No Venison for this Huntress!

I am back from vacation (bow hunting) and I am sad to say this huntress did not score on a deer this year.  

It was my second year of bow hunting and I came to the conclusion that I was extremely lucky last year to get my 6 pointer.  Every afternoon I packed up my gear, trucked out to my tree stands and sat...and listened...and watched....and waited.... for that elusive, beastly creature to emerge from the forest, however, it was not meant to be.  Instead of bagging a buck, I discovered a few things about myself this year:

• I am fricken' out of shape!!  I pulled muscles in areas I best not put in this post.  My honey sets up stands in the trees and since I did it last year, what the heck, I should be able to belly up those branches no problem this year, right?!  Last year, I shot my buck out of a stand that was 30-35 feet up. I hauled my butt up that tree on day number 5 and lickety split, got a deer. This year, I had two different stands at around 20 long feet up...I wear these beautiful camouflage boots that I literally have to grab the hem of my even more fashionable bibs and hoist my foot to the first step and with a hrrrggfffffhhhh, I am on my way, climbing those damn trees, stopping at least once or twice to catch my breath.  Well let me tell you, this huntress came home and told honey if he wants his menopausal wife to share quality time, doing a sport that he loves, I need a damn ladderstand for next year!!  

• I HATE COYOTES!  Give me a bear any day of the week over a stinking coyote!  I was coming down from my stand one night and these darn things started their howling close by me.  Needless to say, I was not very ladylike with the words I was mumbling to myself while tromping through the woods to my vehicle.

• I'm afraid of rain. Yup, I know it sounds crazy, but here is the deal...when you are sitting with your Kindle on a QUIET day, you can HEAR when deer are coming in. However, if it is raining, and you are engrossed in "Fifty Shades" and a deer all of a sudden materializes, catching you off guard, the Kindle will fly, not an arrow and all of this will be captured on one of the cameras that we have set up...then you have to try an explain this to honey.  Sooooo, you don't read when it rains, you just sit... and sit...for hours...and your mind wanders and plays tricks on you...you hear footsteps, you hear crunching, you look, there is nothing there, you hear it again, you could swear you heard footsteps, you look down on both sides of the tree,  your anxiety continues to rise, you wonder if you took your medication, hell, maybe you should have taken a couple extra, then out of the corner of your eye...you see movement...you watch...and wait...and there it is...a chipmunk!!  That's it, I'm outta here!

• I need a project!!  During the course of the week, after hours of reading and waiting for SOMETHING to come in, I decided that I need to start getting ready for the holidays.  So on my way home, I stopped at Home Depot, picked up a gallon of paint and our kitchen that I just painted in spring is getting repainted.  See what happens when you are sitting up in the trees... you think, plot and plan.  

All in all, I had a great vacation with my honey. We went out for dinner, took Lucy for walks and just enjoyed each others company up in the north woods. There's something to be said about the peace and quiet  up north...just walking in the woods, smelling the fresh pines, watching the red squirrels chase each other, having chickadees land on branches within inches of you, seeing a porcupine (for the first time) waddle toward you...yes....it really was a wonderful vacation!!

Thanks for reading - 

Have a great week!

Beth

Happy Monday!

I took vacation this week and I am in the north woods with my honey trying to "catch a deer".  We always laugh in our house about that phrase because our daughter said that to her hunter daddy when he came home from hunting, "Daddy, did you Catch a Deer?".  That's one of those sweet things you just never forget as a mommy.

I have been hunting these last several weekends and haven't seen or wanted to take any shots at anything.  I had a small 3 pointer come in one night and could have shot him however, it was still early in the season and quite honestly, I am waiting for the big one.  I have had doe come in with her fawn and there is no way that I will shoot a doe.  Whether she is by herself or with bambi, I will not shoot a doe, nope, just can't do it...again, waiting for the big one.

Our problem this year are the bear!!  Those pesty buggers are really messing up our stands. The deer will not come in by us or anywhere near us with the bear hanging around like they are.  Over the years I would look forward to seeing bear on our way out to eat (very seldom would we see one then) and trust me, this year I have seen my share of bear.  Steve hates it when I tell him that I enjoy watching them.  They literally look like they are tip toeing through the woods thinking that they are invisible.  Last week I just happen to turn around in my stand and I swear you would have thought I had a pet sitting guard for me.  There he sat on his butt not moving, just sitting there.  He eventually just wandered off and left me alone but again, any deer that may have wanted to come my way wasn't going to because of my little buddy keeping watch.

On that note, I am off out into the woods to check our camera's and see if the big one is out there.

Thanks for reading.

Talk soon -

Beth

I am Back in the North Woods!

It's been a crazy couple weeks.  Now keep in mind that this time of year I am a single woman, my honey is living up at the cottage baiting, scouting and hunting.  As I was saying...or should I just say it's been nuts!  One of our toilets started leaking, our garage door cable snapped, my damn laptop up and died, puked, done! and my mom had a gosh darn heart attack!  She is up to four stents (she thinks she has 5, but after everything she has been through, I will let her think whatever she darn well wants).

So I bought a Samsung Galazy Note to replace my laptop.  The salesman did a good job with the sale...however...I am finding there are a lot of plus and minuses with it.  It's small, compact, I can put it in my purse, it comes with a pen to draw on the screen, it has all kinds of free apps to download, I feel really cool because all the young girls at work have one...but I miss the key board.   Oh sure, I can buy one but really, let's think about this, why not just return this darn thing and admit that I screwed up and I am an old lady that doesn't like change.  Seriously, you wouldn't believe how long it is taking my to type this.  What the bloody hell was I thinking...maybe that was the problem...my brain was on overload and I got sucked in (not to mention the salesman's grandma has one and she loves it) or perhaps the phone call with hubby in the north woods TELLING me what LAPTOP I should get spurred me into buying this handy dandy little toy.  What!  Really!  I am my own woman, nobody is going to tell me what to do...no sireeeee!  I am a single woman this time of year and I am going to branch out, be independent, explore something new and make my own decision on this purchase, you betcha...DAMN IT, I hate it when he is right!  I should have gotten the laptop.

On that note, I am going to suit up, get my bow and arrows and go out and kill something!!

Surrounded by Bear not Deer!

I decided to stay up at the cottage this afternoon and try my hand at bow hunting versus coming home early to watch the Packer game...Perhaps I should have come home to watch the game.  

I remembered to bring the camera with me, along with rocks and a rubber tip arrow...I am glad I did!  While relaxing up in the tree on this beautiful fall day, reading my Kindle, I just happen to look up in time to see this big fat bear wandering my way.

Here he proceeds to sit down and make himself very comfortable by sitting down.  Look at him just sit there... I enjoyed taking these pictures and watching him, however I couldn't let him stick around long because he was scaring the deer away.

This picture looks a lot like the one above however, I wanted you to see how big his paws are (hopefully you can see them okay).

I was done taking pictures so I tossed a rock at him, hoping to scare him off - he looked around, walked over toward me, shook himself and turned around and went back to his little perch.  I tossed another rock and then he left only to come back around 20 minutes later.  

This time I put my rubber tipped arrow in the bow and shot him in the behind...he took off, stopped, turned around and came back....What...I couldn't believe it!!  I guess the little zing in the butt didn't bother him that much.   I started throwing more rocks at him.  Again, he meandered off not seeming to be to fazed at all.   

A little while later I couldn't believe it, I hear him coming back AGAIN only this time another one came from a different direction AND I could hear another one behind me...okay, now I am starting to get freaked!  No matter how many rocks I threw and noise I made they weren't leaving.  I sent Steve a text to tell him I was freakin out.  This was just plain crazy!  

I finally got the bad boys to leave while making noise (good thing because I ran out of rocks).   Needless to say, I decided to come down from the tree (after I waited a bit), the idea of walking back to my vehicle in the dark tonight was a bit to scary for me.  Yes, I will admit I was a little nervous tonight.  

Never did see any deer.  Maybe next time the big one will come in!

Thanks for reading - 

Beth

                    

Saw Four Deer!

Recap of my first time out for the season:

Had a great time...while driving into my stand, a big grouse was sitting in the middle of the rode and flew up in front of me.  I saw this as a sign of good things to come.  

I climbed the tree (only fifteen feet up, not a bad climb for a menopausal woman out of shape), got myself situated, and waited and waited... 

I had a group of chickadee's entertain me for a while, literally landing within arms length on the branches next to me-darn,  forgot the birdseed to give them, gotta remember for next time.  Watched a woodpecker beat the crab out of a tree next to me-how do they do that and not get shaken bird brain syndrome.  Then, as the sun peeked out from behind a cloud, casting a golden glow in the woods, I spotted the cutest little buck (3 pointer) trotting through the woods.  It looked like a scene out of a Disney movie for gosh sake, I think I even saw a grin on his face.  But he kept going, so I waited....

(via Google images)

When you are sitting up in a tree with nothing but nature to entertain you, you think about a lot of things.  This is my second season bow hunting.  I am excited yet nervous...again. 

My biggest fear is NOT:  

• Falling out of a tree-I'm harnessed in, no problem there...I hope...oh wait, I could have the darn harness under my neck, slip, dangle in the air, slowly being strangled and when the light at the end of the tunnel starts to appear, distant relatives are waving to me to join them, I think, "Grab the branch right next you, dumb ass, and pull yourself up!!",  ...no this doesn't scare me...I think I will be fine...

(via Google images)

• Getting lost in the woods-wandering aimlessly for days, drinking out of creeks, eating berries and bark to survive, not being able to do my nails, (actually our stands aren't that far in the woods, no problem here), 

"There you go Yogi, just a little higher and you can scare that lady down into my arms...
she is going to make us a really nice snack".  (image via Google)

• Having a cute, furry, little cuddly bear climb a tree after me, while mama watched from below rubbin' her paws together with a big grin on her face (I have marshmallows to throw at them, jk), again, no problem here...I hope :-) 

(via Pinterest)

• Being tracked by a wolf as I am coming out of my stand, pounced on from behind, tossed around like a big floppy, screaming, toy, ok, this scares me a little-that would hurt!

What really DOES scare me is dropping my darn KINDLE!!  Can you imagine sitting up in the tree for hours on end and not being able to read!  There is no way after climbing up there, pulling my bow up, putting my hat and gloves on, getting situated with my bow and finally kicking back to relax and read only to drop the darn thing...that would just be wrong!  Oh trust me, I enjoy the whole nature thing but to actually have a couple hours where I can just sit and read is AWESOME!! Trust me when I say, I am very careful with this treasure of mine.

Back to my evening, after sitting for a couple hours, pondering life and yes, reading my Kindle, I heard it...the stealthy crunch of leaves and branches.  As slow as possible, I turn my head and there, walking ever so slowly is my little buddy the 3 pointer making his way toward me.  While I am watching him,  I hear more crunching of leaves and in walks his friend a 4 pointer!  They are just meandering around right under me, stopping periodically to look around,  sniff the air, eat some acorns  and then they just wander off.   No sooner do they leave, I hear more crunching and I think to myself, holy cow this is it, here comes the big monster, the granddaddy of the woods, the most sought after trophy that will make people come from far and wide just to get a glimpse of this big beastly creature that I, a mere woman in her second year of hunting was able to get with her bow....again, I slowly turn my head...and....in walks a doe and a fawn....well how sweet was that!!  There is mama deer and her fawn coming closer and closer to me and they stopped right below me also.  It was so cool - to be this close to these animals and they have no clue you are sitting right there, it was great!

If you are wondering why I didn't try to get any of these deer, here's the deal, I shot a 6 pointer last year that weighed 156 lbs.  and truthfully, I want something bigger!  Steve's dad was teasing me a little about being picky, but his mom and I agreed, why not try to get something a little bigger and show these boys what we are made of.  

Well, I didn't get a deer on my first night out, but I had a wonderful time watching nature, smelling the fresh clean air of the north woods and just RELAXING up in the tree.

Sorry I got so long with this, I will try to keep my up coming deer stories shorter (if that is possible).  

Thanks for reading - 

Talk soon - 

Beth

Bow Hunting Season is Upon Us!!

I'm heading out into the woods for the first time this season bow hunting.

I have my phone packed, arrows and most important... my KINDLE!!

Yes, I read while sitting in my stand and truthfully, it is so peaceful and relaxing 

a person tends to get a bit sleepy.  Have to have a diet dew before I head out.

We have a northwest wind and as per my hunting expert hubby, for the stand I will be sitting in, 

conditions should be good.

Six different bucks are coming into one of our stands (via trail cam)...

Oh boy, it's getting exciting....gotta go, wasting daylight...

Wish me luck!!

Beth

School Secretaries...

When I started this blogging stuff, I was off of work for the summer. 

 Truly, it sounded like a great idea at the time, I would be relaxing up at the lake, having my coffee, listening to the loons call to one another and I thought, oh what fun, I should start a blog... I can share my thoughts and ideas on various subjects, show different projects that I am working on, explain what type of stupid saw to use when ripping a board to make a sign (while trying not to loose a finger in the process),
yada, yada, yada....

Well guess what, I am back at work and don't have time to file my nails much less sit down and type about what style of fabric I am thinking about buying to make some stupid pillows with!

I am a secretary in a middle school and went back to work on August 16th. 

 The above clip art seriously looks like my desk right now...the start up of the school year is like
Black Friday, EVERY DAY!!

So lately, when I get home from work, I walk in the door, my darling hubby (who is a retired officer, fireman and paramedic...yes, I scored and got three sweet guys all in one) will look at me and ask me in his calm, sweet caring way, how my day was?  My typical response is a snarl, "Are you freakin' kidding me??
I haven't peed since I woke up this morning, LEAVE ME ALONE!"
When I come back into the living room, I plant myself in my mushy chair, put my feet up on the ottoman and proceed to stare mindlessly at that big box (I think it's a TV) and I start relax...and then...I hear...
"Honey, what's for dinner?"



Here's the deal ...I LOVE MY JOB!!!
This time of year I may come home numb and shell shocked, but you know what?
I really do like those darn kids and all the craziness that goes with the job:  Nervous parents, sick kids, phone calls, files that need to be sent out, teachers needing printouts, medications that need to given to students, reports and letters that need to be sent to parents, medical issues, crying students (sometimes getting teary eyed with them) printing the 5th schedule for students because they keep loosing it, assigning lockers to all the students...OKAY...FINE....you get the idea....
I Really DO Like my Job!

So next time you have to go to your child's school, don't be afraid to bring in some chocolate
for the school secretary or just tell her what a good job she is doing because you know what,
while you're out having lunch with your friends, she is taking care of your precious children making sure they are being fed, they are getting on the right bus, etc.

Thanks for reading -
Talk soon  -

Beth