Sunday

2010 hunting day 9

Sunday ...
The last day of the hunting season with the rifle ~ I sure hope I don't need the extended muzzle loader season to harvest a deer.  Although, I've never shot a muzzle loader before ~ Sam and Slim said I'd be able to do it.
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Bang ... Bang  ... 2 shots to the south of me.  They didn't sound that far off; but I think they were further than Mom's stand.  It's hard to tell when you're inside the deer blind and in the middle of a thick woods. I'll get the report when I'm done hunting this evening; she calls to update me.
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Remember on a prior post about a cabin that we heard had burnt down?  Well - this morning I went to pick up eggs from this woman that I have a standing order with ~ and I pull in the driveway to find out that her house is gone ~ here it wasn't the cabin that we thought it was, but her place.  There was nothing left  but a hole in ground where the basement was and some charred timbers from the rafters or floor joists. 

I feel so bad for them ~ losing their home like that.  What's also sad is that even though I got eggs from them for the last 3 weeks, I still didn't know their last names ~ just that they were Pat and George and he came up here to northern Wisconsin from Indiana, she from Chicago, they met on the internet and together decided to come live up north to live "green" and to "live off the land" last April.  They didn't even have electricity at their house or running water.

The barn where they kept their chickens and rabbits wasn't burnt and is still standing; but no one was around today when I pulled in and I didn't go into the barn to investigate.  I'm sure someone is taking care of them by all the signs of traffic in and out of their drive. 

I'm sorry to say this; but you know when you first meet someone and you get a feeling about them on first impressions ... my first impression of them was that they were not going to be able to make it up here in northern Wisconsin living the way that they were.  They were very naive about their living conditions.  They had a little stack of wood outside their house.  I had asked Pat if that was the wood they planned on using this winter to heat their house.  She said yes and I had commented to her that they needed a LOT more than that when it got 40 below and the cold winds started to blow.  Also, they needed to put up hard wood, that would make good coals and throw heat; not the pulpy wood like poplar that they had in their pile.    I was just offering a suggestion that I knew was helpful.  The amount of wood they had cut was about the amount that I use on a good night sitting around the bonfire.

She said something on the line about being tough and ready for anything mother nature threw at her.  My thought to myself ~ good luck with that ~ you haven't lived through a bad winter yet with no electricity, no running water and enough wood for a season.  You're in for trouble.  Let me know in the spring how you feel about living here like that ... our winters can be long and harsh.

I really don't begrudge them for trying ~ but seriously, if you haven't been raised that way it's not as easy as you may think.  Shoot ~ just look at me and my deer hunting experience.  If we were solely relying on my hunting to put food on the table ~ we'd starve.  BUT ~ if you were to put our family up against a family that has never been around supporting themselves solely off the land ~ we'd be able to not only survive; but probably survive quite comfortably.  But; then again... this is how we were raised.

I always get a kick out of watching the reality show Survivor.  I imagine my bunch out there for 30 plus days.  We'd build a house, dig a well, have a privy, a pantry probably filled with dried fruits, berries, fish, whatever critters available and widdled out some homemade instruments for entertainment!  AND that would probably just be the first week!!  Give us a few more days and we'd have wind power & solar power working in our favor.  lol  I know we'd survive.  I keep telling my kids to sign up for it; but they won't. bummer ...  ahhh... if only I had better health.
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Boy, did I ever get side tracked.
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The day is over ...
It looks like tomorrow I learn how to shoot the muzzle loader.

I talked with Mom before posting ~ and she didn't shoot her buck this year either.  She's done hunting.  At least she got to watch some does and fawns by her stand.  All I had this year was my little red squirrel on a daily basis.

We'll see what tomorrow brings ~ if I let the guys talk me into the muzzle loader season.

Thanks for sticking with me these last eight days.

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

9 comments:

  1. A great post. sorry about the deer. But he will be happy and find his doe!

    I believe you about y'all living in the rough. I really believe I could, I want to try but Sherry refuses to spend the winter in North Dakota or Wyoming(haha). I know we could not do it in this motor home, it is just not well insulated. Shucks we get cold now at 30. hahaha.

    It takes sheer ignorance to ignore advice from experienced people. Anyone who want listen, usually suffers to their own detriment.

    Take care, I am sure you can use the muzzle loader, but ......

    Love you and take care OF YOURSELF.

    Loved the entry.
    I see my friend Fred got his, I did explain he did not kill the deer, he harvested it.

    Hug mom for me when you see her.

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  2. About the burned out family. It is late in the year but they could make an undergournd house to last the winter, but it would be tough to keep the rain out!

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  3. Sorry to hear about the burned out cabin. You're so right about surviving ~ I agree, our family would make it. Dad & Mom were great teachers all the way around. Not just about survival but about life in general. I miss you. 'hugs from afar'

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  4. Just coming on over to check in on ya'!

    I am sure sorry to be reading about the people you obtain the eggs from . . . after reading your post thou I have to wonder if their "inexperience" may have caused such a tragic turn of events . . . they are in my prayers, well wishes & warmest of warm thoughts . . . just as you ALWAYS are!

    ~ May you ALWAYS be Blessed & may you ALWAYS be a Blessing to others ~
    Bogart

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  5. So, no deer this year for you either. Mom says she didn't even pull back the hammer...so, did I understand that she is done hunting as in DONE hunting? I got that impression early on in the season, but we've heard that before.
    It was the egg lady who burned out...tragic but it sounds like they didn't have a clue. Indiana, Chicago and the great north woods just don't mix well without the experience. Too bad about their living quarters. I wish them well. Maybe this is the hard knock that will save their lives.
    I've enjoyed the hunt through your eyes, even tho we froze out a couple of times.
    I agree, our family is full of survivors. We could do fine on our own without necessities, not that I Want to...or I'd already be living at the cabin. Yup, Ha!
    BlessYourHeart

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  6. I guess I love this blog because I was raised in very primitive conditions on a ranch in southern Utah, no electricity or running water until I was 15. Coil oil lamps or candles, wood burning stoves with some coal for winter. But like yours, those people knew how to survive, but we worked from sun up until dark. Washed clothes from water heated outside, ironed a lot of clothes with stove irons, and bottled everything to perserve it for winter, what was not dried or cured. And it was the horse age, so all the farming and ranching was done with horse power!
    I just read your blog today to my companion and said I have been out there every day she has been in that deer blind figuratively speaking. Now she going to go for muzzle loader season? We would have people like your neighbors unable to cope with primitive conditions, forced to move back to city life.

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  7. Mel, I loved every post about your hunting experience! So sorry you didn't get your deer but the season isn't over until the muzzle-loader has been lugged to the deer stand and back a few times. ☺ We have another 9 day hunt the week of Christmas. Do you? I hope that you get one before it's over. My deer may have been the result of prayers as a missionary friend's widow came by while I was gone and told Frances she was "ernestly praying that Fred got one" on the same day I HARVESTED my deer! BTW - thanks for the kind remarks on my blogs.

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  8. I have really enjoyed your hunting posts. I kind of miss hunting but don't miss the cold part of it. Sorry about your neighbors but I know what you mean about people not understanding what they are up against when moving from the city or even a rural area to the "wilds". We've seen it happen over our way too.

    Take care!

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  9. I readily understand what you are saying about people moving to your neck of the woods who have no experience living there. You people are very hardy individuals and I would never attempt to live in such an environment without lots of preparation and friends who already lived there. Sure hope they make it some place where the temps are more moderate and where they can get a job.

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