The rants, rambles, and otherwise uninteresting happenings in the life of...well, ME, you might say. You mean you wanna know more? Ok ok, you have my warning! (For you who want to know lots more about me, go here.)
(Or almost 20, at least) I wonder just how fast they'll go by when I'm
40! Last night I realized my calendar was still stuck in October!
Joe's going to get his permit after our birthday...he'll be 17.
Beth will be a teenager in a few days, and until my birthday, we'll have five teenagers in our house!
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Anne-the-cat 
For full effect of images, bolds, italics, page breaks, and my cool *NEW* template, please visit:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/pianogal86
I say, the week between Thanksgiving and December is probably the
hardest one for our family. See, we have this stead-fast rule of no Christmas music until December first.
So, what does Dad do? It was about two days after Thanksgiving, and
here he was singing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas"! We're all like
"DAD!! You're singing CHRISTMAS music!" Usually he's the one that gets
after US!
So, last night, we kept sacred (not really, but it's a cool word)
tradition: we (some of us) stayed up until midnight and turned on
Christmas music. December first is always one of the "worriedest"
days for me, because I worry that maybe...maybe this year November has
31 days instead of 30, and it's not really December 1, it's November 30!
Whew, got that out of my system.
As I was saying, we stayed up late. Joe, Beth, Eric, and I stayed up
downstairs where it was real nice and warm. At midnight, we turned on
Celtic Christmas here in the dining room, Old Fashioned Christmas in
the twins' room, Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas Extraordinaire in my
room, and...something in the boys' room. I don't remember what. You
don't remember much if you stayed up until midnight.
***
I just have to add something funny Abby said to me last night. See, we call her Abby, Abbybee,
and Baby, depending upon what we're saying, and Eric calls her Abigail.
So, we say, "Come here, Abby!" and, "What, baby?" and "Abbybee!!" when we're calling her.
Last night Dad judged rightly that we wouldn't have any dessert, so he
had brought some home: those miniature donuts that you eat in one (or
two) bites, depending upon how big of a mouth you have. Or how polite
you want to be. So anyway. I was dividing those donuts, and standing at
the table. Abby was in the dining room, watching me, and she said,
"What are you doing?" then louder, and growly "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, BABY?"
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Anne-the-cat
For full effect of images, bolds, italics, page breaks, and my cool *NEW* template, please visit:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/pianogal86
Not Sandy Claws, of course. I'm talking about the Presidents. Not the Bushes, either. The Presidents Beth and I clean house for.
We think they have their house bugged.
They're rich enough to. They're paranoid enough to (they have an alarm
system). Eric thinks it's in the moose-antler chandelier in the main
room, because it's over the piano, in a central location, and you can
hear everything that happens in the house (except in the basement). We
also thought about the possibility of two-way mirrors, because they
have a mirror by the computer, in the library, by the stairs, and of
course in the bathrooms. Hopefully the bathroom mirrors are not two-way.
It's just that things have been a little strange and suspicious.
Mrs. President has this beautiful mahogany or rosewood (it's a deep maroonish
red) grand piano, which is her baby. The first time we went there, to
be shown what to do, Mr. President said not to touch the piano; she's
picky about its cleaning and stuff. Mom didn't hear that part; she was yaking
with Mrs. President. So the first time we cleaned, Mom started to dust
the piano and I said, "They don't want the piano touched," so she
stopped.
The next time there was a note on the piano saying "Don't touch the piano."
Time before last, we were discussing the cleaning of the rug under the
piano bench, since they have an inside dog and cat who sheds. There was
hair all over it and it looked bad. Mom said she didn't want to move
the bench, since Mrs. President might have it in a specific place. So
she vacuumed the rug with the hand attachment, and didn't touch the
piano or the bench.
Last time (yesterday) we went there, the piano was moved off the rug,
and there was a note on the counter saying to move the piano bench and
pull the rug away and vacuum it.
Suspicious?
I think so.
Unless it's us who are paranoid!
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Anne-the-cat
For full effect of images, bolds, italics, page breaks, and my cool *NEW* template, please visit:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/pianogal86
Pictures will be sometime soon. Eric took pictures with the digital
camera, but I'm going to wait to post pictures until we get them all
developed.
We went to the same place as last time.
Saturday, 6:05 pm
Left half after noon; got to the mountains at
a little after three or so. Set up camp; about four Dad, Beth, and Joe
walked for a bit, while Ben, Eric, and I went around the Loop. We got
to the rendezvous on time, but Joe, Dad, and Beth were late. They had
traipsed around for an hour or so.
When we finished setting up camp, we realized something important: we had forgotten the coffeepot. Guess we'll have to do with "cowboy coffee".
Later
Ben ran outside to get our overalls (Dad's and mine) out of the back of
his pickup. He had already taken off his shirt for bed. There was 2 or
3 inches of snow. When he came in, he said, "It's not all that cold
out."
Dad said sardonically, "Shut the door. You're letting all the not-so-cold in."
Sunday, 11:25 am
This
morning Ben had his heart set on traipsing up to a meadow (the meadow
near the one I'd been in last time when I shot at that buck) by
shooting light, which came at about 7:10, so we got up at 5, had "egga
muffins" (sausage patty, egg, and fake cheese on an English muffin;
like an Egg McMuffin), and Ben and Joe took off. Eric started walking
down the road, and Dad, Beth, and I walked the opposite direction up
the road. We walked a fence of a private property, and Dad saw one
deer, but it jumped over the fence onto the private property (I KNOW
those deer can read!).
We walked (with short breaks) from about 7 to 9:30 am, when we
made it back to camp. Just before getting to camp, we saw a whitetail.
I was the one who was going to take the first shot (since I hadn't
gotten any deer yet; Beth can only get elk; Dad can get a whitetail doe
and an elk), so I went on ahead. It was gone, though, so we went back
to camp. Since Ben had taken his pickup, Dad fired up the van (our
ATV!). Eric came up, and we started around the loop in the direction
Ben had gone.
When we got to where the road turned 90º to the left and there
was a steeeeeeep hill, we chained up. When we'd finished chaining up,
we had a white pickup behind us. We went down the hill, then the pickup
did.
We were almost all the way around the loop, and were in the same hollow Joe shot his deer in last year.
"There!" Dad pointed to the hill above the hollow. "Get your gun, Anne. Shoot the big one."
"Which is the big one?"
"The back one."
"Ok."
I was in the passenger's seat (and they were on the driver's side), so
I got out (leaving the door open, to not startle them), jacked a round
in, knelt by the road, and took aim.
I heard Dad saying something. It sounded like "Shoot! Shoot!" But
later he said he was saying they were small deer, all of 'em. Well
earlier, Dad had told me, "If you get a small one, say it's because you
like cute, fuzzy ones."
Anyway. I steadied my rifle (they were looking at us; about 75
yards away) and slowly squeezed (you only squeeze, not pull triggers if
you want to be accurate) the trigger.
The funny thing is, when
you're hunting and take a shot, you don't notice the kick or the noise,
except for a slight ringing in your ears afterwards.
The deer I aimed at (glad it was that one and not another!) humped
up funny and ran almost up the hill, then fell and slid halfway back
down. The other two just stood there.
"Go get it," Dad said, so I
started
around the little meadow and up towards where my deer fell. Until I was
almost to the middle of the edge of the meadow, the other two deer just
stood and watched me walk.
Guided
by yelled directions from Dad ("Straight up! Right!"), I found my deer.
A perfect heart shot. I was surprised he could have run that far, and
Dad was, too, when he saw it, because it was right through the heart,
and some bones were broken.
I drug it down the hill to the meadow, then Eric came, gave his
opinion, and drug it to the van. So it was small, but a perfect shot!
As Ben said later, "You have to be a good shot to hit something that
small!"
Dad and Eric loaded in a tarp and put it in the back of the van to take to camp.
When
we got to the bridge, Ben's pickup was parked and he was starting up
the road from where we had just come. He told us a guy in a white
pickup came by and talked with him. (It was the white pickup that was
following us.) When we drove on a little, we saw Joe (who was walking)
and got more of the story. The guy had come by and told them two
whitetail deer were in the area. He said somebody had taken a shot.
"In a big blue van?" Ben asked.
The guy had said yeah.
"That's my dad," Ben had said, and the guy said "Well that must've been your sister shooting then."
So Ben knew I'd shot.
We got back to camp. Ben picked Joe up and came behind. They
unloaded my deer and took a few pictures (Eric had me pose with his
gun). Then Eric drug my deer off to the edge of camp, where the hill
went steeply down, so I could "dress" it. He stayed to "tell me what to
do", and Beth stayed to hold legs.
It took me about ten minutes, but it was a good job. Dad even
congratulated me. I was faster than Joe, who took 40 or 50 minutes on
his last deer, which was a small one too.
Dad cut out the backstraps (which were very small!) and put them in a Ziploc. Then he and Ben hung the deer in a tree.
Ben, Joe, and Dad left to walk. Beth, Eric, and I are here at camp
waiting. Eric's babysitting the fire; Bethy's here in the camper
playing solitaire. I'm writing this and babysitting the stove. I'm
going to work on my novel now (it's in the same notebook).
5:35 pm
15 minutes past shooting light. Got to camp about
10 minutes ago. When Dad, Ben, and Joe got back to camp at 2:30 they
were all tuckered out (except Ben, of course). I napped from one to two
while they were gone. We had cup o'noodle water all ready so when they
got here we "dished up" cup o'noodles. We saw a big buck on a hill
faraway, so Ben took off and came back to camp when we were done with
lunch. Joe decided to stay in camp; Ben wanted to go up to his meadow
again, and Dad wanted to find the beginning of a road they hiked to
earlier. So Dad, Beth, Eric, and I piled in the van and drove around.
We found the road (turn left at the private airstrip!), and on the way
there were tons and tons of deer, all on private property. We went to
the end of the road and parked. And sat. It was warm and comfy. Dad
and Eric took a snooze (Dad laid his seat back, but Eric laid on the
second bench). So just Beth and I watched.
We only saw five deer, but they were a maddening hundred yards or so from the private property fence, IN the private property.
Went back to camp; Ben got back a little later. We're having chicken sandwiches for dinner.
Monday, 4:45 am
*yawn* Ben wants to leave by six so he can walk up to his beloved
meadow in the dark. lol How fun. Dad and I and Beth are going to the
meadow we scoped out yesterday. Dunno where Joe and Eric are going.
Dad's making breakfast.
Wind is blowing somethin' fierce out there. Rocking the camper. No
wait...maybe that was just Joe. (No, it really was the wind.) Last
night Dad turned up the furnace because night before it got kind of
cold.
12:10 pm
Wow. This morning Ben went to his meadow; Eric walked down the road,
and the rest of us went our way. Joe stayed near the van (and in it,
half the time), and we (Dad, Beth, and I) walked a fence and over a
little hill. The wind was blowing soo hard, it felt like we were arctic
explorers! It was sooo cold and sooo windy. Beth and I sat for a while
and Dad walked a ways. We sat for two hours, then Dad came back and we
walked to the van. The wind was even worse. We wondered if the van
would actually be on its wheels when we came back, and I decided even
if it wasn't, I'd get in anyway! It was, though. Dad clocked the wind
speed, and it was 30 mph with gusts of 40-45. It was so hard trying to
walk in that, even with the wind at our backs. It must have been pretty
funny to see Beth and I stagger around like drunkards! But we finally
got to the van. Driving down the road, we saw a herd of buffalo in a
pasture. We hurried back to camp to get the camera. Picked Ben and Eric
up at camp, went back. Took pictures; showed Ben where we had been.
Went around the loop; saw one. Ben went out to follow it but it went too far away.
Came back to camp; had lunch.
6:30 pm
Just got back to camp; Dad's making pancakes for dinner.
Joe and Eric stayed relatively near camp; the rest of us went in the
mountains. Ben, Beth, and Dad went up to Ben's meadow; I stayed behind
a little bit to watch a different spot. Ben, when he came back to me,
said my little spot looked like Big Bird's nest: a ring of brush with a
little spot to sit in the middle. Saw a grouse and two tiny birds; that
was it.
Ben saw a herd of does (at least he was pretty sure they were does, and
Dad confirmed it) about 20 feet from him, but he wasn't sure they were
whitetails (can't shoot muley does here). So he didn't shoot.
Came back to camp.
Tuesday, 5:15 am
*yawn* Alarm was trying to get us up at 4, but we didn't get up until
4:30. The furnace went off in the night...we ran out of propane in one
of the tanks. Dad put another take of propane on (or hooked it up),
then restarted the furnace and fridge. He's making breakfast now;
leftover egga muffins and chicken sandwiches.
Ben wants to go to his meadow again since there's no wind (or less, at least).
Dunno what the rest of us are doing.
10:10 am
Everybody went their separate way this morning. Close to 9 we heard a
shot, then it snowed really hard. It snowed hard for 20 minutes, then
let up some. I holed up and waited for the snow to let up. It was like
being in a snow globe. Snow piled up on my suit, and I shook it off,
but it piled right back up again.
Around 9:40 I started walking back to camp. Ben had picked Dad and Beth up, so they got here a little before me.
11:45 am
Anyway. Keep getting distracted .Everybody but Ben and I left in the van to road hunt. In a few minutes, Ben and I will go, too.
So, Beth and Dad got to the camper, I walked up, and Ben drove off to
pick Joe and Eric up (they were in "Eric's Spot", down near the
bridge), because Eric got a deer. Ben had been by there earlier, before
he picked Dad and Beth up. He hinted to Dad it was a little deer.
So anyway. Dad, Beth, and I stood around for a while. My boots have bad
tread that snow clings to, so every step I took collected about half an
inch of snow. We laughed about it, and I collected more. It was taller
than Beth, so Dad took a picture (normally she's about two inches
taller than me; I was now three inches taller than her!). I clumped
around more, and got almost as tall as Dad, which was a new experience!
We wanted to wait for Ben to come back, and Dad would say, "Ben, you
know drinking coffee makes you short...stand next to Anne and see if
you've shrunk!" But he didn't come in time, and the 6" of snow on my
boots finally came off.
So we went in the camper, and Dad heated water for coffee and cocoa.
Cowboy coffee (with a splash of cold water to settle the grounds, Louis
L'Amour style) was actually pretty good! I had a chicken sandwich for a
snack, and Dad had a leftover egga muffin.
I turned my radio on. Joe said Eric got one, "a little bigger than your
deer," he told me. We were thinking he'd gotten a small one. Joe said
they found a bone-saw in the van, and sawed the breastbone (to get to
the windpipe easier). we were like, "you need a bone-saw for a little
deer?!?!?"
The cocoa and coffee were all made; we were on our way out the door to take them their hot drinks, when they pulled up.
In the back of the pickup was a beautiful buck, over three times the
size of my little deer. We heartily congratulated Eric; took pictures;
drank our drinks, and since Eric's hands were freezing, he went inside
(and I did, too, to keep him company) while the other boys and Dad hung
the buck in the tree mine was hung in.
"It's been a profitable day," Eric told me, warming his hands in front
of the furnace. "I had a nice nap..." (Joe said he could hear Eric
snoring from 200 yards away!) "got a nice buck..."
Dad took a picture of us by our deer. Stood around and talked, then they left.
Ben's waiting for me in the pickup.
2:30 pm
Ben and I went to the "arctic circle" (where Dad, Beth, and I were
yesterday when it was really windy) while the rest went around the loop
in the van. When Ben and I came back, we went around the loop in the
opposite direction Dad went. Met him; talked; made another circuit and
met at camp. We beat, but we had a head start and they sat for exactly five minutes!
They all left to go to Ben's meadow; Joe and I are going to our stands in an hour.
Joe wants to nap first.
I like hunting with Joe.
6:10 pm
At 3:30 Joe and I went out to a nearby meadow. I had an
awesome spot under a tree; very comfy. I would have slept if it had
been a little warmer!
Sat until shooting light ended, around 5:05. Came back to camp; played
a couple rounds of Go-Hunting (Go-Fish in normal parlance). I won.
Tidied up a bit; are making dinner (hot dogs...Joe's frying them in the
skillets). Oh...they're done. Back to either my novel (yes, I have been
working on it in my spare time!) or Go-Hunting.
7:05 pm
Dad, Ben, Eric, and Beth are finally back. Ben got a doe finally! We
heard a shot and I was hoping Ben had got one, since he's done the most
traipsing around over tarnation with nothing to show for it.
Wednesday, 5:15 am
Yay, our last day! Everybody's getting a little homesick. We miss our beds, especially me. Beth thrashes in her sleep!
Originally we were going to go home last night, but Ben has today off, too. Dad has until Sunday off.
Dad's frying sausage patties for breakfast.
I'm getting a cold. Ugh.
6:35 am
I get the nicest stand. Or the second-nicest. I'm sitting here in Ben's
pickup, waiting for shooting light (half an hour before sunrise). Ben's
going where Joe and I went last night. Joe's going to Eric's Spot.
Eric's gonna stay in camp, since he only has an elk tag left and
nobody's seen elk sign. Dad and Beth are going to road hunt, I think,
so I imagine I'll see them a few times.
Noon
Well, my stand was out of the wind, but kind of cold (I had to turn the
pickup off; Ben didn't want me wasting his gas). Saw nothing but cars
pass, including Dad and Beth, who did road hunt.
Nobody got anything yet.
Came back to camp around 10; talked about if we should go home tonight
or tomorrow night. We decided yes, we would go home tonight. The only
one who really really wanted to stay was Ben anyway. We kind of miss
our beds and family and stuff.
After our talk we did a road-hunt loop. Saw a "meow-kitty" (as in
housecat) tracks, and cougar tracks, but no deer. Well, except in a
Private Property meadow. Dad took pictures, then honked. They all ran
towards the fence, so we dropped Joe off to walk up Red Lodge Creek
Trail. Ben's getting Joe. Dad's frying up all the backstraps (we're
gonna see once and for all which are the best, little deer or big!) for
lunch (with oven toast).
1:55 pm
Dad, Ben, and Joe just left for Ben's meadow.
Just before Ben came back from getting Joe, he shot a little one, so he
has no more deer tags, just elk. Same with Beth and Eric. So Ben is now
chauffeur. Joe and I have A tags (muley buck, whitetail either sex),
and Dad has a B tag (whitetail antlerless; they both have elk tags
besides). In a while I'm going to go walk around near camp.
The deer backstraps were good but not very filling. lol Nobody could
decide on which was the best, either. I liked the buck and the little
deer best; some liked Ben's doe best, some liked Eric's buck best. They
were all good!
7:30 pm
At Taco Time fueling in Red Lodge. Ate dinner; on our way home.
***
Now for the rest of the story!
I was going to walk around the meadow near camp, looking down into the
creek, but instead I decided to walk down the road to Eric's Spot
instead. He told me there was a stump cut in two levels, and to the
right a little dip to sit in. Passing by, I didn't see it, so I walked
up the road to the hollow where I'd gotten my deer on Sunday. Saw
nothing; came back down. (Oh, I did see raccoon tracks, but that was
it.) Climbed the hill behind Eric's Spot; still couldn't find his spot.
I did find a two-level stump, but it wasn't the right one because there
wasn't a dip next to it. Sat there for a while to catch my breath. Over
the hill behind me, I heard a funny noise.
That's a funny noise, I thought. I heard it again. There's a funny noise again. But I was too tired at the moment to go look.
I decided to walk down the hill, and see if I could find Eric's spot.
If I couldn't, I'd just go back and walk the meadows near camp. But I
did find it. The dip was real handy; you just plunked your rear in it,
and your feet were propped up and so was your back. Real comfy. No
wonder Eric always fell asleep! (We joked about his snoring as a deer
call!)
I sat there, laid back, with my backpack next to me and my rifle on top
of it. I really wasn't in a shooting position, but I was comfortable!
I heard a funny noise off to the right.
That's a funny noise, I
thought, but just sat there still. Then I saw movement to the right. A
buck, picking his way, angling up to the hill in front of me. I didn't
count his antler points; I just saw it was a buck. I started scooting
into shooting position. He would stop, look in my general direction (he
couldn't see me; he never did!), then flick his ear like "what EVER!"
and keep moseying along. I'd scoot a little more, he'd stop, etc.
Finally I was in a good position. He was just ambling along real slow,
so I yelled "Hey!" to make him stop. He did, and I aimed. Then I
noticed a tiny tree in front of my scope. Whoops. He flicked his ear
and kept walking; I scooted to the left a little and "Hey"'ed again. He
stopped, and I aimed.
Now, something funny happens when I aim at bucks; maybe it's the
proverbial "buck fever". I was steady, then as I was squeezing the
trigger my left arm kept jiggling a little more, and a little more, and
I was afraid I'd miss! But I shot, and bam,
he hit the ground. I cheered. Yes I did. I do that when I'm by myself
and excited. I ran up to him (it was a 2-point buck), and I hadn't
missed. Well, I HAD missed where I was aiming, but I hit him in the
spine and killed him instantly. That kind of miss I like!
I drug him down the hill about 20 feet, tagged him, and was deciding
what to do. I'd never done a buck before, just does (which are easier
to eviscerate, let me tell you!). And I needed a bone-saw for his
breastbone. So I decided I'd just have to leave him, and go get Eric to
give me advice and bring the bone-saw. I was just about to head down
the road when Eric paged me on my radio. I'd been paging him for the
last 15 minutes, but he'd just then heard it. I explained; he and Beth
came down.
Took about 40 minutes to eviscerate it, since it was my first buck and I was very very careful. He had lots and lots of fat!
So finally got done; started dragging it up the road. It was really
heavy, and we were about two-thirds of the way to camp, when we stopped
because we heard somebody on the road. Turned out to be Dad, Ben, and
Joe. Loaded the buck in the pickup; went back to camp. Dad took a
picture (the LAST picture on the box camera!), then broke camp.
Went to Taco Time in Red Lodge to eat dinner. Unfortunately I couldn't
enjoy it too much because of my cold. :( But what I could taste was
really good!
Got home around 9:00 or 9:30. Unloaded the deer into the garage; came inside and told all our stories.
Had a good sleep!
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Anne-the-cat
For full effect of images, bolds, italics, page breaks, and my cool *NEW* template, please visit:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/pianogal86
Leaving for hunting again; will be back Wednesday probably. :)
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Anne-the-cat
For full effect of images, bolds, italics, page breaks, and my cool *NEW* template, please visit:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/pianogal86
Eight. Today Mom, the big boys, and Beth went to dig two postholes for
a Care Net Pregnancy Center sign (in the empty lot beside Planned
Parenthood). They picked up my friend, who was in charge of it, so so
far that's six. Then you have her mom, who made snacks, and the guy who
let them put the sign on the property. So, that's roughly four people
per hole...that should get it done fast!
Go Get 'Em, Tiger: Free Entertainment
Last night at about ten-thirty I heard "scribble-scratch" in the
bathtub. Upon investigation, I found Pi (my cat) had caught a mouse and
was playing with it in the tub! Talk about play pens. There were a few
bath toys in there, making it even more interesting and challenging, I
assume. The twins and I watched for a while, then the mouse started
"winding down". Em decided to grab it by the tail and put it in the
toilet, so she did. Yuck.
Pi jumped out of the bathtub and looked at us, meowing, so I petted her
and told her what a great cat she was. She went back to the kitchen,
and we went back to bed.
Not ten minutes later, I hear "scribble-scratch" in the bathtub! Holy
cow. Yes, another mouse! This one was a little more agile, and lasted
longer than the last one. Em didn't want to pick it up again, so she
ran to the kitchen and returned with a pair of tongs. (Mom, just skip
the next few lines, please...) She went to grab it, but dropped the
tongs.
"YOU do it!" she told me.
Well, all right. I picked up the tongs, nabbed the mouse, dropped it in
the toilet, and flushed. Pi had already gotten bored, and had jumped
out before, while Em was getting the tongs.
Yes, we washed our hands.
And as Mom would say (you can start reading again, by the way), "Go get 'em, Tiger!"
Yesterday I Performed My American Duty (or something)
Yesterday was Tuesday. That's important, because Beth and I clean house for the "presidents" every Tuesday.
Because Ben and I were/are first-time voters (yes, I could have voted
last year, but we forgot. I turned 18 in 2004, but after the election,
so I wasn't in on a presidential election), we had to go to the
courthouse to register. The line was pretty long in the little
anteroom, and twisted around on itself a couple times.
Ben remarked, "Pretty soon this is going to look like a Japanese
swimming pool!" (If you haven't seen pictures of it...it's more people
in one place than I've ever imagined!"
While standing in line, Mom said (loud enough for other people to hear,
but not loud on purpose), "I guess we'll be later to the presidents
than we thought." (because the line was so long.) I just wonder what
people thought!
And there were no mishaps at the presidents this time! And we finished
in two hours, opposed to the two and a half of last time, and three of
the first time!
Why I Wear My Jeans Rolled Up
It seems to be the fashion, at least here, for girls, to wear their
jeans rolled up...but not quite rolled up; just the bottom three inches
or so turned back on itself, like somewhat of a capri style pant. I'm
afraid I follow this fashion, but only out of necessity, let me assure
you. See, I'm short. You probably knew that already. And I'm also
inclined embonpoint, too.
(That's a fancy French word for "stoutness".) So either I get pants
that fit around the waist and are too long in the legs, or tight in the
waist but the length is ok.
Apparently, people of my height are expected to be thinner. :-/
Deerly Beloved
While Mom and Beth were gone (to Beth's recorder lessons), there were
about eight deer in the field opposite our house. We watched them for a
very long time, before they finally left.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Anne-the-cat
For full effect of images, bolds, italics, page breaks, and my cool *NEW* template, please visit:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/pianogal86
In our house, on Beth and I's bedroom door, to be exact, we have a
burgler-proof (and sometimes Mom- and Anne-proof) doorknob that seems
to like only Beth. The knob we had before made it so the door could
just be pushed open, it never caught, so Mom got us a new doorknob.
Beth installed it. Next time I think I will, because it only likes her.
No kidding, that is the hardest doorknob to open! Even harder than
Mom's room's knob! So...if ever a burgler comes in our house...we'll
know when they're trying to open our room door!
NaNoWriMo: 5,479/50,000
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Anne-the-cat
For full effect of images, bolds, italics, page breaks, and my cool *NEW* template, please visit:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/pianogal86
No, the cat has not gotten my tongue (or my fingers...for one thing, I don't let her). Let's just say I was computer-deficient for a week. All regular programming will now continue as regularly programmed.
If that made no sense...well, I barely understand it, too.
Ever heard of "NaNoWriMo"? No? Well it's a funny-sounding acronym for "National Novel Writing Month". Every November, people sign up and try to beg, borrow, or steal 50,000 words to complete a novel in one month. Thirty days. You heard me. 50,000 words in 30 days.
So.
I signed up, but I highly doubt I'll get that many words of a novel out. The most I've managed to squeeze out is a little over 15,000, and that was over four years (of sporadic writing).
Yikes.
I think I'm gonna quit before I start.
Just kidding! :D
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Anne-the-cat
For full effect of images, bolds, italics, page breaks, and my cool *NEW* template, please visit:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/pianogal86
I was writing the whole time we were gone...well, not the WHOLE time,
but I did make some space to write! The boys were fascinated, it
seemed...Joe and Dad both took pictures of me writing! They took
pictures of me in my (new) hunting suit, too. The film has to be
developed, though, and the way film is developed around our house, good
luck on seeing the pictures maybe next year!
Saturday
We left
home at noon, or shortly after. First we went to Laurel to fuel, then
headed for the mountains. Got here around three or so. Saw around 100
deer on the way here, including a very nice-sized buck. We (well, the
boys and Dad) set up camp by unhooking and leveling the trailer.
Unfortunately nobody brought a level, or even a
marble, so it probably isn't very level.
Then we circled the
"Loop", which is about four or five miles around [Dad clocked it later
and it was 5 miles] in Ben's pickup. Us girls sat in the front with
Ben, and the other two boys and Dad sat on the tailgate and collected
firewood. We pointed out to Beth the points of interest: where Ben shot
his deer last year; where we were when he shot it (only a couple
hundred yards away); where we got stuck; where Dad parked and I learned
Morse code (but I forgot most of it, except the really important
letters--the ones that spell SOS and my name); where Dad shot part of
an antler off a buck; where the boys trailed it over the
mountain...pause. There were four deer in that area; tomorrow being the
beginning of hunting season, they weren't skittish at all; they were
curious instead. Anyway. Showed where Joe shot his deer; where I shot
my deer; where we dragged it on a sled; where I gutted it, and where
Ben rode it uphill in a sled.
Periodically on the way, Dad told Ben to stop so the boys and Dad could jump off and collect firewood.
When
we came back Dad made a fire. We sat around it for a while, then Dad
wient in the trailer to make dinner, and I went in so my feet would
thaw (I was just wearing my "lounge shoes", not my good boots).
We had sloppy joes.
Dad's trying to light the lantern so we can
play poker--with MY change-and eat our emergency rations (candy bars
and pepperoni sticks). Tata!
Sunday
Opening day of hunting season (rifle, at least). None of us,
including Dad (in the 20-some years he's been hunting) have ever gone
out on opening day. It's kind of strange. Yesterday the deer were
curious about us. Curious! Usually when we go it's four or five weeks
into hunting season when we go--we've been known to go a week before
closing--and the deer are skittish. Not so now! Dad has always imagined
too many people on opening day, and there HAS been a lot of traffic
this morning. Down the Loop a little bit, at the trailhead, some guys
made camp and pitched a tent.
Dad just handed me breakfast. Later!
10:30 AM
Now I know why Dad didn't want to go hunting on opening day! It IS
crowded! There were 10 cars and pickups parked in ONE AREA of the Loop.
Ben and I went around the Loop in his pickup. We stopped a couple times
and walked. When we drove, it was very slow, so the vehicles lined up
behind us. One guy wanted to go fast or something, and whenever Ben and
I got "too far ahead", he sped up and "pert' near" tailgated us the
whole way! Until we got to one particular hill, where we seen the
curious deer yesterday. I spotted a deer's head and ears above the
hill, so Ben told me to go up the hill and he'd go around.
I tell you what, that was the steepest hill I've ever been on! I
told him I wasn't gonna go up that hill any more! When I got out of the
pickup, the woman in the second pickup behind us smiled sympathetically
at me. Now I know why!
Ben went around the hill and shot at one in the road. He said,
"You know when it's crowded when you have to pretend people aren't
there!" He missed his shot, because he was so nervous because the
people were watching.
Beth one poker last night; I'm winning right now (it's now 11:30). Later!
1:30 PM
We goofed around for a while, drove around the Loop, and are back at
camp waiting for our cup o'noodle (a hunter's staple) water to boil so
we can have lunch.
Eric and I are sitting around the fire pit (there's no fire). Dad's calling for soup.
3:10 PM
About three and a half hours left for shooting light. I'm sittin' here
on my stand (which is actually a sit because I'm sitting), waiting for
the deer to come by. The boys, Dad, and Beth all went up in the
mountains to walk over "half of tarnation", as Eric says. (They walked
over the first half of tarnation this morning.)
Did you know trees and rocks and stuff are really good deer
impersonators? On a hill opposite our camp is an "elk" eating from a
tree. (Dad and Beth already climbed that hill and discovered indeed, it
wasn't an elk.)
The trailer was a very cozy fit last night. Ben slept on the bed
that folds out from the ceiling; Dad slept on the couch/bed beneath;
Joe and Eric slept on the floor, and Beth and I slept on the table bed.
Originally, Dad was going to sleep on the floor, and Joe and Eric on
the couch, but they didn't want to sleep together so they traded Dad.
Joe slept in the aisle; Eric slept UNDER Dad's bed. It was SO funny! He
looked like he was having too much fun! Dad called it his
"sarcophagus".
I was very comfortable, and faced the wall the whole night (Beth
was on the edge). Unfortunately Beth kept elbowing my back. She said
she elbowed me every time she rolled over, and that she had a restless
sleep, so no wonder!
I better shut up and pay more attention to the landscape (don't
worry, I HAVE been looking!). [Didn't see anything there that night at
all.]
7:15 PM Man I'm
tired, and I haven't even done as much walking as the rest of them! I
pert' near fell asleep on my stand earlier. I sat there for three
hours, I think, then got up to look on the other side of the road,
where I'd gotten my deer last year. Eric was down there though, and
told me about the mountains he and the boys crossed. I told him the
only thing I'd seen was a mouse and a lot of bugs and cars. Eric had
shot at a deer, but missed.
Eric and I talked for a minute, then the people at the beginning
of the road (in a Nomad camper trailer) came by and talked for a sec,
then left.
Ben and Joe came by in Ben's pickup shortly after, and we
all got in to go find Beth and Dad in the mountains. They were only
down the road, so we continued down the Loop anyway. Joe and Eric were
cold (they were riding on the tailgate), so the four of us crammed into
the cab, and continued up the mountain.
We were passing a thickly wooded spot, and I thought I saw a bear
where the tall trees ended. But then I thought it wasn't. I thought it
MIGHT have been an elk, but it didn't look quite right. Then I realized
what it was.
"Stop, Ben! Moose!" I pointed, and he stopped. Joe jumped out and
snapped a couple pictures. We could only see her face and part of her
body. We could see she was drooling, though. Great globs of drool was
dropping from her mouth. Now isn't there a beer called Moose Drool?
Well, after seeing REAL moose drool, the beer seems even more
unappetizing to me!
When we got back around, Dad and Beth were just coming into camp.
We told stories and built a fire, then came inside. The boys and Beth
played poker, and I wrote this.
Dad's dishing up dinner: chunked potatoes, carrots, and meat. It smells awesome! I'm gonna quit and eat.
Monday 2:00 PM This
morning we all hung around camp on stands, except Eric and Joe, who
walked around. No luck. Met back at camp around 9:30 or so; dropped
Beth, Dad, and Joe off in the mountains, dropped Eric off at a meadow,
then Ben and I went walking at the trailhead. We agreed to meet the
rest at noon. At about eleven thirty we started back for the mountains.
We picked Eric up, and continued. Eric had his radio on, and had been
talking to Dad. Ben turned his radio on, and we heard they got some--a
buck, a doe, and Joe got a little deer. We went up there as fast as we
could. Joe had JUST gotten his, right before the radio conversation.
Dad got the buck, a 2 point, and Beth got the doe. Joe hadn't gutted
his yet, so he did that while Dad, Ben, and I went around the Loop
again. When we got back, Joe was just finishing, so we loaded it (well,
Joe did it by himself, because it was so small), and came back to camp
for lunch.
9:15 PM Almost ready for bed.
Joe's getting his gear together on the floor. After lunch we dropped
Dad and Beth off, drove down a little, and the rest of us piled out. We
walked a ways, then dropped me off at a stand, and the rest continued
(Joe was on a stand not far from me). Gotta go; light's going off.
Monday (continued on Tuesday) Ok, so they dropped Joe off, then Eric, then Ben walked for a ways before coming back.
I hadn't brought my suit overalls, just my coat, so I got kind of cold.
I made up my mind that when I got cold I'd climb the hill opposite me,
to see what was on the other side, and to get warmed up. On the way up
I saw Joe, and giant moose tracks.
Only a guy chopping firewood was on the other side.
I came back down. The sun had sunk past the mountains, and it was
cooling off, so I couldn't sit in a stand, so I decided to climb the
hill that had been to my back. I talked to Joe a little, then headed up
the hill. I got to the top, and went along the crest. The forest just
continued on the other side. It reminded me of Oregon; the trees
smelled good, sometimes I'd see moss, and the ground was covered in fir
and pine needles.
Ben and Eric came up to meet me; Eric was cold so he went to the
pickup. Ben and I continued for another quarter mile or so, but it was
getting dark so we headed back.
When we got back to where the pickup was SUPPOSED to be, it wasn't
there. I turned on my radio, but Joe said it didn't work and turned his
own on and talked to Beth. I think it was just because HE wanted to
talk on it. Beth said Eric and Dad were finishing gutting Eric's deer,
and they'd be back shortly. We walked a ways, then they came. "Hop on
the back!" Dad said, so we did. I was afraid I'd fall off, but I didn't
want to sit too far on the left, because I'd have to sit in the blood
and I didn't want to change my pants for bed. (I only had overalls
left, and overalls aren't very good while hunting.) So I stayed out of
the blood, but was afraid I'd fall off because Dad was going so fast.
Both boys agreed Dad was going faster than Ben ever did, but Dad did a
better job of staying out of the potholes. So I scooted back so I was
over the hinge where the pickup and the tailgate met. Unfortunately
that meant my feet were sticking off the end because my legs are so
short, and whenever we went over a bump my rear end hurt, but at least
I wasn't going to fall off!
Got back to camp; had hot dogs for dinner and roasted marshmallows and s'mores for dessert.
Tuesday 11:05 AM We hiked for a little bit, then had a (very cold) stand--oh, headed out again.
12:05 PM Back; saw nothing but a guy in a pickup and a couple grouse and magpies.
Anyway. Hiked down a hill; Eric and Ben walked way up the draw but left
me behind so I could stop wherever I wanted to be (Dad and Beth had
stopped already; Joe was left near camp). I hiked a little longer, then
had that long, cold stand. The sun hadn't come up one the side of the
hill I was on yet, so it was cold. I walked back up the hill and came
out on the road at a different place. Dad and Beth was just coming down
the road, so they picked me up. We picked the boys up; went back to
camp and started writing. Everybody is very interested in my writing
this out for my blog. Joe took a picture of me writing, and so did Dad
(he also took a picture of me in my suit).
Dad's heating water for cup o'noodles; Joe's glassing the mountains
(Butcher, Bear, and Froze-to-death, but we don't know which one is
Froze-to-death); Ben, Beth, and Eric are playing poker.
Just collected my beef cup o'noodles; Dad's passing out water now.
7:45 PM Well...after lunch we
walked way, way back up to a meadow. Eric, Beth, and I sat in the
meadow, facing different directions. Beth and I were at the same tree,
just facing different directions.We both had our backs to the tree. Her
spot was real nice. Mine was pretty nice, but there was a stick poking
in my back, so I put my TP on it, and it was much better.
We waited a long, long time. The sun went down behind Bear Mountain,
and it was getting cold. I hadn't seen anything all day. Then I did. A
nice, 3 by (meaning 3 points on each side) buck, just moseying along. I
tried to whistle to stop him, but my mouth was cold and my whistler
wasn't working. So I yelled "Hey!" Beth, from the other side of the
tree, said "whaa...?" and I shot. The buck kicked up his heels and ran.
I went after it, but didn't see it. The boys all came over, and Dad.
Dad and I hiked all over the hill, and finally decided I'd probably
missed. I was trying to hurry, so that's probably why.
Anyway. Joe came up and looked at the tracks in the snow patch, and
found blood. How we missed it before, I don't know. Joe trailed it a
ways, but the snow was patchy so we lost the trail. It looked only like
a flesh wound, anyway.
We went back to camp...it's now nine PM and the boys are hooking the
trailer back up to the van. It's been fun, but we all decided out of
the comforts of home, we miss our beds the most!
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Anne-the-cat
For full effect of images, bolds, italics, page breaks, and my cool *NEW* template, please visit:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/pianogal86
Well, tomorrow we leave to the mountains to go hunting. We'll be gone from Saturday to Wednesday...probably leaving early Saturday and coming home late Wednesday. I shall have some interesting stories to tell, I'm sure. That reminds me of the story of the drowned deer...
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Anne-the-cat
For full effect of images, bolds, italics, page breaks, and my cool *NEW* template, please visit:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/pianogal86
