Photobucket stalled at 34%, Picasa is still running and is 94% complete! (still holding my breath until they are viewable!)
Man, once again I am reminded of how important it is to tackle a task while it is small so that it is not insurmountable later.
I'm so excited about having another opportunity to deer hunt with my dad. We went last year for my first experience. There's just something about getting up before sunrise, traveling over a long gravel road around bends, up hills, through hollows to reach your destination--a small squat in the middle of the woods.
Last year I did see, and shot at, a buck. I never saw him again. I don't intend to make that mistake again.
Fast forward 10 hours or so.
Picasa came through! 100% downloaded and were viewable. whew! Now, hopefully I can free-up my sweet hubby's PC very soon.
Now, as far as the deer hunting--I have an update on that as well.
I arrived at my parent's house right around 2:00 PM. A beautiful day and a scenic route, it seems I had only left minutes before when I found myself rolling through the gates of their home.
Maggie is much more aware of her surroundings than I am. She may be, but I refuse to either: 1) Proceed with my head sticking out the window, or 2.) Proceed with my nose touching the air vent in the car inhaling deeply, eyes closed, only to then clear my sinuses by blowing snot out of my nose. While either method may be effective in its own right, I find it unnecessary.
Onward......
After chatting a bit, Daddy and I gathered a few things and were quickly in his truck headed for the "stay-cab," as it were.
My sister and her husband own a very quaint cabin nestled somewhere on who knows how many acres of woodland which my dad manages for them as they live in Germany. That place will hereafter be known as "the cabin."
Sometime after having this dwelling, my dad either placed or had placed a small (I'm talking small...) camper trailer at yet another location on the land to be used for hunting purposes as a sort of blind or the like.
It is equipped with gas heat, which has been very welcomed numerous times by many hunters, myself included. This (mo)bile cabin will from this time forward in my writings be referred to as the "mo-cab."
There is yet a third "cabin" of sorts which is again, much like a glorified blind. However, this one compared to the mo-cab is as a Holiday Inn is to a Motel 8. A step up in furnishings from the mo-cab as it sports a wide shelf that doubles as a bed for the weary from time-to-time.
This humble abode will henseforth be referred to the "stay-cab." (No wheels, so it ain't goin' nowhere, ya know? It's stayin'!)
All that to say this: we would be hunting from the stay-cab, and so we did.
Earlier I made a statement about how beautiful it was today. For a November day, it was very pleasant; clear skies were above us and a gentle breeze surrounded us.
The brightly colored golden leaves drifted like pinwheels from their former homes onto less lofty places as an occasional gust of wind threw its weight around.
Midday, and a good 3 hours before sundown, I could hardly wait until I was perched atop the padded down bar stool facing a sideways sliding glass window open just wide enough so that a gun barrel could be slipped onto the aluminum slides.
Again, my Native American roots began to stir within me as I became more astute, attentive, aware, tuned in, if you will.
After a quick review of the gun's safety and the distance markers, the watch began.
My riffle (the gauge/caliber escapes me....it is black, though, and it meets the guidelines of the Arkansas State Fish and Game Commission) was safely perched on a stack of National Geographic magazines duct taped together for stability.
In front of me, just a short distance outside my window, lay an empty/used-up salt block, just the brown container left covering the top of a stump.
Red flag markers indicated a 100 and 150 yard distance, respectively. Just beyond that, at the edge of the tree line: 190 yards.
Daddy and I whispered to each other a few times whilst hunting, but mostly the silence was broken by the sounds of birds overhead.
Basically, there are two sides of the stay-cab from which one can position the gun well enough to shoot--and kill--a deer.
I would switch sides with Daddy occasionally so that I could have a change of scenery and so that he could sit for a while.
So intent on at least seeing a deer, frequently I saw and heard things that were not there. I sure wanted them to be, though.
My foot resting on an ammo box and my elbows on the carpeted window sill, I was posed for success.
Yet, we saw nothing. I take that back...I saw nothing. Daddy saw to black bears, one ahead by about 15 minutes or so, running across the clearing just ahead of the 150 yard marker. I missed them.
Not long after that, we traded spots again and the sun wasn't long for the sky at that time.
The fact that Daddy told me that when the bear move in, the deer generally move out, made me feel better. I figured it musta been something like that. It surely wasn't me... wink...
About thirty minutes had passed when Daddy started sliding the window shut, locking it tightly and pulling the window shade down.
He informed me that it was getting too dark to hunt on that side as I most likely could not see my sights and set them on a deer with so little light.
I disagreed, and told him so, and informed him that I would swivel my chair around to that direction and scan every so often. He consented.
My back to Daddy, I then felt a nudging at my right shoulder, a whisper saying, "Hey, Teresa.." "Yeah?" I answered. "It's not nearly as dark with these things off," he said reaching around me holding out the pair of very dark shaded sunglasses. We both laughed, shaking our heads.
Though it was darker outside the window where Daddy was, outside my window was a sky which looked like pink and blue cotton candy. Beautiful.....
But even that scene faded into dusk and too dark to hunt. We began locking down and preparing to head back home.
No, I didn't see a deer. No, I didn't see the bear. But know this...I was with a dear, and he's much more fun and way smarter than the average bear!
Tomorrow's another day.....
A Little Off....
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