As most of my regular readers know I am an avid sportsman and owner of multiple types of firearms. I am not writing this just for my personal justification, I am writing this because I was raised to use logic and reasoning, something that is obviously not being done in the wake of this tragedy.

Within hours of the media reporting (if you want to call their constant inconsistencies reporting) the shooting lawmakers were already touting the fact that more gun control is needed. I ask you what does gun control have to do with an evil individual taking innocent lives? Yes, he used a gun to perform his act of violence but what is the difference between him using a gun, a knife or a car? Would it have made it any better if he waited in the parking lot and when the crowd of people exited the building he drove the vehicle into the mass running them over in his attempt to kill as many as possible? No, it wouldn't have. It still would have been a cowardly act resulting in the loss of innocent lives. If he had done it in that manner would these same law makers and citizens be calling for the ban on purchasing and owning vehicles except by the police and government? No, they would be calling on the government to make school grounds safer which is the issue that is before us. Taking away a gun because of it's appearance and the rare instance that some sick individual uses it for evil isn't going to fix anything. Proof can be found by looking into recent history and when I say recent I mean less than 2 weeks ago. A similar act took place in China where a deranged individual went into an elementary school and using a knife killed and maimed almost 2 dozen children.

My point is evil is evil and when one sets out to perform these heinous acts they will find a means whether it involves a firearm, a knife, a motor vehicle, a screw driver, a hammer or any other item that when used properly is harmless but in an instant can be turned into a weapon capable of use in unspeakable ways.

Guns with high capacity magazines are still only capable of firing one round at a time, an act that requires an individual to consciously carry out. These same guns are used in my household to provide meat for my family year after year. Some of them look sleek and menacing but they are used for a purpose, a purpose that the media and lobbyist are overlooking. A .243 round can be used in the middle east by a military sniper to take out the bad guy at 500 yards, it is also the same round that my daughter has shot her last 3 deer with.

As a way to get themselves in the spotlight and act like they care the immediate answer is to outlaw firearms that millions of American citizens enjoy using for sport, hunting and personal protection day after day with out issues. Outlawing the inanimate object isn't going to fix the issue, much like outlawing cocaine and heroin hasn't stopped the rampant use of illicit drugs in this country. Many look at me crazy when I use this analogy but if you stop and think for a moment it is a fitting comparison. Most adult citizens have a motor vehicle, and most of these vehicles are capable of going over 100 miles per hour. With the exception of a few area in the country the average maximum speed limit is 65 miles per hour. In comparison motor vehicles kill more people in the USA in a month than guns kill during a year and there are more guns than there are vehicles in the possession of our citizens. If banning guns and high capacity magazines is the answer to this crime then I would reason that banning any car capable of going over the speed limit will be the answer to solving all the deaths caused by motor vehicles in our country.

The fact of the matter is the multiple high profile shootings that have taken place over the past 10 years have been carried out by sick individuals who had their mind set on causing harm to others. Most of these shooters have illegally obtained the weapons used. The government cannot take away all the weapons that are already in the hands of the masses and if they ever did try I would expect this nation would once again be  thrust into civil war. Bad people don't care about the laws of the country. The fact is we are a nation of people who have become like sheep to the slaughter. We all have been given the most magnificent organ of all living creatures, the human mind. We have the ability to decipher right from wrong and make decisions based upon facts and logic. Unfortunately the masses have become willing to let someone else make the decisions for them and our government has been given the power to act on its own rather than operate as is was originally intended - for the people, by the people.

If you don't want to own a gun then don't but please don't tell me that because you only see a gun as a tool of our military or that of a sick murder that there isn't a reason or purpose that I can't or shouldn't own that gun. Please people, stop and use that brain housed in the top of your head - you will be surprised to find that you possess the ability to think logically and make reasonable decisions on your own.

A romp through the hemlock's

As is our annual tradition we went to a local tree farm to cut down our Christmas tree. This year we ended up in Ellington at Dzen's newest plantation on Sadds Mill Road. There were so many great trees that it was hard to choose one. Rebecca tends to move our living room around every couple of years so the location of the tree moves which dictates the size and shape of the tree we cut down. This year we were looking for a thin tree as it is going in the corner of the room. While we always find one close to the parking area we try to make the most of our outing and search all over running to and fro until we find the perfect tree. This year about 30 minutes into our adventure we found a tree we all liked but thinking we might find one better we kept looking. Once we realized that we should have stopped with that tree we all began to search frantically for that tree again, usually I will place a hat or glove on it so we can find it again but this year I only put a mark in the ground which turns out is a lot harder to locate. Because it was the perfect tree I was able to find it amongst all the other trees and seeing my mark on the ground verified it was the correct one! As is the norm we all posed for pictures with it, unfortunately I forgot my tripod so we didn't get one with all of us at the same time, a mistake I promise I won't make next year.

Alex asked if he could help with the sawing down of the tree this year. The only thing that would have made our outing better was if there was some snow on the ground but we still had fun making memories and even stopped for mint hot chocolates before going home which I think will become part of our annual outing from here on out too!

A Day of Thanks and Family Fellowship

This year for Thanksgiving we had a small group which was out of the ordinary for us. Usually we have a full house and it felt a little strange using only one table for lunch.It made for a relaxing afternoon of food and fellowship.

 Turkey #1

 Thankful she is not a turkey!

 Turkey #2

 The Hottest Hostess in the world - I love my wife!

Patiently waiting for some scraps

Thanksgiving two days early!

Last week I was on vacation and despite getting some much needed rest and the pile of wood in the side yard split I was disappointed that I didn't succeed in harvesting a deer. As you all know I missed a doe on the first day of the season and the deer just seemed to disappear the following days. On Friday night I decided to sit out back and it didn't take long before the deer were all around me. I had 5 does and the biggest buck I have ever seen while out hunting. After what seemed like an eternity they were finally coming close enough for me to take a shot and just as I was calming my self down to do so my neighbor's kid came screaming down the hill on his quad and in disbelief I watched all 6 deer disappear over the ridge line.

Despite it being a short work week my schedule is packed solid with customers wanting to get their maintenance done before the long holiday weekend. While I love this time of year leaving for work in the dark and after a long day coming home in the dark really cuts into my hunting time, actually it completely eliminates it!

Yesterday and today I began counting down the hours until Thursday morning when I could once again settle into the woods with my daughter for our annual Thanksgiving tree hugging convention. And yes Rebecca doesn't even flinch anymore at the mention of Thanksgiving morning hunts despite the never ending memory of our first turkey day as a married couple. If you don't know that story let me know I am comfortable with talking about it now that we have been happily married 18 years!

Today was going well and before I knew it I was on my way home. I was sitting in traffic on the Parkway watching the deer taunting me on the side of the road for what seemed like an eternity. But once the trucks picking up all the road kill cleared the right lane traffic began flowing and before I knew it I was almost home. I called and had Ariel check what time sunset was and much to my delight I had an entire hour to sit in the woods when I pulled in the driveway. In a flash my work shirt was off and my hunting jacket was on, I grabbed my trusty .35cal and ran to my tree stand. It wasn't going to be a long hunt but the fact of the matter is we had entered into the magic hour and I couldn't wait to see if there were any deer in my neck of the woods!

It felt good to be in my tree stand, all my thoughts and concerns from the work day were distant memories and the crisp air with a hint of smoke from peoples wood stoves made for a relaxing, stress free outing. I kept watching my right flank expecting to see the deer to appear at any moment but they never came. Today they decided to surprise me and came from the left. It was a rare occasion in that I heard the deer before I saw them - they sounded like Captain Caveman stomping through the woods and I half expected to see people due to the amount of noise. I waited for the doe to jump over the stone wall and when she was only 15 feet away I took aim and gave thanks that my family was just provided with fresh, healthy venison for the upcoming year. As I was composing myself I turned to see that there was 2 more deer coming over the wall. Once again I calmed my breathing, took aim at the front deer and gently squeezed the trigger. Once again my aim was true.

I realized that I still had my cell phone in my pocket so I called to share the good news with my kids. Shortly after Rebecca called me and once I told her the good news I asked if she would take a walk out back to assist with getting the deer to the house. Not only was I blessed with 2 beautiful deer to feed my family with I have also been blessed with a wife who appreciates natural food and is willing to assist with the processing of the animals and this time she actually helped with dragging them out of the woods - There is no man luckier than me and that's a fact!

Preparing for a long cold winter

Today I decided that I would work on splitting some more of the wood I had in the side yard. Ariel had the day off from school to go to an all day event with some friends so I decided that Alex could have the day off too. I would rather look at it as he was out of the class room and learning one of life's important lessons - how to put in a hard day's work and embrace the challenges of becoming a man. Well maybe splitting wood doesn't really make you a man but it can teach you a life skill that will be used to keep your family warm in the future and it can always be used as part of obtaining the required credit in PE!

When I was a kid I can remember my father getting a big tri-axle of logs dropped off at the house every year for my brother and I to split. And we did it the hard way with an maul no gas powered machines to aid in our chores. I admit I was younger and didn't really do a lot of the splitting I did most of the moving and stacking of the logs. I of course was also the one who was responsible to get the wood down stairs and stacked on the far wall so there was never a shortage to be fed into our stove.

Now as much as I love splitting wood by hand there was way too much for me to do in one week without cutting into my hunting time so Uncle Tony made it easier on my by letting me borrow his log splitter again.

At first Alex was less than thrilled to be spending his morning performing physical labor but once we got going he cheered right up and we got into a steady rhythm taking turns running the machine and placing the logs. Before I knew it the pile of split wood was growing and the whole log pile was shrinking at a steady pace.

I realize that this next part may cause some controversy but I can remember getting a forbidden treat once in a while growing up such as nip of blackberry brandy at breakfast after a cold morning spent in the woods bow hunting or one of Aunt Concetta's flammable rum balls at Christmas. While I may not have benefited me in any way it sure didn't cause me any harm. This is the same reasoning that I used today when I let Alex have an ice cold Monster Energy drink. As you can imagine he ran up the back stairs to get us each one and partook of it throughout the morning and early afternoon, savoring each tasty sip!

I must admit Alex surprised me today. He really stepped up to the plate and showed me that he is willing to work hard and actually requested that we keep going until all the wood was split. He worked hard loading the truck when we picked up and moved the wood and like a champ assisted with stacking the first cord and a half several weeks ago and proved to me again today that he wasn't afraid of a little hard work. I am proud of my children but today was special in that I watched my son act like an adult and was rewarded with a sense of accomplishment when all the wood was done.

Thankfully we have 4 cord of split wood for the winter ahead, hopefully Gabriel will allow us to use it considering he claimed it as his own before we could finish!

Next week I just might give the kids another day off from the classroom to teach them about stacking wood which of course can be turned into a math lesson about how much wood is in a cord, or the science of proper stacking and defeating the powers of gravity! Plus stacking wood and drinking Monsters beats running laps around the soccer field any day!

Penelope's Grand Adventure

I am going to start from the beginning  in order for you to get the full picture - so please bear with me!

Today was the first day of my Vacation. I woke at 04:00 I headed out for some relaxation with my .35cal rifle as today was the first day of deer season for me. I settled into my tree stand while watching the sun rise and the forest started to come alive with the sounds of birds and other small critters. Shortly after 08:00 I was surprised to see a large doe stand up from her bedding area off to my right. She took a few steps into an opening and I took my shot. She immediately laid back down and I figured I would wait before I climbed down and seeing that she went right down I decided there was no need to take another shot.

Fast forward 5 minutes and my decision not to shoot again would begin replaying over and over in my mind. You guessed it, she stood back up and began to walk away. It was at this point I realized I never cycled my gun and as soon as I did she made for the hills. Turns out I missed her - when the gun went off she decided to lay down to wait and see what all the commotion was. When I finally got down to see if there was any sign of blood or hair she must have finally decided to head from the hills to the next county and almost ran Seth over in the process. I took some time to survey the area from where I originally shot to where I last saw her just to be sure.

As you can imagine I was quite upset and decided to call it a morning and headed home. At 10:00 I headed to the gun range to see if there was something wrong with my gun and was both happy and sad that it still was shooting tight groups at both 50 and 100 yards. I packed up my things and headed back home.

Once home I needed something to distract me from beating myself up over missing a deer and the 3 cords of wood in the side yard waiting to be split was just the cure. Before I knew it I had almost an entire cord split and decided that I would go sit on the other side of the farm for evening stand. I put back on my hunting pants, kissed the family and before I knew it I was back in the woods and despite the morning events I was grateful that I had the day off to get some much needed rest and relaxation.

The afternoon went by in a flash and at 16:35 I climbed down from my tree stand and headed for the truck.
As I got closer to my truck I saw something moving under it. I quickened my pace and when I was within 30 feet of the truck I was greeted with much joy and song by Penelope!

Who is Penelope you may ask...She is a Chicken! I began looking around to see if there were any others because at this point I didn't realize she was one of my chickens. I reached the truck and she came running out from under my truck clucking as if to say "Hey - I know you, are you surprised?" I looked down and saw the purple leg band and realized that it was one of the girls from our newer flock.

It seems that while I was splitting wood she found that my engine compartment was warm and cozy and roosted in it for an afternoon nap. I am still amazed that she was able to hang in there for the 16 mile ride from our house to the farm. I can only imagine what was going through her little bird brain as we went down dirt roads to paved roads and then down Rt.191 before turning into the field at the farm. It's a good thing I decided to hunt where I did because I considered hunting the upper portion of the property which would have meant a trip across the river where she more than likely would have been swept away!

I am glad it was dark out on the ride home because I'm sure there would have been lots of strange looks if people realized I was driving with a chicken roosting on my leg!

Hopefully this is the last time she will hide out in the undercarriage of my vehicle but if she ever does it again and survives at least I will have another great story to tell you all about and hopefully put as big a smile on your face as I have on mine!

From stilllife to wildlife

I started learning how to use my new camera by taking pictures of objects that wouldn't run a way from me - I am proud to say that I have graduated to taking pictures of living creatures. Ariel has taken an interest in the camera too and the pictures of the cat and bunny below are hers. Since taking these I have discovered many more settings so I will be experimenting with them over the next coupled days.

 Sadie - our house rabbit

 Annabeth - Queen of the castle 

 One of our many betta fish - Thank you Seth and Sara

 Gabriel supervising play time

 Navarre and Alex playing keep away with the ball

 Our sweet lady at the door looking for a snack

Watching Alex unwrap crackers for them

Sadie looking for a treat

 Annabeth is not pleased her nap was disturbed!

My little old man

If I close my eyes maybe you will go away!