2 Seasons

Now that Autumn has arrived so have 2 other seasons... Hockey and Hunting.

This Saturday is the opening day of archery season in our area. I have been looking forward to this day for a bit now. I am not as ready as I would like to be, but nonetheless I am ready.

Tonight we are shooting our bows in the yard. Tomorrow we are going to to a 3D course for a little more practice. (Date night) Then we will be headed to the woods on Saturday. Still looking for a babysitter for G. 

I am ready for the quiet, peace and calmness of sitting in my treestand.

Another season that has gotten a bit more exciting is hockey. Our son has started learn to play hockey session.

 He and a couple of his buddies are playing too. 

My son is the little one.

Right now he is just doing the learn to play program. He has only been on skates 2 other times. Each time he used the little walker to keep him up. In November he starts actually the youth hockey league. So we will carting him back and forth, 2 days a week (Tuesday & Saturday). Right now we are gonna still have our Saturdays to archery hunt, but those 2 Saturdays during rifle season, we will have to see if we can get someone else to take him to practice. Next year, I guess Mommy and Daddy may have to alternate Saturdays (plenty of time to figure that out).

We are really excited about G playing hockey. We know it is a really expensive sport, but if he loves it then it will be worth it (and the only sport he will do).

I'll post more about our little guy's progress with skating.



Go FLAMES...

My Biggest Challenge

You all know that 2012 was my first hunting season. And that I was hooked from the first morning I spent in the woods waiting for the sun to rise and hearing the turkeys gobbling. I thrive to be a better hunter. I work at shooting my bow and my guns (I shoot my bow the most). I read magazines, blogs, and books to help me learn and grow. However, there is one big challenge for me every time I  go into the woods. It didn't surprise me when I realized I was doing it.

The biggest challenge I'm talking about sitting still while I am in the woods. I have always been a bit of a fidgety person. When I am in meetings I cross my legs, uncross them, cross my legs the other way, and uncross them again. I am less fidgety when sitting in my treestand, but I still struggle. I get into my fanny pack to get my chapstick and then I put it back. I switch the way I am holding my bow or gun. When it got colder, I was adjusting my neck gaiter often, because my hair would get in the way when I turned to scan the field behind me.

Usually the first hour is easy, I get lost in my quiet and beautiful surroundings. Then I realize that I will need to sit still for a few more hours. But I am happy to be out in my treestand and can't wait to see what mother nature lets me see.

During archery season, we mainly hunted in the evenings. So after getting situated in my tree stand, I would play on my phone to pass the time. I would post a status update on Facebook or text with friends to see if they were out in the woods or just play a game. As it got closer to "go time" I would put my phone away. But I still had trouble with actually sitting still. I did get a deer this fall so I guess my fidgeting wasn't that bad.

What has a girl go to do to stop fidgeting all the time?

Do you fidget while you are hunting?

What is your biggest challenge?

First Gun Season

The Monday after Thanksgiving is Opening Day of gun season in PA.

It was the perfect morning. We had our first snow. The stars were aligned. I was excited. 

Hubby and I got up at 4:30 and headed to the woods. By 6am, my Marlin Model 1894C and I were in my treestand waiting for the sun to come up.  Just before sunrise, I started to see deer. I even saw a piebald deer (later found out it was an 8 point), but it was still dark enough that I wasn't able to see any antlers on the deer. I probably saw 20 does before 9am.  There were many shots that morning. But none were mine. Since I had shot a doe during archery season, I can only shoot a buck. (I forgot to send in for our bonus doe tags. You can bet I won't forget that next year.)

Beautiful morning. Picture from my treestand before the clouds cleared.

I got out of my treestand at about 10 o'clock. I was a bit chilly, thanks to the wind picking up after sunrise.  After that we all reconvened to get a game plan. The guys I was with were set on trying to help me get a deer since it is my first rifle season. So it was decided they would do a little pushing of the deer. I was always placed in a spot to hopefully get a deer.  Again all I saw was doe. 

The first Saturday was a more productive day.  There was 7pt, another got a 5pt, a doe and hubby got a button buck. These 4 deer were the only deer I saw that day.

Today and tomorrow are our last days of gun season. I'm not sure if I will get out today, but I will be out there tomorrow in the rain. So hopefully I will see some buck and be able to get a shot.