"Food always tastes better when you eat in nature!"

My sweet boys bought a kayak for my birthday a while back and we spent that weekend playing around on the lake.  I cannot think of a better way to spend a day.  The lake that we spend our summers at is filled by run-off from  a near-by mountain.  We decided that we would paddle up the creek to see how close we could get to the mountain from the lake.

It didn't take too long before little man wore out so we tied his kayak to the back of mine.  That way when he needed a break he could take one.  Which came in handy as we went further up the creek and the current started pushing back.

As we neared the shallows a hen grebe flushed out from under a mud cave.  She put on quite a show flapping from bank to bank acting like her wing was busted and squawking at us.  My son (who wants to be a vet someday) asked if we should rescue the poor thing.  I explained that she was not hurt, she saw us as a predator and was trying to draw us away from a nest.  So we we scanned the bank and sure enough hidden just under the grass roots in a little mud cave was a baby grebe just barely peeking out above the water.

I only had my cell phone with me so it's not the best photo ever, but if you look closely you can just make out the head in the shadow by the wall of mud.  Lesson learned...always carry your good camera and camcorder.  I would have loved the opportunity to share this moment with everyone.  Duck mamas will go to great lengths to protect their babies.  We didn't want to flush out the baby or scare mama any more than we needed to (plus we had reached the shallows) so we backed out and headed back to the cabin for lunch. 

 Little guy was really mad that I didn't want to eat at the beach, but I just don't like sand in my food. "MOM!  Food always tastes better when you eat it in nature!"  So he staged a little protest and moved his chair off the deck so that he could eat in "nature."

Cow Moose Versus Huntress!

There is this little piece of state land that is only fifteen minutes from our house that I'm absolutely in love with.  It's my go-to spot when I'm short on time or nearing the end of the season.  I take my climbing tree-stand up a tree right near the edge of some really thick cover that is full of bedding spots and communal rubs. West of the stand are some hay fields that the deer love and just 100 yards North of the stand there are a few puddles that almost always have water in them.  So about an hour after sunrise the deer move off the fields stop at the puddles then cross right under my stand on their way into the thick cover, then later right around last light they move out of the cover and back out to the fields.  I've tried an all day hunt in that spot but they only seem to come through at first and last light, like clockwork, which is fine with me.

Yesterday I took my dad out and dropped him off at that spot (we hung a ladder stand there for him several days ago), like I said it's a little piece of land and I didn't want to put too much pressure on the deer so I stayed in the truck while he headed in.  Which turned out to be fine because the entire time that I was there a cow moose was playing around in the puddles and eating ice chunks.  I watched her for several hours and never saw a calf which gave me a false sense of security for my hunt this evening, but I'm getting ahead of myself in this story...

All day long at work today the sky was clear and beautiful.  According to an app on my boss's phone today was a four antler day (based off of the moon phase), and my boss kept saying, "you shouldn't be here you should be in your stand!"  It's the end of the rifle season and beginning of bow season so the shop is very busy and I just couldn't duck out early.  At two o'clock I ran out the door and rushed home.  As I drove across the prairie towards my house I could see a huge U-shaped snow storm moving in surrounding my house (and tree-stand) from the South, West and North.  It was snowing like crazy everywhere but around my stand, which I was hoping would mean that the deer in my spot would be moving around ahead of the storm.  I already had all of my gear in my truck so I rushed out to the state land at warp speed, geared up, sprayed down and headed out.

We had left my dad's ladder stand up overnight since I knew I would be returning this week (this decision turned out to be my saving grace).  Halfway between where I parked and the ladder stand was the cow moose from yesterday just grazing away on the trail I normally take.  

As I said earlier; seeing that cow without a calf had lulled me into a false sense of security.  So I looped back and to the West and took a longer route into the stand.  The moose kept a close eye on me but didn't seem fazed by my presence, that was until I cut East to the ladder stand.  As soon as I was halfway between the road and the stand the moose turned and charged.  This wasn't a false charge or attempt to scare me, this was a full on, "I'm going to stomp you into the mud!" charge.  There was no cover near me and she had cut of my route to the road/truck so I had no choice but to go forward.  I ran as fast as I could and flew up the ladder stand, once I was at the top I caught sight of her calf laying in the thick cover just off the side of the stand.  Without realizing it I had come within 30 yards of the calf, BIG MISTAKE!

The cow moose stayed within 50 yards of the stand for quite a while just staring me down, so much so that I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to spend the night in my stand. Eventually, the cow moose calmed down and they continued North to the puddles.  I spent the rest of the evening watching the calf play around in the ice filled puddles. 

It's hard to see them in this picture...but the cow moose is just to the right of the tree in the middle and the calf is left hidden behind some smaller pine trees.  I took this picture after they had moved on to the ice puddles.

No other animals came into the area this evening.  Which could be because of all the cars on the road stopping to take photos of the moose..or it could be that I made way too much noise as I raced the moose to the stad.  So I wasn't able to fill my tag, but there's always Wednesday.  Today was quite an adventure, so I don't mind going home empty handed...I just love seeing all of the beauty of God's world, even if it is trying to stomp me into the ground.

Clumsy

Those of you that read my post about my opening day adventures will likely agree that I am a clumsy person.  I had another incident yesterday at the shop, my husband could not stop laughing at my pain.  Which got me thinking...my foibles can be someone else's enjoyment.  So I'm adding a new section to my blog because everyone needs a good laugh and I don't take myself too seriously.  I'll add quotes from my son from time to time because he can be quite a character.

So back to yesterday...Early in the day we had a father and son bring in bears that they had taken the weekend before, there were three other people in the shop at that same time.  We don't normally have the shop this full (which is good because then my clumsiness can be hidden).  While everyone else was hovering over the beautiful bears I was on the other side of the shop hanging a deer form up on the stand so I could begin prepping it for my boss.  I propped the form up with my left arm and used my right arm to drill the form to the stand.  As I was drilling the top screw they started telling the story of the bear hunt so I turned to listen, somehow forgetting I was still running the drill.  The screw went all the way in then the drill caught and spun sending the base of the drill straight into my temple and the side of my glasses (always wear eye protection).  My glasses shot across the room and a giant goose egg formed on my head immediately.  I fought with all my might not to shout out and to stay upright, hoping that no one would notice.  However, seeing as my glasses landed near the bears I'm pretty sure everyone noticed.  The giant bruise on my head didn't help matters.  I saw stars for quite a while after being nearly coldcocked by a drill.