Saturday, November 21, 2020

Barbie Bags a Big Buck!

Some people laugh and think it is silly that I call Barb Barbie but I have been doing it for over 30 years and to me it is just natural, you know kinda like how she always calls me dumb@ss, it is just what rolls off the tongue when we address each other. Me calling her that has nothing to do with the doll, everyone knows she is a princess!

If you are looking for a lot of pictures, you will be sorely disappointed. There is a grand total of 2 pictures in this entire post. Proof that what matters is quality, not quantity.  

It is deer season here in South Dakota, archery season actually opens September 1st through the end of the year. With an archery tag you can harvest any deer; whitetail or mule deer, buck or doe. I have trail cameras throughout the property looking for the big one and get out hunting as often as possible. I would venture to guess that I have over 500 hours in the woods looking for "the one".  Conversely I have been buying Barb an archery tag for the past few years. Some years she goes out, some years she just does not feel like it. Over the past three years she has less than 50 hours in the woods combined. This year she decided she wanted to go out. So I got out her bow, dust it off, found a few arrows and we went outside to practice. After a dozen or so shots at 20 yards we were confident that she would do well given the opportunity. In fact she ruined one of her arrows but hitting it with another arrow. 

She did not go out for two days but then on the third morning she decided to go out. She came back 40 minutes later saying she shot one! I was happy for her but also thought "Oh great, she is going to one-up me again!". We waited about 20 minutes and went out to look the deer. We tracked the deer, not a lot of blood but enough to pick our way through the woods. About 100 yards later Barb looks up and screams like a 6 year old getting her favorite present on Christmas morning. It was a moment I will never forget as long as I live. There laying in the pine needles is a big mule deer buck! She just put her hands to her mouth stared at the buck and kept repeating, "I got him, I got him!". 

Now, I realize that hunting is not for everyone and I totally get that. But for us, it is how we were raised and a part of our culture. In fact when we lived in Wisconsin our kids' school closed the week of the gun deer season because no one showed up anyway. I could not be happier or prouder for Barb, her biggest fear when using a bow is making a bad shot and this one was absolutely perfect, I am guessing the deer was dead within 5 seconds of her shot. And yes, although I have shot several mule deer in my life, I have never shot one with my bow and I have never gotten one this big so I was "one-upped" once again!

The rest of the week was spent moping around working on projects inside and outs. The weather was great for mid-November with highs up into the 40's and even 50's. One last chance to get some projects done outside.  These included installing the oven cooktop vent outside the house, working on fencing, installing some outside lighting and wiring for a hot tub. Yes, a hot tub!

We have been wanting one for years. We had one in Wisconsin and used it almost daily, summer and winter. So when we got the concrete done around the house we were ready to order one. When we went shopping we were in for a shock in two ways. We had not shopped for one for a while and whoa! they went up over the years and were more than I had thought! The second shocker was availability. We went to and called several stores asking about models we were interested in. We even went as far as calling Casper Wyoming (3 hours away) to see what they had. Most of them said if we ordered now we would get our tub anywhere from 4-6 months. Then we stopped by one in Rapid City and walked through the showroom. When we asked the salesman about a particular one he said he had one coming on the truck "next week" that was not spoken for. After a little negotiating, we bought it on the spot! 

"Next week" turned into 3 weeks but that gave me time to get things ready at home. I had put conduit under the concrete from the house to where we wanted the tub so on one of our warmer days I ran wire through the conduit to the disconnect we had installed when we wired up the house during the summer of '19. The big day finally came when they called to deliver the tub! The delivery guys arrived, put it in place and hooked it all up for us!

So at least I have the hot tub do drown my sorrows in, literally and figuratively. My only hope is that my time in the woods pays off and I able to throw my big buck on the kitchen table and once again reclaim my manhood!

39 comments:

  1. Nice buck, Barb! So Jim, was that arrow she split the one in the bullseye?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not exactly in the bullseye but close enough to know it was not an accident!

      Delete
  2. Is your wife's deer going to be made into a wall mount ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, we have just the spot picked out on the wall for it. They take anywhere from 8-10 months to complete so we will have to wait a while!

      Delete
  3. My wife LOVES her hot tub. On our second one now after 30 years here. Pretty hard (but not impossible) to travel with one though.....one of the reasons we never went full time......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our neighbors volunteered to keep an eye on ours when we travel. Isn't that nice of them?!?!

      Delete
  4. I'm torn between happy and sad. I was always happy to have meat on the table, but so sad to see the pretty deer lose their life. Now if you were hunting skunks, I would be jumping up and down!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Believe it or not we feel the same way. Love seeing the deer, love hunting them, love the full freezer but kind of melancholy once it is all done.

      Delete
  5. Way to go Barb. How exciting. We love our hot tub and I'm sure on really beautiful cold days it will be lovely for you looking out over your land. Fingers crossed Jim, you also find "the big one". lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So far there has not been a night we have not used it. It is a little chilly getting in and out but totally worth it!

      Delete
  6. Congratulations to Barb. I'm sure he'll look good on that wall and serve as a daily reminder who's the better shot LOL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We will have to make sure it gets hung next to one of mine that is just a little bit bigger!

      Delete
  7. Good job Barb, now Jim will be waiting and waiting for that BIGGER one and might just get SKUNKED out. (Nancy is the expert on catching skunks, by-the-way, for readers who don't follow her.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lets hope she stays the expert, I want nothing to do with seeing, trapping or getting skunked!

      Delete
  8. Nice buck Barb good job 👏 still warm this winter.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Congrats on the catch, Barb! We loved using our sticks/bricks home hot tub on cold winter nights! Enjoy the deer meat and the heat!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not much better to take the chill off on those cold and frosty nights!

      Delete
  10. If you read between the lines in your post, it tells me that Barb is very good at time management. How long did you say you have been out there? Enjoy the tub.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The longer I am out there the less I have to work on the house. I am sitting out in the woods while Barb is up here working on the house. Genius!

      Delete
  11. Congrats on the buck Barb. I am not into hunting but appreciate your sense of accomplishment. Love the hot tub.I anticipate that ou are going to have a wonderful winter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are looking forward to the start of the new year, 2021 has got to be better right?!?!

      Delete
  12. Great shot Barb on your Trophy and filling the freezer.
    I'm certain you'll love the Hot Tub. Might consider closing it in.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have thought about closing it in. Perhaps when it is moved to its permanent location once the porch is complete.

      Delete
  13. Her new name is Badass Barbie! He’ll look good on the wall and tasty on the table.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you just came up with the name of next years Barbie Doll model!

      Delete
  14. Congrats Barb on harvesting a beauty buck. It will look great on your wall and be a constant reminder to Jim as to who's the better hunter. 😊

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I think it will look good in the garage, that way we do not have to stare at it and have it be a constant reminder!

      Delete
  15. That is crazy about the hot tub thing. I wonder if there's a shortage because everyone was stuck home for a while and decided to do home improvement projects...and those home improvement projects turns into larger home improvement projects....and then the next thing you know, it's: "Ya know what would be awesome? A hot tub!!" LOL. Home improvement mission creep is real!

    Anyway, glad you guys were able to find a good one. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it is a combination of a production slow down and lots of home improvement projects. You are right about one project turning into another and another, it seems like we will never get this place done!

      Delete
  16. Congrats on a great buck. I spent a lot of years deer hunting and enjoyed it all. Now I watch them in by back yard and shoot with a camera:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is fun watching the antics of the deer in the back yard, the social interaction and pecking order between each other is very interesting.

      Delete
  17. Even thought I had to skip the photo, it was sweet to see how Barb's hunting/fishing record continues. That hot tub will come in handy with the long cold weather in SD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have declared 2021 to be the year that Barb does not surpass me in any hunting/fishing accomplishment, we shall see how that turns out!

      Delete
  18. Wow, Nice Buck! The one thing that Kim misses more than anything else is our hot tub. Enjoy it on those snowy nights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So far we have had pretty mild evenings with the lows only in the 20's. I am sure we will get much lower than that in the coming months!

      Delete
  19. You go Barb, great buck!! The one thing I miss from our home is the hot tub, we only used ours in the winter, used the jacuzzi in the summer. I'm looking forward to getting to our place in TX, hot tub time for sure while there. I imagine the sky view there at night has to fabulous, enjoy!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There has not been a day since we got it that we have not used it yet! The hardest part is the trip from the house to the tub and back in.....Brrrr!

      Delete