Doc

So, I have a super tall redbud next to the house that got planted in the absolutely worst spot. It struggled for light and grew way taller than they are supposed to and leaned out toward the house. So the other day I noticed that a huge hollow spot is now visible about half way up and the tree is not long for this world and when it comes down, it will likely take gutters and a bunch of vinyl siding and perhaps even a window. so now I have to figure out a way of getting this thing down by dropping it 180 degrees from where it is leaning. Here comes the plan. I have to get a rope up into the top of the tree so I can winch it backwards with a come-along and or my ATV. So I have been busy this morning mounting a fishing rig on one of my old recurves. I am going to shoot the arrow through a crotch at the top of the tree. Then tie a good heavy rope onto the fishing line and pull the heavy rope up and through the crotch in the tree. Then, I will tie a cross-bar on the rope and pull it through until it lodges into the fork in the tree. Then I can apply pressure and drop the tree where I want to. What do you suppose the odds are that all that is going to work perfectly ....... lol. This all sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Yeah, no claws showing, and the roundness of the track make it look like a cat. The only thing that makes it a little confusing is the scale. Is it a bobcat or a house cat?

One time when I was on a fishing trip, deep into the wilds of Ontario Canada, the only defense was a big old stogie. So go find a few of the stinkiest, rotten smelling, cigars and torch one up when you are on the verge of madness due to any bug infestation. And then post a selfie. That would be a riot...... Growie with a stogie .... lol. I gave up all smoking so that remedy is no longer available to me, but I will say that it sure worked. There were no bugs that could tolerate that smoke screen. I'll bet a pipe would work good too.

Dang! I love that follow-through ..... perfect!

The most gear that I carry for hunting happens on opening day of gun season for deer. That is the day when I intend to spend the whole day. I am not all that far from the house that day, but the food alone would break the back of a good horse. I have all kinds of crap. Cameras, a full thermos of coffee, layers and layers of clothes, a folding stool, and so many other things that I can't even remember. The first part of the hill is almost hands and knees travel. It is crazy. But I don't want to have any excuses for quitting early when the shooting slows down to near nothing, and I start getting bored. If I have to, I'll pull out a magazine just to keep myself entertained. I always know there will be something in that pack that will keep me there just a little bit longer. Maybe another one of those 5 cold fried egg sandwiches.....lol. That opening day is more like a camping trip than a hunt.

Sooner or later, we all will be forced to slow down a bit ....... one way or another. I am starting to see it. My hunting is starting to revolve around where I can get my ATV for deer retrieval. The future of projects are starting to be determined based on what kinds of aches and pains and incapacitation that I might suffer if I take them on. Slow and steady for everything these days.....lol. It's not time to stay in bed yet, but I'm not ready to sprint up our hill anymore.

I wouldn't really try to assign any kind of trend to the way my life developed around archery. I was fine until I got the competition bug and started thinking that success was measured by the amount of equipment that I owned. It was that and a bit of becoming a archery hoarder ..... lol. There is always something intriguing about thinking that some magic piece of new technology can provide a band-aid for form problems or some other natural flaw in one's shooting expertise. It's not an age thing or something that everyone has to go through. But there does seem to be a constant evolution in bowhunting that becomes a search for short-cuts and crutches and paths to a purchased type of success that provides things that mentally trend towards guarantees or at least a notion of a guarantee. We tend to say we're in it for the challenge and then do everything in our power to remove as much of the challenge as is technologically possible. I think it is merely human nature. Is it just bowhunting? ...... Probably not.

You know we laugh at this picture as a ridiculous representation of a bowhunter, but I saw a guy up on the hill a couple of years back that would have been a good character to start this photoshop project with. This guy had a huge pack (and I do mean huge!) bulging with I don't know what all, and was carrying some huge ladder-stand, and had all kinds of junk hanging off his pack his pants his coat and any square inch of his body where he could fit something. He had just made it to the top of our "killer-hill" and was sweating like a pig and huffing and puffing like he was in the throes of cardiac arrest. I hope I wasn't laughing at him loud enough for him to hear as he staggered past.

Ha ha ....... Last time I was over to Bullseye was to have my broken string replaced on my 17 year old Mathews so I could go out and shoot my hi-tech autumn orange XX75 aluminum arrows. I even sharpened up some of my old 1960's bear Razorheads a few years back and killed another deer with those.....lol. No, my days of chasing technology and trying to buy success have been over for decades. In fact, look up cheap in the dictionary and you'll see my picture right there with the definition....lol. Ah, but I did have my day. You should have seen my wall of equipment back in my tournament days. I out-did most of the archery shops. Damn the chrome 3' stabilizer bars and metal-fleck custom paint jobs and the drawer full of releases and sights, and the other drawer of all the latest gizmos and go-fasters ....I had it all. I was not to be outdone by the best of them. But that old Mathews (which was the hottest thing on the market) was the last investment in new technology that I have made. I have bought replacement equipment for broken stuff, but I took a look at that old Damon Howatt recurve on the wall and realized that that bow had killed a few deer just as dead as my fancy Mathews. I began a cheapo campaign from that day on. I started counting up the deer that I had taken with that nasty old Bear Whitetail Hunter, and it put it all in perspective. Those clunky old epoxy limbs that could double as a crowbar really was actually a deer-killing machine. That thought was the cure. I can now walk into an archery pro-shop and never have my hand even twitch toward my wallet anymore. And I'm still killing deer.

Not much can be said at times of loss like this. Grandparents are special people that often take up a large part of our heart. My grandparents have been gone a long time now, but I still remember the hurt when they went. Nothing will replace their loss, but try to fill the void with fond memories of the good times you had together. The pain will eventually pass, but the memories will be with you forever. Treasure those.

Yeah, this was intended to be funny, but the fact is that it is a graphic reminder of what has happened to bowhunting. I remember when guys got into bowhunting because they wanted a form of hunting that represented extra challenge. Success was a noteworthy accomplishment because the equipment was quite stripped down and primitive function. Over the decades, we have done our best to remove challenge in bowhunting in any way that technology can provide. Today bow season is just valued as a warmer time of the year to hunt deer. Everybody likes the idea of taking a deer with a bow, but tries their best to make that challenge and accomplishment less of a big deal by adding whatever techno-gizmos they can pile on. It is a whole different mentality than it was when the season was first established, and this picture although intentionally exaggerated to be humorous, shows the new mentality of bowhunting perfectly.

Yeah, I have no idea what Kansas looks like this time of the year. But two guys sitting close enough together to both be shot in the face is really hard to believe. My gosh, didn't they see him pull up getting ready to shoot. It's all so hard to even imagine. There had to have been a clear line of sight between them. Weird!!!!

He shot two different guys in the face with one shot? It really doesn't make any sense. The damned foliage isn't even out yet. The woods is wide open such that you can see forever. One guy could never be obstructed such that you couldn't clearly identify him, let alone TWO. Really, this sounds like something intentional. The investigators should look long and hard at this one.

Those big fat pollywogs .......... super great bullhead bait!

Every time I read one of these Trump-bashing threads, I am reminded of just what the alternatives were during this past election, and it puts it all into a whole different perspective.

I've still got puddles of standing water in the garden. Not sure when (or if) the darn thing will ever dry up.

Yes ..... Where do you find one of those deaf, blind, and clueless deer. It was like she was waving a flag, and still the deer wasn't catching on. That is where those myths about deer never looking up come from.....lol.

Be sure to keep in mind what a killer a pair waders can be if you get swept off your feet. Don't take any chances.

I have watched young deer doing that. And it is usually is in the spring. I think its some version of spring fever. They just run around all squirrelly and goofy, just feeling good. Sometimes I feel like doing that......... but I can't anymore ....lol.

Ha.......That doesn't look like a place where he will find any fish to eat. However, we once had a rookery way up on top of our hill that is about a mile from any swamp or other body of water. They had about 6 or 7 nests way up in the tree-tops.

I'm locked in for the day. The house, front yard, and out-buildings are all high and dry. But ....there is a huge lake across the driveway and through the thicket up front, with water about 700 feet up the driveway. I was hoping that I might get away without a flood this year. It is a huge inconvenience, but not a disaster or anything. The swamp on the other side of the road comes up very slowly and then eventually (Within a day or so) goes back down .... very slowly. No real current to do any damage. Apparently we wound up getting a heck of a lot of rain.

I was screwed up by a super dense fog up on our hill once. I was at the very top of the hill and was started down the wrong side when I finally saw enough landmarks that told me I was going the wrong way. That could have turned out ugly with maybe an unplanned night out in the woods. Who would have thought I would ever need a compass in an area I have hunted all my life?

A full beard and mustache has always served to remove the white glare of my face. Unfortunately, as age progresses, my facial hair has become more white than the face I was trying to cover up.....lol. However, when bowhunting, I really don't want anything dangling from my face since it occasionally interferes with my anchor and the bowstring ripping away from my face.

Yup, it's howling like crazy out there right now. Doesn't it seem like this year has been almost constant high winds. I spend all my time cleaning up branches off the lawns, and I'm getting a bit tired of it.

I think a lot of these guys that won't shoot does simply don't like venison. They don't want to go through all the mess and effort just to harvest meat that they don't even like the taste of. They become "head hunters" for big racks.