Bow Hunting Season 2010

Bow season came pretty quickly this year.  Warren & Hunter set up the tent on Labor Day weekend and we were very comfy.  Here  is the tent going up…

I think the best part of the tent accommodations was the wood stove.  We are usually boiling during bow season but this year it was pretty cold up in the mountains.  The wood stove was pretty much going all the time.  It was nice to get out of bed and be warm instead of icy.

Warren and Keith were after the elk pretty hard this season and part of that was dragging out the tree stands and refreshing the memory on how those darn contraptions work.  It was kind of fun to watch them use the stands out behind camp.  Here they are getting Warren’s stand attached to the tree.

and Warren going up…

And then we have Keith and his tree stand

Keith just jumped right up there and it was obvious that he had done this a few times.  It seemed that he had a tree stand that was a little more flexible that Warren’s and it was interesting to learn the differences.  If there ever is a next time we will know what to look for when we purchase another stand.

We usually just go back & forth on weekends until the last week of September and Warren takes his week off to bow hunt,  Once their week off comes Hunter and I go back & forth to camp on the weekends so we could see Warren and Hunter doesn’t miss school. 

On the last weekend of season we were fortunate to take Zach with us.  He is one of our great nephews and Hunter’s second cousin even though they are only 11 months apart,  When we arrived in camp that evening the guys were still out hunting.  Darkness came and we were still waiting so I took the opportunity to take a couple picture of the moon shining through the ponderosa pines.  Look Ma-No Tripod! 

Here is a picture of the kids wandering around in the moonlight.  I took a picture and the flash got them; I think it startled them a bit too.  At least they could see the horseshoe pits before they walked into them.

Here is Hunter out tending to the outside fire with camo jammies and all

And we had a little excitement in camp because we didn’t want to get bored or anything.  The boys were in and out of the Suburban getting their airsoft pistols and this and that.  Well, Mr. Hunter decided to lay my keys down in the back and put the tailgate up and then proceeded to close the hatch while the truck was locked!!!  I don’t know how long it took him to tell me but it was before the guys came back from their morning hunt. 

I had cell phone service and I was calling everybody to see if they could bring me keys or try the key fob over the cell phone.  The major glitch with that was Mom & Dad didn’t have keys to the current house!  I had somehow switched out the keys with some old ones the last time they were used.  I have wonderful family who tried to help me but to no avail – they couldn’t since I had not given someone the correct key to my house.  Thank you to Jeff & Jenn and my poor mom who tried to get into the house with the wrong keys.

The guys came back from the morning hunt and we told them that I would have to take the pick up in to get my keys.  I totally dreaded driving 2 hours to get my keys and 2 hours back to camp – Grrrrr!  Warren turned the pick up inside out because he thought he may have an extra Suburban key – NADA!  So they they were looking at ways to get into the Suburban without damaging it – not a lot of options short of breaking my window.  And then Keith came up with an option and the two strong men were able to get in with the help of two screwdrivers and a hotdog skewer!  My heroes!  I am so thrilled that we had a resident expert there on how to break into a car when you lock your keys inside – Keith’s idea saved my day!  Thank you Keith!!!!

After all of the excitement we came to the last day of season and it became time to pack up camp.  Must start dragging everything out of the tent and empty the woodstove…

  The guys had been complaining that there was a chipmunk under the floor that was digging at the floor all the time.  When you went into the tent it was hard to walk because of all the lumps and holes under the floor.  Here is a couple pictures of the ground after we pulled the floor up.

Brandy was really excited about the rat so she looked everywhere and dug in the fresh holes.  She finally decided to stand on the edge and wait while she surveyed the ground.  Of course she was underfoot the whole time they were rolling up the tent also…

Unfortunately the men did not get and elk but they were in them all the time.  Shots don’t always represent themselves when you are a bow hunter.  They did get to see plenty of black bear this year though so that made hunting a little bit more interesting.

In closing I will leave you with this parting shot.  This is my favorite picture for the camping trip.  It is of the sun coming up on the back of the tent and it was my “view” as I laid on the airbed reading my book in the morning. 

Very peaceful…

Here’s to hoping next year the guys get the pleasure of filling all of the tags!

Baby Dog Fell Down and Went BOOM!

On August 5th we had a big wreck at the house.  Hunter had gone out to get something from the Suburban and I think Peaches thought we were leaving without her.  She went to jump in the front trying to get around Hunter and she ended up hitting the seat instead of the floorboard.  She flopped right out of there onto the cement and the next thing I know she is screaming bloody murder and Hunter is yelling for me.

She was holding her leg up and it was just floppin’ around at a weird angle.  I knew it was broken…  Off to the Prineville Vet Clinic we went and Rhett was able to see her right away.

Sure enough, she broke both the bones and they were a pretty clean break so they would not just seat together to easily.  We opted for the cast and left since he had to put her out to set it and we could come back later.  While she was out he gave her the rabies shot and put in a microchip for me.  We were able to get her before they closed for the evening and she was in a lot of pain.  She just kind of laid around for several days and then she began to move.  Poor baby…

She was due for a grooming just a few days after she broke her leg so she started getting really shaggy.  Here is a picture of her enjoying a nap in the infant sack she rides in.

And here she is just stylin’ with her matching cast cover and coat up camping during bow season.

And here she is sitting in the truck while we picked up hay on October 16th – just 10 days before she finally got her cast off.  Just a little scruffy!

10/26 finally came and she could barely see…

The cast came off and she was pretty sore.  The muscles were almost none existent and the doc said it would be awhile before she walked on it full time.  The next stop would be Doggy Stylin’ Grooming Salon two days later and Angie made here a poodle again!  Angie does wonderful work and we are very blessed to have her as our groomer!

Here is what Miss Peaches looks like today.  We made a little stop at Wal-Mart and got her some new sweaters and she is stylin’!

 

She seems to be doing better with each passing day.  Her leg looks a little crooked but Dr. Schultz says that the bone should totally fill in 7-9 months from now and it will be a lot better  I just hope we don’t have any more problems with her tiny little bones braking in the future.

A Rainbow of a Different Color

On the 30th of July we had one heck of a storm come over the house and right before everything started to break loose we had this really strange looking rainbow.

I have never seen a rainbow with such a dark band in the middle.  Instead of being bright and cheery it was almost ominous.  I will live a full life if I never see another one of these.

The Mountains Still Have Snow…

On July 24th we headed over the mountains to Silverton for a family reunion; Warrens’ mother’s side of the family.  We didn’t have a lot of time with our busy schedule but it was nice to cut a day out and take a day trip and visit for a few hours.  On the way over I asked Warren to pull over so I could take one of those barn pictures that I keep telling myself I want to take. 

We were almost to Sisters so I think we were technically in Cloverdale.  There is a beautiful barn on the left and at the time it had a wheat field and a nice wooden fence in front of it along with the Cascade Mountains behind it.  The only real problem was that the mountains looked a little smucky.  Smucky mountain views are a whole vast subject for me because they really peeve me off since I remember very clearly (no pun intended) when there was no smuck and the people who create the smuck were not here…another day, another blog post entry.

Anyhow, I thought that was the only problem at the time until I downloaded my camera and got a load of the wonderful wooden barn – with freakin’ Christmas lights strung on it – still, in July!

So here are the pics I took and I still love the barn.

This is a picture of Broken top which is in the far left of the picture above. And a picture of the Three Sisters (Faith, Hope & Charity) that are in the barn pic above on the far left.

And finally, the barn….  And in black & white….

I will try to make it a point to stop and take some time to do more of the things I enjoy instead of just rushing everywhere.  It just feels better and when I take pictures I get to enjoy them over and over again.

 

Content to wait…

Hello – yes, it is really me.  I am currently a passenger in an F350 bound for Eagle Point so I can pile up some blog material and post it when I get a DSL connection.  We are on our way to see some wonderful friends and the bonus is that we get to go fall turkey hunting!  It is way too cold to stay in the trailer so we are staying at the Edgewater Inn in Shady Cove.  I may get all piled up with my book in that motel and not want to go out into the cold.  Or,  I could just sit and stare at the walls – like Maddie…  Of course that reminds me of a picture I have in my archives.

Anyone who knows our dear sweet Boarder Collie Maddie know that she is pretty special – like a window licker.  I would say she is like a blonde but that would be really rude to blondes!  She loves lights so her favorite toy is a laser beam on the floor.  Because she loves lights she watches them very intently until they moves and then she chases them.  Of course reflections through the windows or the firelight dancing on the walls make her sit for hours just watching in awe.

Here is that picture I was referring to.  She is sitting in Hunter’s bedroom watching the reflection on the wall that is coming through the window.

As you can see, Peaches got tired of waiting for her to stop staring at the wall and she decided to take a nap. 

Maddie gives a whole new meaning to the saying, “ I’m not easily distra……oh, look there is something shiny!”

She is “special” and she is extremely attached to her boy Hunter - we feel blessed to have her and we do enjoy her little quirks.  I don’t think we would trade her for anything.