Fall 2012 Has Arrived!

 

Hello All,

And greetings from the Northwoods!

Things are buzzing here to say the least—the coveted Ruffed Grouse season 2012 has finally arrived, Woodcock season opened yesterday, the weather in the Northwoods is perfect, although quite windy the past few days. The leaves are starting to change, the ferns are dying, the geese are flying (more geese than I’ve ever personally seen in my lifetime), the sand hill cranes have haunted the neighborhood with their prehistoric-like calls, there a hundreds of tweetie-birds at the feeders again—everything is bustling!

There are at least a thousand things to do to get ready for winter, like the need for a lot of firewood (The wood stove has been cranking every night now), winterizing this old, drafty house, building platforms for my doggies to keep them up off mean cement, filling the barn full of enough straw to keep them comfy and cozy all winter, the driveway needs new gravel, bla, bla, bla….

There are young dogs to get into birds, new puppies are on the way, I have gals coming in heat, I have “work-work” (my job), I am trying to get the house ready for company. Ugh. I must admit that even though I say I don’t care about the house I live in as long as there are lots of opportunities for birds for the Llews, I do like a nice house and can’t wait to turn this place into the fashionable, rustic farmhouse with a smashingly cool guest loft above the barn that I have always envisioned… Someday, I know, I know. It’s so obvious I am female, right? lol

Anyway, it is a beyond busy and my head is swimming trying to sort through the priorities because all I want to do is hunt! Of course, what else could I possibly want to do? ::sigh:: So, I am trying to balance it all.

The dogs are doing fantastic and are having a grand time hunting—this is what they live for and it’s their time to shine!

We’ve had lots of excitement with everything from the kids and Scott visiting to porcupine encounters, coyote, black bear, and wolf sightings, me getting lost (…really just a bit turned around when of course I was just out for a quick hunt in a new area (all the areas I am hunting are new))… lesson learned again is to never leave the truck without grabbing the gps or phone with gps… unless you have the time and inclination to walk a few extra thousand yards out-of-the-way trying to find the truck. ugh, what a goober. My excuse is that I grew up in the rolling hills of PA. You always have a landmark or point of reference in the mountains of PA. I could always figure out exactly where I was or where I left the truck–and it was even easier in the dark. Seriously. I grew up hunting at night (coon-hunting with hounds) and archery hunting whitetail, so walking in the woods into stands was always in the dark before sunrise or after sunset or following after the howling hounds all night. It is easier to not use lights, too! Once your eyes and ears adjust to the dark, you can see the lay of the land—you see further, you hear better, you are much more aware of everything around you.  Anyway, in this flat-country, I find it much more difficult to keep my bearings and I never owned a gps until hunting here. Maybe I’ve just become lazy and dependent on electronic devices, too. I am more engrossed in the dogs and what they are doing than paying attention to my surroundings!

 

Never the less, I’ve had a grand time running the dogs every chance I get. After work and all the chores, I can’t wait to hurry-hurry out to the woods or get up and escape to the woods before work! We are getting into birds and there is nothing better than being ass butt-dragging exhausted at the end of an insanely physically demanding day and the house filled with the wonderful aroma of a Ruffed Grouse or three sauteing in the cast iron skillet while I soak my aching feet (can barely wait for a new pair of boots) and aging bones, and the dogs content and snuggled in their boxes in a cushy, warm bed of straw (or on my ever-deflating air mattress). 🙂 Life is grand in the Northwoods in September. This is what it’s all about. This makes it all worth it to me.

 

I have been awful (obviously) at remembering to take the camera with me or remembering to take it out of the truck before we head into the woods. Or I drag it along (it’s no little pocket camera), just to find I left it in the truck overnight and because it’s cold out now the battery drains faster and its dead. Sorry. I’ll get it together… or maybe not. I better not make any promises I can’t keep. By the end of one day, another is beginning and with just a few hours of rest for my old bones, I just haven’t kept up with the blog or the site for that matter.

 

There’s been inquires the past few days about the older male pups, so I did get the camera out of the truck this morning, charge the dead battery, and got a few shots of them romping around the yard this morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, that’s all for now. With litters arriving soon, I don’t have much time to get out and about to hunt and explore all the territory I want. I’ll be home-bound (or at least very close to home) for a few weeks so I want to get out as much as possible while I can.

 

By the way folks, if anyone has tried messaging my 412 cell phone number, it is not working. It will not charge!!! GRRRR… just over a year old and as usual, this million-dollar (to me) piece of junk started failing already and no matter what I do to take care of them, protect them, practically don’t use them to keep them safe and they still break, stop working, whatever. I can never seem to get much more than a year out of a cell phone. I am fed up with it. Do you remember the days when you bought electronics and appliances that really did last 10-20 years? I do and I am sick of the crap being produced these days. I remember microwaves, televisions, etc., that my parents had forever! Anyway, please send an e-mail if you need to contact me. Sorry. I love texting, but can’t receive my messages until I get this phone replaced or at least until I get a chance to call and fight with the cell phone company to give me a replacement which I just haven’t had the time or energy to deal with. And, also, if you happen to send an e-mail and I don’t respond within a day or two, please try again. It seems I have missed some lately. I’m not sure how I would not have received them, but I guess it has happened. I always respond to e-mail as I am able to do so in the middle of the night or anytime I finally get to sit down. 😉

 

-LML