Balancing Life

Trying to balance everything in life can be tough sometimes. Especially for a family with young children that would like to get out in the woods to whitetail hunt as much as possible. We have been juggling our commitments, activities and family time to be able to squeeze in some deer hunting time.

Since I have discovered my new passion for hunting,  I want to be out in the woods all the time. My job is a 8-5 job so that prevents me from getting out during the week. We also have a 3 year old, so that prevents us from just picking up and going to the woods when ever we feel like. Then there is the weekends that I have to work and all the social engagements we have this time of year.  I am not able to get out in the woods as often as I would like too.

Today is our 6th annual pumpkin carving party. I don't want to give up our party, but I am bummed that I don't get to go out hunting today. The wind is supposed to be the perfect direction for my treestand tonight...but I won't be there. 

The kicker is that next weekend I have to work in the morning then we have another Halloween party to go to in the evening. (However, we may end up going late so that we can go hunting in the evening.) The first weekend in November I have a baby shower for a very dear friend and I wouldn't miss it for anything. So I'm gonna try to get out in the morning.  November 10th will be my last chance to get out, because the 12th is the last day of the first archery season. I will most likely have to work some, but I will try to schedule it so that I can get out for either a morning or afternoon hunt.

The shining light at the end of the tunnel is that we have taken the week of Thanksgiving off. We will be heading to New York to spend some time with my family and get out hunting with my brother and dad for their shotgun season. Then we get back home and will be able to get out to do some small game and turkey hunting. Monday, November 26th is opening day of rifle season in northwest PA. I took the first 2 days off. And I have not even really thought about the second season of archery or muzzleloader season (However, I don't have a muzzleloader. I'll have to see if I can borrow one.)

So the good news is, I do still have plenty of time to kill a big buck this year!

Evolution of a Hunter

I think this cartoon is completely correct. I also think that every hunter goes through the different stages at some point during their hunting life.

My husband is in the Sportsman Stage. He is teaching me to hunt and he is also getting our 3 year old out in the woods to walk with him during small game season.  As for me, I am Limiting Out Stage, sorta. I have already filled my doe tag and would love to shoot a buck before the season is over. I would for my husband to also get a doe and a buck. It would be great to just eat deer meat all the time. However, I do have to say I love a good  medium rare steak or prim rib every once in a while.

What stage are you in?

Girls Hunt Day

Sarah & I

This week I had my first ever Girls Hunting Day!

Last week Sarah and I got to go out in the woods after work. Unfortunately we did not see anything in the stand. We did see 2 does when we were walking out of the woods.

This is also Sarah's first archery season. She started hunting last year during rifle season, but has been eluded by the whitetails of PA.

I get to Sarah's house to change my clothes and she greets me with gifts. A new flashlight and a head lamp. Sarah is so good to me! As we are putting on our face paint,  before going out in the woods, Sarah says to me "Is bad that I love painting my face?" I reply, "I like doing it to. I never put it on the same way." Our you can take the girl out of girly things but you will never take the girly out of the girl. Common it is still putting make-up on.

Maybe a reason why we did not see many deer was that Sarah's alarm on her phone went off while we were in the treestand. Nope...It's because all the crazy squirrels talking to the deer and telling them we were out there waiting for them. We are convinced that the animals communicate. We will not let our lack of seeing deer get us down. We will be back out in the woods again on another girls hunt. After hunting, we went down to our local tavern for a couple of beers. We talked about someday going on a big all women's hunt. Maybe for boars. How many of you ladies go on women only hunting trips? Do you get to hunt with your girl friends regularly? I know that this was just the first of many girls hunts, but I will remember this day always.

Going hunting with my hubby is a great bonding experience. But there is just something about hunting with your girlfriends.

Hunting Rituals

As I was getting ready to go hunting this weekend, I began to do things the same as I had done the week before when i was getting ready. I realized I was creating my own pre-hunt ritual. 

How many of you have a pre-hunting ritual? What does your ritual consist of?

My ritual begins with taking a shower with Just for Does scent free products.

Then I put on my Under Armor, dryed my hair (with no product, of course), finish getting dressed, and put on my face paint.

When we get to our hunting ground, we make sure that we close the truck doors quietly, spray down our bows and our entire bodies with Scent Away and then start walking to our stands.  There is one last part to my pre-hunting ritual... I stop for one last potty break before climbing into my tree stand. :)

Hubby then makes sure that I get up in my tree stand, wishes me luck and trods off to his stand.

I think that as the years go by and our son starts hunting, we will create more family pre-hunting rituals.

One thing, that I just realized is not apart of my pre-hunting ritual is...hubby and I do not kiss before we get in our stands. I am definitely changing that this weekend.

So tell me your hunting rituals.

My Favorite Hunting Shows

I had watched hunting shows with my husband before. But when I started shooting my bow and enjoying it. I started to get interested in hunting, I WANTED to watch the hunting shows with him. This is when hubby 

introduced me to The Crush, with Lee and Tiffany Lakosky.

Every Sunday night at 7:30 pm, life stops and we watch The Crush. I just amazes me the deer that Tiffany shoots. She really got and kept me interested in hunting. Hubby was happy to watch with me. He thinks Tiffany is beautiful.

Then I discovered Driven TV with Pat & Nicole. My favorite episode is when Nicole is on a moose hunt in Canada. So Now Sunday mornings I like to be home so that I can watch Pat & Nicole. Or if we are home, I'll watch on Friday night. The have children that they sometimes take on the hunts with them.

The Chase with Leigh & Travis, has also become a favorite. I love how they show their son being with them on their hunts. We have a 3 year old and he watches the shows with us and wants to hunt with us already. I really relate to Leigh & Travis, because their son is just a little younger than ours. It really makes me realize that we are truly passing down a great tradition to our children. As I have seen some place before, "A family that hunts together, stays together".

 Another show that I don't get to watch as often as I would like is Family Traditions with Haley Heath. They are also passing down the great tradition of hunting to their son and daughter. 

Haley just got her biggest buck with a bow this week. Way to go!

I follow all of these shows on Facebook. I really enjoy seeing the pictures of their kills or where they are making appearances at.  These families and especially the women are helping me to become a huntress. I encourage you to watch these shows and get caught up in the thrill of the hunt and the family traditions.

(All photos were taken from the shows facebook page.)

What's in your pack?

Last night, I was getting my hunting gear ready for this weekend. So I started thinking was I packing enough gear or too much, or I even thought what I should I be packing that I am not. So here is what I packed for last weekend and what I am packing for this weekend. I am packing light right now, but the weather has been mild and I have only been going out in the evening for a few hours. So I really haven't needed much.

1. So far I have just taken my FieldLine fanny pack. But for the longer days in the woods I'll be taking my backpack instead. The backpack was really great for turkey season. The front zip pocket has smaller pockets inside for box calls. The fanny pack is roomy and of course I love the pink accents!

2. My pink camo Buck Knife. Can't go hunting with out a Buck Knife.

 3. Gloves. I can't stand it when my hands get cold. As the weather continues to get colder, I will be adding hand warmers & maybe even feet warmers. (Don't like cold feet either.)

4. Kleenex...

5. After watching my husband gut my doe last weekend, I purchased a field dressing kit. So this is an addition to my packing list. I just don't think I can put my hands in there without gloves on. Sorry...I get squeamish with blood and organs. But I'm gonna put the gloves on and give it a try when/if I kill a buck.

6. Range finder. So that I can map out yardages around my stand. And to range find some wildlife.  I would like to have a pair of binocs for watching the wildlife. I guess I will have to put them on my Christmas wish list.

7. Flashlight. I actually need to get a nice one. Or even just one of the lights that clips on the bill of your cap. Right now I just have a freebie compact flashlight. Maybe I should add a flashlight to my Christmas wish list too.

8. A new addition for this weekend if it arrives on time is my Just for Does chapstick. I'm a lip bitter. So I often have chapped lips. With last weekend's gusts of wind, I noticed I was bitting and my lips were getting chapped. I love the Just for Does scent free products so I thought I would give the chapstick a try. I'll add a comment below after I get to try it out and let you know how I like it.

9. My stainless steel water bottle.

Here is hoping everyone has a successful weekend hunting.
Let me know if you think I should ad something to my packing list.

My First Archery Hunt

September 29th was the first day of archery season in Pennsylvania. My husband and I had plans to go out in the afternoon for my first archery hunt . Why the evening you ask?  We have a 3 year old and we did not have some one to stay with him in the morning. But we did have someone to keep him in the evening so that we could go out to hunt.

So by 3:30 pm, we were headed into the woods. It's the first time I am in the tree stand, in the woods. (I had practiced shooting from the tree stand in our yard.) Hubby is giving me last minute tips and encouragement, then he leaves me and walks about 100 yards from me to his tree stand.

The wind started to pick up and the tree started moving, I started freaking out. REMINDER... this was the first time actually sitting in my tree stand where I was hunting. Hubby and I were texting a bit. I had to tell him I was nervous about being in the tree when the wind picked up. He told me about the black squirrels running around below his tree stand. Then he said get ready, here come some does.  I saw the does, but they were at the other end of the field from me. Seeing them made my heart start pounding and I was thankful that I actually got to see some deer on my first night out. Just a short while later, I hear some movement to my right. It was two doe, they walk up to about 10 yards away from me. I'm so excited, catastrophe strikes...I physically can't pull my bow back. I think it was just the adrenaline and excitement. After a bit the does turn and walk away from me, but then one walks underneath the tree in front of me. I was able to pull my bow back this time, but I did not get a shot. She then turn around again, but this time she entered the field to my left and walked around until she was behind me.  At that moment, I was so happy I was in the tree I was in. I turned around, hide behind the tree to pull my bow back and then leaned around the tree and got my shot at this doe.

The Rage Broadhead was good to me. We only walked about 20 yards before finding my arrow.  The doe was just a short distance away from where we found my arrow. About 60 yards total from where she was standing when I shot her.  I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe I had shot a doe (which I wanted to shot first). I have the best hubby in the world...he gutted the deer and dragged it to the truck for me. 

The morning after proof that I really did shoot a doe the night before, my bloody arrow back in the quiver. Round two, will be this weekend. This time I hope to see some bucks. But for now I am still just basking in my triumph. I shot a deer!!!!!