Pigs and Toms

Well its been a frustrating couple weeks of hunting. Went after wild boar in Vinton Co. an hour east of us. It was a night hunt with a small light shinning on a pile of corn. Well the first night got a little chilly and I left the blind a 1 am. Trail showed that they showed up @ 2:40 am. Left too soon. The next night I stayed until 4am, nothing. That was it on a 2 day hunt. I had 3 days leased for a turkey hunt last weekend. Friday was a rain out, but Saturday was a gem, birds gobbling everywhere. Finally a big old tom came out in the field and put on a show for an hour, flipped me off and walked the other way. Oh well at least I got some pictures. Sunday was slow, only heard 1 bird and he sound like he was in the same spot all morning. So I snuck down thru the cedar thicket and set up on a narrow green spot. He gobbled once and then there he was. I thought he was close enough, and I guess me not getting a turkey for a few years, made him seem closer than he was. At the shot I knocked off his feet, flopped around, got up and took off. The second shot knocked him down again, but the tough old bird took off through the woods like a scalded cat. 2hrs of searching proved fruitless. I guess that's why the call it hunting, not shopping.

Otway Saturday night.

What a night. Got the coolest and biggest milk bottle ever. A super rare 1902-06 slant print Griswold skillet, which worked perfect and we had to cook some bacon in it as soon as we got home, a wrought iron copper skillet,and a copper planter. Some stuff went for too much, but there were deals and I think we scored

Surfs Up

Thursday and Friday saw torrents of rain. So we knew the creek would rise. The creek that acts like a river came up the highest since we've lived here. I can't image what it looked like in 97' when it got almost in the house. The like a bathtub with a pulled plug this is how it looked this morning. The life of a river rat.

Otway Cover Bridge

Our cover bridge restoration is underway. A new used steel bridge with new concrete was put in a few months ago. Now the siding is off, scaffolding, cable jacks to straighten it up. Looking good. I only hope they now the use the old or a rough sawn siding to finish it. Not sure how long its going to take, but at least they got started. Tawny & I have been going to the old Otway High School every other Saturday for auction night. We take the Ranger to get the best parking spot. We have a lot of fun and have gotten some cool antiques. Old post cards, which I made into wall art, and old wooden shotgun shell box, kerosene lamp. Plus meeting everybody at the fire house who provide snacks and drinks. Locals, the regular buyers, and some real characters are always there. If you every get bored come on out, maybe we'll see you this Saturday night. Find it at Auctionzip, type in 45657 see the schedule and look what we got. Going pig hunting again next weekend and the turkey season 2 weeks after that. I think I hear a mushroom popping up now. Listen, you hear it?

All hogs big and small

Just got back from an Alabama hog hunt with a couple buddies Chris and Bruce from work. Alabama Hog Control just got control to rid this property of hogs, with a night permit. Which for us it meant that besides doing a regular day hunt, we would get to go night hunting with AR's in 308 and FLIR thermal imaging scopes. For those who have never looked at or hunted with one, it's hard to put in words other than "Fu&;%#g Cool". However the terrain was so thick as to be almost impregnable. Friday night Bruce and I nailed a big sow in the road, but 2 bounds and we couldn't find her until morning  and then just barely.

 Salvage the tenderloins and on to more hunting. Which was tough, muddy, and sooooo much fun. Chris got one our sows piglets the next day. Young tender and tasty. Saturday night Chris and Bruce popped another one with the thermal scopes, but thick brush swallowed it up. As always the camaraderie was real gem. Barry and Bart worked hard for us, even though the hog count didn't quite reflect it. I can't wait to go again 

By-Tor and the Snow Dog

It has been a real winter this year. Cold and snowy like winter should.  Really, if you ain't bitchin' about it, it really ain't winter. So another snow didn't stop me and Bub for taking tour of the neighbor hood. As soon as we left I realized it showing harder than I though. But we pushed on and relished the beauty. Nothing as pure as fresh snow. Need to get back to the cabin and finished getting ready for an Alabama hog hunt. Tawny got me some gravel for Christmas, so I thought I'd get her a wild boar for Valentines Day. Screw chocolate,  unless it's wild boar bacon cover in chocolate. Mmmmm. I'll update next week with a pile of hogs.

Happy Holidays

I can say this has been a happy holiday for us. I've been off since the 20th of December and still don't have to be back until the 7th. So been getting some stuff done. Tawny got me 14 ton of gravel for the drive which we extended, yeah. Replaced the front piece on my truck I busted running into Tawny's truck over deer season. Been playing my new dulcimer I got 3 weeks ago. Super sweet and smooth action on a ebony fret board and extra fancy cherry bottom, with Fishburn EQ pick ups. We even made a short IN trip, even got to see our dear old friends Ivan & Vivian. It was so good to sit and talk as the're closest thing I've got to parents. Memories of Mom and Dad with them were warm and not sad. I got cold chills looking at the sidewalk in front of their house and vividly remembering riding bike without training wheels down that very sidewalk. Tawny got a t shirt that says "yantalay" which is a Cherokee word that she used from calling the cat to telling me to shut up. Not sure really what it means, because Tawny really won't tell, just a wry grin.

 It was a big laugh and a good look with her "Ted" hat, though Bub looks good in it. Speaking of that, I want to shout out to everyone on Bub's 14th birthday yesterday. Can't do steps well, little more grumpy, and more deaf, but he couldn't be happier. Lets shoot for 15. I hope everyone has had a good of holidays as us. For the ones we missed, I miss you all and hope to see you on the next trip to IN. For those who depend on others, always be prepared to be let down.