Skyler's 12-Point Buck!!

Here are pictures of Skyler's deer she got with her muzzleloader at 1:30 on Friday.  He is a 12 pointer who weighed 205#.  This buck was one tough dude -- breaking off 4 of his tines, probably during some pretty intense fighting.  He has super-long main beams -- 26 inches on one side.  Skyler let quite a few deer walk before deciding to shoot this one.  So here is the story from start to finish (this is where most people will close the page cuz they know how wordy I can get)  :)

Since Paul has gotten his two bucks for the year (he cannot shoot another buck in Illinois) and since I have not yet "pulled the trigger" with my bow on a deer yet this year, Paul sat with Skyler and I sat in a separate stand on the same property.  I of course let her have her choice of stands and I picked my stand after that.  Both stands proved to be great Friday (opening morning), however a lot of the deer were hanging out in the brush -- not offering shooting opportunities.  Skyler got to see and hear a lot: a buck roar, bucks grunting, a buck fight which was pretty long and drawn out and bucks chasing does.  While all that was going on, I had my deer (an 8 pointer) come through at about 9:00 and I initially decided to let him walk but then he completely circled my stand at about 25 yards the entire time, offering awesome wide-open broadside shots and I finally couldn't take it any longer and decided to shoot him at about 25-30 yards.  It was nice to get my .54 caliber flintlock dirty. 

As soon as I shot my buck I texted Paul and Skyler and told them they had to come up to my stand because the deer were using the area heavily.  Since the wind had switched at their stand to a not-so-positive direction, they decided to take me up on my offer.  So after the tradeoff, and only about 3 hours later, Skyler got an opportunity at this mature awesome buck and her shot was true.  Her deer dropped only about 75 yards from where she shot him.  Paul and I are both super excited for and proud of Skyler and she is pretty excited herself!!  She set out this year to get a bigger buck than she had gotten in the past and she definitely did that!  Congratulations Skyler on a GREAT hunt and an awesome buck!

In my last post (that I was typing with my very tired 5:00 a.m. brain, very quickly before going hunting again) I failed to post about Paul's doe he harvested this year as well...so here she is.  Skyler's 133# doe didn't get to be the family's largest doe for too long...this doe tipped the scales at 143 so now we all have another goal to shoot for :-)

Grissom Hunting Update

I haven't posted in a long while...been spending too much time in the timber I guess.  However, during that time, both Paul and Skyler have had great success.  Below are pictures of the deer taken so far this year.  I am hopeful that I will fill a tag this weekend.  I have spent approx 60 hours in the timber so have gotten to see SO many awesome wildlife displays.  Seen several "chasing" episodes.  I have had deer literally at the base of my tree, I have seen scrapes worked, rubs made, saw a color phase turkey, heard a lot of buck grunts as well as two snort wheezes.  Lovin my time in the timber but ready to take one home...so we'll see. 

 

Paul's 12 pointer - 251 pounds field dressed

Skyler's doe shot during the youth season - 133 pounds field dressed which was the largest Grissom doe to date.

Paul's 16 point buck -- the most points any of us have ever gotten.

A color-phase turkey

We had an awesome weekend!  We went fishing as a family Friday night and here is a pic of Skyler with one of the fish she caught.  We also stayed in a cabin Friday night.

Paul and I went turkey hunting Sat morning.  We heard 3 different gobblers and Paul brought every single one of them to within shooting range -- he is the man!  Paul's turkey was a huge Tom w/ 1-1/2 inch spurs. 

My bird is a jake but is what we are calling a "color-phase" turkey.  You can see from the photos that his coloring is not like that of a typical turkey.  We believe it is descended from a whitish/orangish hen that Paul spotted last year on this same property.  We were both super excited to get to see this turkey...the fact that I was able to shoot it was even better!!  This will most likely be my "once-in-a-lifetime" turkey as I have never seen anything like this in all my hours in the woods...I have to thank Paul for getting him in range after I had belly-crawled to the best position I could find, was still laying on my belly when he came in...what an exciting hunt I will never forget!!

Turkey #3 -- Can it Be?

Skyler and Paul went out this morning for third season.  I didn't go because I knew I had to go to work HOWEVER, had I known how QUICKLY this bird would respond to Paul's calls I SOOO would have gone along!!  (Skyler was home in time to get ready for school and hop on the bus!)  Oh well...they need their daddy/daughter time together too.  :-) 

Skyler had an opportunity to shoot at 40 yards but patiently waited for him to come closer, to a spot where she felt a little more comfortable shooting.  So...Skyler put this turkey down in Grissom-like fashion.  It is fitting that she should get a great bird as a sort of birthday present to herself since her 12th birthday was just yesterday!  This bird has amazing 1 1/2" spurs!!  Great job guys!   (Plus great pictures Paul...a great turkey caller and photographer too...do your talents never end?!?!) 

Saturday - Day 7 (A Week In Our Life):

Saturday - Day 7 (A Week In Our Life): 

Today will not be our usual Saturday.  Skyler’s birthday party is tonight so I have some preparation in order to get ready for a gaggle of girls to spend the night.

I do my chicken and dog chores today.  Make sure all chics and chickens have fresh food and water.

Bake a double-layer cake (chocolate w/chocolate-chip frosting per Skyler’s request).  The chocolate chips in the frosting don’t make for such good photos…but it should taste good.

Most of the day Skyler and I spend getting ready for her party.  Lots of vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, laundry and just plain general cleaning we haven’t had time to do lately.

Our very last egg hatched and we are going to pick that chick up tomorrow.  That makes 13 chicks out of 15 eggs…quite a good ratio!

Paul went out again this morning to call turkeys…this time for my friend Megan Klauer.  I thought she would have a much better chance of getting a turkey with Paul since he is a turkey calling machine and I have not practiced my calling at all this year.  They had some close calls but unfortunately Megan was not able to fill her tag today.  At least they had a great time!

Skyler had a great time helping me decorate for her party.

I made homemade pizzas for Skyler’s birthday party tonight.

5:00 - All of the girls arrive and the fun begins!  Skyler invited a great group of friends.  I have always liked these girls.  They are fun-loving, free-spirited and respectful girls.

The girls love playing with the chickens and chicks as well as our cats and Shadow.

We all eat supper together.

Skyler then opens her gifts from her friends.

The girls do “Just Dance,”  paint their nails, do makeup, have balloon fights and just generally hang out.  Unfortunately it is too cold and wet to spend too much time outside.

Before leaving for bowling we all have cake and ice cream.

Paul is staying home tonight or else he would have a terrible time waking up for turkey season in the morning.

9:30 until after 1:00 a.m. (I lost track of exactly how late it was when we left)  - we go to “Cosmic Bowling” at the Milan Lanes.

1:30 - I finally get to bed for the night.  I am too old for this late of night with this many pre-teen girls! J

It has been fun documenting another week in our lives.  Tomorrow we have another busy day planned.  Paul is going to call turkeys for Megan one last time.  I have the girls that I need to wake up and get some breakfast into before they leave by about 10:30.  I also have food to cook for a family birthday lunch out at Paul’s sister’s house in Oquawka at noon.

In the near future, we have another family turkey season coming up and I have only 2 more weeks to train for my ½ marathon…

Hope you have enjoyed reading the everyday in’s and out’s of our family once again!

Friday - Day 6 (A Week In Our Life):

Friday - Day 6 (A Week In Our Life): 

6:00 - alarm rings and I am up.  Wake Paul up for the day. 

Make Paul 3 packages of Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal (he doesn’t like my Old Fashioned Oatmeal) and a glass of Dr. Pepper for his breakfast.  I pull out some leftovers for his lunch and send him off to work with hugs and kisses like usual.
Wake Skyler up for her day.
I get my shower and get ready for the day while running another load of laundry and trying to clean the house a bit.
I eat my oatmeal with blueberries and cinnamon/sugar.
Off to school and work again.
Today is Skyler’s spelling bee over in Andalusia…I hope she has fun!
After work I run errands…
*to the party store to buy decorations for Skyler’s party,
*to the bank to cash like a month’s worth of checks,
*to the grocery store to buy some groceries for Skyler’s party in addition to some weekly groceries,
*get gas in my truck.
Once I get home I quickly unload groceries from my truck and put groceries away.
I make breakfast for supper tonight -- French toast tonight - yum.
I clean everything up after supper, wash a load of laundry, do dishes and it is soon time for bed.

Thursday - Day 5 (A Week In Our Life):

Thursday - Day 5 (A Week In Our Life): 

4:00 - Alarm rings for Paul to go turkey hunting…seriously!  I mumble some good lucks and love you and go back to sleep.

5:15 - Skyler’s alarm rings…for the last 2 mornings she has suddenly decided it is exciting to get up early.  I don’t know what is going on!
6:00 - I decided to get up before my alarm rings.
Sky and I get our showers and get ready for school and work while keeping our early morning chatter going like usual.
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I make some homemade barbecue sauce (it is supposedly the recipe used at Jim’s Rib Haven) and get our barbecued wild turkey going in the slow cooker for supper tonight.  This is the last of the wild turkey I thawed out…kind of ready for some red meat.
Go let the chickens out and make sure they are all happy and healthy for another day.
Wash another load of laundry.
Cook up some of my homemade oatmeal since my last batch is gone.
Eat my breakfast while typing up the info for this blog.
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Off to school and work again.  Another super busy day.
I go out to Subway for a quick and healthy 30 minute lunch with my friend Kris.
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Usually I meet my friend Renee for a run after work on Thursdays but we had to cancel since it is “Wax Museum” night up at the school tonight.
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Here is a picture I took out of my truck...this is one of the stretches of road I drive on my way home...about 2 miles from our house.

3:45 - Sky and I return home.
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We found out one of our other “extra” eggs hatched this morning so Sky and I make a quick run to pick up this poor little thing in hopes we can keep this one alive.

We decide that our mama hen is not dependable so if this little chick is going to make it, it is all up to us.

Paul goes to Boney’s and buys a heat lamp and we contrive a make-shift home for our new little chick.  I had to make some different provisions for our other pile of chicks as well since we are not really set up for separate housing.  I come up with a different watering and food situation for the older chicks and bring my chick feeder and waterer into the garage.
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Between getting the chick, setting up for the chick and eating supper (our barbecued wild turkey was awesome) we barely leave the house with enough time to arrive for Skyler’s “Wax Museum” at school.
6:40 - We are on our way to Reynolds Grade School so that Skyler can be Calamity Jane (the person she chose to portray in the “Wax Museum”)

7:00-8:00 - We make our way through the school listening to all of the kids’ presentations.  We have to pay each kid for this opportunity (just call us suckers).  The money they make will be used toward a good cause, surely.  J

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We return home at about 8:45.  One of Paul’s buddies comes over for a while and Skyler and I keep working with the chick setup to ensure that the temp is right (but mostly I am making sure that our house won’t burn down). 
I wash hand dishes and get the dishwasher going before bed.
I get up about 5 times during the night to check on the chick (but actually to be sure our house isn’t burning down) so not a very restful sleep.

Wednesday - Day 4 (A Week In Our Life):

Wednesday - Day 4 (A Week In Our Life): 

7:25 - Leave for Andalusia.  Today is different because I have to drive Skyler to Andalusia school and drop her off at 7:40 to take the bus to Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf.  She is one of just a handful of kids chosen to participate in a competition at Rivermont.  Because she is participating we have been studying the human body with her.  Schools from all over the area send their brightest students to compete against each other.  It should be a fun day for her.

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My roses at my desk.

Today is also different because at work we are having our Administrative Professionals Luncheon at The Outing Club in Davenport.  It is fun to get more than my usual 30 minute lunch to catch up with all my friends at work.  I also got roses from two of my bosses (all of the staff got roses)…really brightens up my desk!
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3:00 Paul picks Skyler up from Andalusia since I wasn’t sure I would be able to get off work in time to get there for her. 
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Here are some of our chicks.

Unfortunately when Paul and Skyler got home they went to check on our “extra” chick and our mother hen sensed she wasn’t one of her own and we no longer have the “extra” chick that Skyler had kept warm all last afternoon.  Skyler was pretty upset and I feel terrible that I didn’t think of a better way to either incorporate the chick or let it grow up some other way…I guess we learned the hard way on this one.  The rest of her original chicks are still going great and thriving.
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I get home at 3:45 and we eat a quick supper.  I unload and load the dishwasher again.  I pay some bills and balance my checkbook.
I fill out my application for Illinois firearm deer season.
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5:15 On our way to Reynolds again for Skyler’s softball practice.

5:30-7:20  Skyler and Paul have softball practice while I run 8 miles.  In the middle of my run I take a call from Aunt Jessi who is planning a birthday get together for Skyler, Papa and Uncle Dan this coming Sunday.

While running tonight I get chased by another dog!!  It turns out to be a nice dog but that instant of seeing a huge dog coming right for you can’t quite be described as anything but FREAKING scary!

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After running I take some pictures of the girls on Skyler’s team and of Skyler practicing pitching.
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7:45 - We arrive home and I help Skyler with some of her homework.  I go shut down the chicken coop for the night and get fresh food and water to all.  We all try to relax a bit and get ready for bed.  Paul is getting up at 4:00 to call in more turkeys for another buddy…so morning will come all too quickly.

Tuesday - Day 3 (A Week In Our Life):

Tuesday - Day 3 (A Week In Our Life): 

4:00-The alarm rings (yuk) because Paul is going to call turkeys for another one of his buddies.  I know my tendency that if I get too awake I will never fall back asleep so I wake up just long enough to tell him goodbye and then I go back to sleep.

6:00-Now my alarm rings and I am up.  I go let my chickens out for the day and start getting ready for work.  I throw another load of laundry from the washer to the dryer and from the dryer to the bin to fold. 

I eat my breakfast: oatmeal w/blueberries and cinnamon/sugar and milk.

7:00-Wake Skyler up for her day. 

We practice more of her spelling words. 

Skyler was one of the top 6 in her school spelling bee so today Skyler and 5 other classmates are going to Andalusia to compete against them.  I know she will do great!

8:15 - I am off to work again.  It was another super busy day at work.

At lunch I ate my rice cakes with natural peanut butter -- something I regularly eat for lunch and something for which I am regularly razzed about because it is such boring food…that’s alright. J

3:45 - Sky and I both arrive home.

Skyler had the day of the spelling bee wrong…it is actually Friday -- darn it (however, she pretends it was today and says she won…which I, of course, believe…and then she laughs cuz I am so gullible)
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We got a call that one of out extra eggs hatched!  As soon as Paul gets home we go to pick up our newest little chick.  When we place her under our hen who is raising our entire batch of chicks, she notices this new little one and immediately begins to PECK HER TO DEATH!  So we try to keep the chick warm until the chickens all head to bed -- I got a picture of Skyler sitting by this poor chick in the warm mulch (Skyler is complaining she is too warm, hence the look of her in this picture).  We finally snuck the chick under our chicken once she was settled in for the night and she didn’t seem to notice.  We will have to see if this poor little thing is still alive in the morning.

Skyler sitting beside our new little chick

This little thing is sleeping on the warm mulch next to Skyler

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Paul works on turkey fans, I hoe up the rest of my garden and plant all of my corn.  We all play dodge ball in the back yard -- my goodness I live with a relentless pile of people!!  I do some vacuuming and fold 2 more loads of laundry.

Paul and I take an evening walk while Skyler cleans her room -- what a beautiful night.

I study bones, muscles and digestive tract with Skyler some more for her competition at Rivermont tomorrow.

Put Skyler to bed with our regular prayers, hugs and kisses.

I read a few pages of “Run Like a Mother” until I fall asleep.