Busy, busy, busy.

First off I must apologize for my lackluster blogging of late.  I have been consumed with so many things that when I sit down at the computer I tend to fall asleep.
I'm not terribly worried about it but just thought I would fill you in on the details.

For instance this morning I have been browsing the web for coupons.  I will be going grocery shopping this morning for deer camp stock.  I have to feed 4 people for 10 days.
Where we go is quite secluded and you just don't run to the store if you forget something.  So I sit here and plan every menu to infinite detail.  Right down to how many napkins I need as well as salt and pepper and slices of cheese.  There is only so much room and so many pounds that the truck and camper can carry.  Excess baggage or groceries do not make the list.

Here is a snippet of the list I have made just for breakfast.

66 eggs, 8 lbs of frozen hash browns, 24 sausage links, 32 sausage patties, 1 pound of bacon,16 slices of Canadian bacon, 24 slices of cheese, 24 English Muffins, 2 gallons of orange juice, 1 loaf of bread, 1 tub of butter, 1 bottle of syrup, 1 gallon of milk, 16 biscuits, 4 pouches of sausage gravy mix, salt, pepper, plates, napkins, forks, knives.

Now imagine a list for lunches and dinners as well.

Now imagine all the pots, pans, utensils, blankets, sheets, sleeping bags, clothes, axes, chainsaws, water jugs, coffee pot, lanterns, propane, tarps, crapper, hand warmers, tree stands, shovel, rake, awning, tent stakes, fire cooking grates, back packs, bows, guns, ammunition, hats, gloves, boots...

The list is practically endless.  It takes a lot of time to prep for this event.  Every free minute I have I am immersed in it.  

Unfortunately two members of the hunting party reside in Florida and are unable to assist.  The third, my step son, works and goes to college and when not doing that has several sports he is involved in.  He has no time either.
On the flip side, fortunately, I have no life.  Nuff said!

Here it is on the eve of November.  It is cold and breezy outside.  The rain comes and goes.  Forecast is calling for a slight accumulation of wet slushy snow tonight.  The poor trick or treaters can never seem to catch a break.

Luckily for me most of the leaves have fallen off the trees.  Last night after work I had just enough time and gasoline to get the lawn cleared of leaves and mowed.  Hopefully that is the last time.

I try to get the leaves cleaned up at least once a week so I don't have to spend so much time at the end of the leaf season doing it.

After a years worth of searching I finally found a cap for my truck.  Well, there were others but this one was affordable.  The truck is a 2011 model year so it has been tough finding a used cap that would fit.  Being only a few years old most people that have a cap still have them on their original vehicle.  My diligence paid off.  Even though I had to drive a distance to get it, it was well worth it.

This is a welcome addition to deer camp as well as winter time driving.  I get so tired of having snow in the back of the truck.  It blows around and covers up the back window.  You can't put anything in the bed either.

So anyways you have my story.  Or excuse whichever you choose.  I will return to regular blogging upon my return.  Dad and Jr fly in on the 7th of November and we depart for camp before sunrise on the 8th.  They fly back out on the 19th so we have to be back by then.

It is going to be a great time.  It will be very crowded in my little camper with 4 people but we'll manage somehow.  I can't wait until the day arrives when I buy a piece of land up there and begin building my own little hunting cottage.

Signing off for now,

-Bushman

A visit to Deer Camp 2010

Good Morning,
It's breaking daylight outside.  Cold again.  3 mornings in a row with a good hard frost.
With deer camp right around the corner I thought I would share a re-post of this little bit from our 2010 Deer Camp.
I always laugh when I read this one.

2010 Deer Camp

Have  great day!
-Bushman

A Fire in the Night

Firelight flickered, reds and oranges danced in time with the darkness, while the blues and whites preferred to stay to themselves deep in the center.  They swirled their colors around the flames as if it were a dress on a ballroom floor.

The pops and cracks of the fire were soft and subtle.  Quietly appreciating the silence of the night and embracing her sleek stealth, not willing to break the music of her silence.

In their soft flickering, the flames illuminated the smooth round stones that surrounded them.  Pulled deep from the earth's cold grasp by some enormous force they lay at the edge of the cold, clear creek where years and years of rushing water had softened their edges, shaping and polishing them into the shapes they now held.  The water had brought out their true colors and the firelight enhanced them. Blue and grey, white and red.  It was if fate and destiny had combined them for this purpose alone.

Holding close to the fire, the stones watched her dance and slowly released the warmth into a spreading circle which reached into the night, beckoning and drawing near all within it's reach.

Outside of the warmth of the stones the ground sloped gently away.  Tall brown grasses moved ever so slightly in the night.  Illuminated only slightly by the reach of the fire.  Their greens, long ago tucked into bed for the winter, dreaming of spring and a return to warm sunshine.  Poplar saplings mingled with the grasses.  Ever vigilant in their race for the sun.  These too slept the winter away. Soft brown buds clung to their slender trunks waiting patiently for spring.

The ground beyond the grasses and saplings began to descend sharply and took the shape of a small creek bed filled with more stones and gravel.  The  cold, spring fed waters babbled quietly in the night.  Moonlight reflected off its ripples creating small crescents of lights.  They appeared to smile up at the night sky.  Tucked  halfway into the overhang of the sandy bank a small brook trout waited for dawn. Even the faintest colors of red upon its side caught the moonlight and twinkled in the dark.

The air was fresh and cold, the smell of the forest enveloped the senses.
Fresh earth and the slender needles of the white pine combined with the pungent smell of decaying leaf matter and the sage like smell of the ferns to create a heavenly perfume that exhilarated the senses.  A slight wisp of wood smoke added a nobility to the evening.

Beyond the glow of firelight the forest deepened into blackness where towering pines and gnarled oaks slept in peace.  Poplar groves stood stark in there slender contrast to the giant beech trees which commanded the attention of the all who passed by.  Their immensity only outdone by the enormity of the cloaking night.

It was among these trees where the animals of the forest lived.  One in particular roamed these brush filled draws and steep wooded ridges.  His keen eyesight gave him the ultimate advantage at night and his sense of smell conquered the day.  High up on a ridge he stood.  Lean and proud he raised his nose into the night air smelling for danger.  Wood smoke, they were back.

He made his way down the ridge for a closer look.  Through the trees he could just make out the faint light at the end of the sandy trail.  Creeping closer he stood within 50 yards of the fire.  He counted 4 of the uprights.  They talked quietly in the night.  Telling tales of the hunt and the hopefulness of great success for this year.  He bounded away into the blackness leaving only his tracks in the sand for the uprights to see in the morning.

The fire died down and night regained its control over the land.  The big buck ambled his way down the trail in search of love while the 4 uprights softly snored the night away with dreams of the day to come.

26 more days