Usually when I pick up a magazine I either flip to exactly the article I want to read, or I thumb through it from the back to the front? Why I do this is incredibly unclear and well, everything right now is a bit foggy, so I was thinking I may just kind of start from yesterday and slowly work my way backwards....back down to my parent's farm, then back across the midwest to Oregon and back up into northern Canada.
Currently I just drove from Baltimore, MD to Washington DC and am propped up in my good buddies'home office. This is the most plush position to be typing. I am going to sweeten the deal with a beer in 2 flat.
There.
I can't think of a more perfect choice than this Newcastle Brown Ale at this moment.
Although I could very well go for a black and blue...
I am currently up in the city as a mid-vacation break from spending time with the family and visiting my dear old friends that live in the nation's capital. My family has a farm about three or four hours south of here down in Virginia. It is where I grew up...
My pops and I have been hunting for the last few days in our upper field on the farm. Every morning we drive up to the top of the mountain and he boots me out before sunrise and sends me to find a good spot to view the lower part of the upper field:
DAY ONE-
Day One and I am dressed in every layer I have ever bought for steelhead fishing plus a super stylish coverall get up that my grandpa used to wear. Add a short little orange bolera and a sweet orange hat, and watch out runway.
But I am not out here for looks, so I sling the sexy new rifle my dad bought for me to use:
Yeah, that's right. My dad who doesn't believe in buying things for his children..."it builds moral character and work ethic if you work for what you get"... bought a rifle for me to use while deer hunting this year. So instead of the SKS I used last year, this year I am sporting a sexy new Remington 243. Light, accurate, and powerful little weapon. And mind you, I relate to my dad very well on this note, as with fly rods, reels, and tying materials it is with guns, you can NEVER have enough. EVER.
So stumbling through the dark and thorny field with a headlamp, I curse the 6 foot thorn branch that is grabbing onto my leg and won't let go, as I glance up I see two shining bulbs....is that? oh yeah, deer in the headlamp.
It is staring right at me as I hold it in my weak headlamp light. Neither one of us is moving. Suddenly realizing that I have at least 15 minutes until legal shooting light, I begin to wonder how long a deer can stand staring into the light. Then I am praying that this big animal in front of me ten yards is a buck....because today is buck day, not the doe opener yet, two more days before that happens.
I know that a deer can stand staring into a light for five whole minutes at least...because at five minutes, it snorted (great, its a buck) and proudly walked away. Yup, walked away into the dark as I stood there helpless, disappointed, and thoroughly excited about the run in.
I go through a full minute of wondering what to do and feeling completely clueless before I begin trudging through thickets to find a good viewing spot. My dad warned me that I may have to move again once it gets light, so I choose a small cedar to lean up against that sits atop a knoll and gives me a view of both left, right, and the woods below me. As sunrise begins to peek over the ridge, my imagination quickly jumps into overdrive and I swear I am surrounded by deer like Santa Claus at the mall.
Light blushes across the horizon and once my eyes adjust I realize I am in fact not surrounded by deer, not really by anything except thorn bushes...I slowly look around and see a better vantage point about 20 feet above me, so after waiting a bit, I move slowly up the hill. My new spot is awesome. Tucked behind some thorn bushes and up against a tree I am confident the deer gods will shine on me.
But now I am freezing. Its freaking cold. I think about whether I get this cold steelhead fishing....hmmm, I can't remember actually....pretty sure I do, so why does this seem colder than standing in freezing cold water hunting fish?
My body is shutting down I think and my eyelids are drooping....I wonder if this is what happens right before you die of hypothermia, your breath becomes shallow and you fall asleep before your body goes rigid and frozen....I am not sure what I did for three hours to keep myself awake...imagined deer, searched for them with painful slowness, thought about seeing one, thought about steelhead, thought about buying a new rod, the 13'9" Loop Multi that I need, then I consented to let my lids droop permanently for just a few minutes....now before you go judging me falling asleep on the hunt, you should know a thing or two about my dad. He parties. period. He keeps me up late drinking bourbon and beer and wakes me early to hunt. Come to think of it, this is really no different from steelhead camp. More on that later.
So I catch a bit of shut eye and wake to my dad standing fifteen feet from me saying
"You ain't gonna shoot a deer sleeping"
as a white tail bounds into the woods off to my left.
Great.
My dad is very kind about me sleeping on the job, as he knows damn well he is the reason for me being overtired. And he also knows damn well that the guys back at the barn are going to give me the largest ration of shit for falling asleep so he doesn't have to say a word.
Upon arrival back at the barn two of the guys have deer already hanging and skinned and the shoveling of shit my way begins.
Several schwills of W.L. Weller get put away, beers come out, and everyone is laughing and telling stories....from today's hunt, to last year's hunt, to stories about other hunts....and of course giving me a ration of shit that I earned.
That is Gene on the four wheeler, and that is my dad in the background. If you are wondering about what he is holding, you are right.
This is the middle part of the farm:
Day Two tomorrow.
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