This is the kind of message that's been playing on my mind for decades now. Ever since my eldest son was born, I started to become aware about the benefits of eating healthy, or healthier, at least.
Back then, the spark was ignited, but fizzled out rather quick, after my first attempt at gardening. I had planted a small section of onions & tomatoes beside a garage I had just built in my back yard. Most of the plants grew, even though I did little to nurture them along the way & I knew little to nothing at all about what to do for them any how.
The problem was, my attention span. A problem which would follow me for a long while. As a young man, I could be off in 15 different directions, at any given moment. The "You are what you eat" direction which concerned me back then, came & then gently disappeared into the void. But not quite entirely!
Now a days, it's a constant concern. I've preferred fresh caught fish & any type of game meat, over store bought anything (especially beef & chicken products) for a long, long, long time now. It was a moose steak that won me over. We Bar-B-Qued in the back yard after we had moved to Kitchener for a while. Moose & Pickerel. What a great feast it was.
But enough about me & why. You should click the title banner above & read what Scientific America has to say about our food & our genes!
I'm sitting here this morning, having my coffee in the dark, and it dawns on me that, this is just past the first anniversary for my Blog. I think it may have been around the 20th. of November that I decided to keep some type of "Internet Journal of Myself" & began writing here.
It's not really, all that dark in here either. My back kitchen light is on because Leighann was up a bit late doing laundry for Damian (our grandson) & she forgot (as usual) to turn it off before bed. And the glow from this computer monitor provides ample enough background light for me to type by. I am sitting though.
Damian, is standing in his playpen in our living area, wide awake. I think he's attempting to tell me something. His words are not like ours yet because, he's only 9 months old. But I am convinced he is trying to converse, some how.
His mother (our no longer pregnant teenage daughter), was asleep in my chair. She always does this when ever she spends the night here. Sleeps in my chair. I always awake early & awake her. I tell her to move some where else & she bitches about it. It's become the norm now. I expect it, now.
I can smell something. A dirty diaper. Time to turn on another light & kinda, ease the babies mother awake, again.
A.B. & I are still busy doing that big renovation job in Buckhorn. We started the roof yesterday (my knees are killing me this morning) & are going to be busy right through until late Saturday closing it up. And then, we'll be in the home stretch. A little more interior framing, electrical wiring, insulation & vapor barrier, then drywall board & tape. We've subbed the painting out to another friend of ours, Sasquatch Larry, who is a professional painter by trade & who also needs the work right now. He's just been split open (last winter) for heart surgery or something, and hasn't been able to do much to make any $ since then. And he's a great tradesman.
I haven't been back to the acreage since the 4 days I spent there during Thanksgiving. Our snowmobiles are a little bit closer to the shop at A.B.'s house, but still not inside of it where we can work on them & prep them for this seasons usage. There's a lot on my plate right now with the "work" part of things.
So this is my life, so far. And it's okay. In fact. "It's the best one yet!"
We may not have got any deer during the opening of the deer hunt gun season, but man-oh-man, it was the best time ever!
A.B. & I worked last Saturday morning to temporarily install the new metal roof over our clients home so that we could get out of Dodge & up to Bancroft for the "Party" before the gun hunt begins. We had worked almost 28 days straight with only one day off in there, and the anticipation was killing me. Saturday, was suppose to be a much more productive day then it turned out to be. After realizing that it was going to take us MUCH longer to accomplish that which we had intended, we opted to just temporarily fasten down some new roof metal at the water side of our clients home, wish them well (luck) & then book it all the way to camp!
Strange things happen at hunt camps!
There's no secret that vast amounts of beer & booze of ALL kinds gets consumed at hunt camps. Terry, the boss & the owner of the camp of which I am now the newest member of, has SEVEN of us guys there for opening week, every year during the gun season & several more again for the second week as well. Most of which are stragglers from week one whom attend for a while only, during week two, because they were unsuccessful the first week up. People like A.B. & myself. We are going back up for the last Saturday & Sunday of the gun hunt next weekend.
A.B. did manage to get 2 shots fired & was the only member of our camp who even saw any deer during week one. He & I use to hunt together back during the 80's & then he figured he was going to make his fortune from trapping, so he got his trapping licence & set up his trap lines between Bobcaygeon & Fenelon Falls. We even went halves on a Blue Tick hunting dog. That damn dog barked up every tree. From day one, we thought we were going to be rich! But then we realized that the mentally handicapped inbred mutt/dog, had "issues" that were beyond our control, so I went back to work in construction while A.B. watched the bottom fall out of the fir industry. He had about 30 or so raccoon pelts all stretched out just as the Hudson Bay Company decided it was no longer in that business any longer. It was just shortly after that, when he became a heavy equipment operator. But back to week one.
Yes, strange things do happen during "Beer Season"!
WHERE THE HELLS MY HAIR GOT TOO?!?!
Another member of our camp, Gerrard, who is also a retired heavy equipment operator but about 18 years older then myself, showed up for day 1 of the gun hunt with the coolest looking Mohawk hair cut, ever. As soon as I seen it, I just knew, I had to have one of those too!
The same evening that A.B. & I arrived, Gerrard & his 13 year old grandson were out bow hunting from Gerrards double wide tree stand at Terrys place. We were all sitting around the kitchen table drinking beer after beer when the two came in & said the grandson had felled his first deer, a small yearling around 65 to 75 lbs. A clean shot with his crossbow went through & through. There was a clear blood trail but, the light was fading & they needed help to track her down. We all finished our beers & then headed into the bush but it was just, too late into the evening. The blood trail stopped, suddenly, which will happen. The deers blood will form into a jelly at the wound & block it, sometimes, and the trail will go cold. You'll be standing there thinking the damn thing has grown wings. But it hasn't. Just the wound has jelled over.
They came back the next morning & resumed their search, but to no avail. The young lads first kill must have found it's way into a Cedar swamp someplace & died of its wounds, which is okay. The wolves have to eat too!
So, Gerrard,
Gerrard, from September just past.
shows up on Monday morning, with his Mohawk hair cut & everyone has been drinking heavy all weekend long already & it's 5 a.m. of opening day & we're all sitting around the kitchen table splashing Panama Jack into our coffees like it's the last day on earth & I decide, I want one of those haircuts too!
"Not a problem" Gerrard says, "Ruthie (his wife) is bringing the clippers over later on. All of you guys can get one" he says.
Thing is though, he & I are the only two who did. No one else is as brave, or as industrious, I suppose, as the "Hunk Weight Dunker"? No, "Grunt Dake Wunter"?? No, "The Great Drunk Hunter" is what I mean!
Native cigarettes & Coors Light (The Silver Bullet).
Nothing goes better with a loaded gun!
No! No loaded gun here. Just lunch break.
It's no wonder, at all, as to why I didn't see any deer out here. A.B. & I both, had the worst colds ever for this time of season. I spent the first 3 days of the gun hunt, sitting at my watch, coughing, hacking, sneezing, choking & blowing my nose. There wouldn't be anything, even remotely alive, coming any where near my watch!
As to, "My Watch", I now have my own watch. It's been christened; "The Rusty Hole".
"The Rusty Hole Watch"
I sit in my chair & disperse my DNA all over the place.
My quad out behind me.
There's a story to this too!
12 gauge Remington Wingmaster model 870 pump action.
I load a slug into the chamber & then 2 SSG's in behind.
If the slug is a miss or doesn't do a clean kill,
the SSG's will finish the job!
Here's some information for those that think alcohol doesn't mix with firearms. "You've never hunted with any members of our military or law enforcement"!!!!!!!!!
We ALL practice gun safety though. Every camp, even ours, has it's share of horror stories regarding stupid people & loaded firearms! Our firearms are emptied in the bush at our watches before being transported back to camp, and then triple-checked again, before coming into the house. No one even leaves the camp, if the camp boss thinks that a person is too drunk to be out there. There's no taking back, a spent round!
I can't repeat some of the things I've seen or heard being done at the two camps where we are, without causing some BIG problems. But Cops, guns, booze & hunting, can make for some VERY interesting times!
"The Bar Stool Watch"
I use this chair instead of the old stool.
My quad in behind the Bar Stool Watch.
It's a very relaxed system we use at our camp. There are several watches a hunter can use. Of them, we can even place 2 or more hunters at any one watch, just by spreading them out about 30 or so yards & having them keep an eye on their own shooting lanes.
Our friend, Al, (2nd in command at our camp), joined me during the morning shift of day one, down at the Rusty Hole Watch. This area hadn't been opened up or hunted in 4 or 5 years. Now, Moose tracks the size of a big screen TV had been seen down here. During Sundays kitchen table conference about who was going to which watch, I chose the old Moose Watch before anyone else. Al hadn't been down there in ages & was quite anxious to see if that old Moose would show itself too, so he tagged along for the first part of the day.
Our days are broken up into 2 parts. The morning shift is from dawn until around 10 o'clock or so. After 10, most guys come back down to camp for beer & eggs, maybe have a nap if need be, or do laundry, whatever. The afternoon shift, usually, starts around 1 or 2 p.m. & goes until dusk. As soon as it starts to darken, you have to be on your bike & back to the main trail, at least. If a guy is stuck out here after it gets dark, GOOD LUCK seeing anything out there. Even during a full moon, the bush is SO dense, everything, everywhere, is just black!
There's no problem, what-so-ever, should a hunter decide to stay out for the entire day either. You just have to let all other members know where you're going to (which watch you're hunting) & that you'll be out there all day. A.B. was the only one of us who did this. After he missed the small yearling & it's mother, with both shots, he was so determined the next day that he just had to stay out for all of it.
But, as well, instead of a man being stuck at the same watch, looking at the same tree for 5-8 hours at a time, day after day, we conference around the beer table each night, as to who wants to go where the next morning.
For the first 3 mornings & the first & third afternoons, I chose the old Moose Watch as my location. Since it hadn't been opened up in a long while, and I had been choosing it so often, our camp bosses re-christened the watch to, " The Rusty Hole Watch". I was quite honored!
But my reason for choosing this location so often, was due to my cold. Each morning, I would be coughing & hacking so hard & so much, I just figured that, if I'm not going to able to be silent enough to sniper a deer myself, I may as well keep them away from me & up towards the others. If by chance, another member of our party misses his shot(s) & the deer come over the ridge towards the hole I'm sitting in, I may get lucky enough to blast it myself. But no such luck was to happen!
During the afternoon shift of day 2, the only member of our camp who is still an active duty OPP detective, says to me; " Grab your gun & some beers. You're the newbie here now & I'm too ill to dog the ridge. So you can do it this time!"
He drives me down the highway a ways, points to a ridge up top of Mount Olympus out in the middle of nowhere & says to me; "Just climb up there, drink your beers & then dog back towards camp after a while. Make certain you zig-zag so to scare up the deer", he says.
Well, HOLY CRAP! It took me 30 minutes to climb the mountain side. By the time I did reach the top, it took me another 15 minutes to get my breath back enough, so that I could crack a beer. After 2 of them, there was No Problem, what-so-ever, Zig-Zagging back to camp. I reached the most distant of our watches, first, the " Outhouse Watch". So named because, it resembles a big Outhouse, out in the middle of no wheres.
A.B. was all hunkered down inside of it acting like Rambo, ready to spring into action & kill Charlies at any moment. But that was about 40 feet out of my way so I just kept on staggering towards camp.
I came upon Al next. He was just sitting out in the bush on a rock some place. When he heard me coming, he too readied his rifle. But as I neared, no deer appeared, so he relaxed & lit up a smoke. I sat there & joined him for a smoke myself. What the hell, I was already out of breath & soaked right through all of my clothing, I may as well choke down a cigarette too!
The next watch I came across was Gerrard in his double wide tree stand. Before leaving for this adventure, I had thrown my warm jacket into his truck & asked him to bring it to his stand in case I was cold once I reached his location. What a joke that turned out to be!
From there, I unloaded my shotgun & hiked right down the ridge & back to camp. This 2nd afternoon, was over for me. I was soaked right through every layer of clothing & right through to my skin. The cold bug I had, was pouring right out of me & I needed a shower & to wash my clothes. The remainder of this afternoon, would be spent back at camp!
On day 4 of the hunt, I was back at the "Rusty Hole Watch" for the morning & then after lunch, A.B. asked me to join him up at the "Bar Stool Watch", which is just over the ridge from his "Outhouse Watch" location where he had missed his chance the day before. He said he had heard a Buck calling in that area & he wanted to attempt pushing through the ridge. Either he would see & shoot the Buck himself, or it might head my way, where I could get off a shot or three.
We did hear the old Buck too! It called out a couple of times & you could clearly hear his antlers rattling against a small tree, way up top of the ridge. But we never did get to see him!
On Friday, day 5 of the hunt & the day before we had to head back home, I did the "Rusty Hole Watch" again during the morning & then the "Outhouse Watch" in the afternoon with A.B. again. Terry stayed back at camp all of that day. He was cooking up a big wildlife dinner of Moose, Elk, Venison & Goose. The big game meats were roasts & then some of the deer meat was made into meatballs as well. Three camps were getting together here tonight for the dinner marking the end of week one. The Goose was being prepared at another of the camps & would arrive when that camp showed up.
What a fantastic time it all turned out to be! This was my first time ever, hunting within a group, other than A.B. & myself. I passed all of the tests, whatever they were suppose to be, and the group has voted me in, 100%. They all want me back again & to remain a permanent member. So I'm doing it!
In fact, I enjoy party hunting so much, I may even make it a full-time career move. I can hunt Moose & Black Bear on my land in September. Start bow-hunting deer from October 1st right up to the gun hunt on the 1st Monday of each November. Do the gun hunt at Terrys for two weeks & then head right back down to my acreage for the remainder of the bow-hunt which ends in mid December. Between our 2 acreages, Terry's in Bancroft & mine in Minden Hills, it will become a full-time job. By party hunting, everyone will be guaranteed some meat for the winter!
Me with hair.
But I have to go for now. Sheilas up at my brothers house in town! I have to show off my new do!
