What a Week!

 Life is a struggle. Especially with two black eyes and several broken fingers. It took two days before someone told Barb that I posted that video of her dancing. I will always remember the exact moment when she was told; it was Wednesday, 6:23pm, we were at the Custer Beacon with the entire family waiting for bingo to start.

Dan and Bonnie were there too, we were having a great time when Bonnie said something like; "I loved that video of you dancing on the blog.". The next few minutes are a little foggy. Barb said; "Oh no you didn't". The look she gave me would turn most men to stone, but after 38 years of marriage I am impervious to her death stare. What I am not impervious to is her left/right hook combination that left me dazed and confused as I regain consciousness laying on the barroom floor with two swollen eyes. I would show you pictures, but she would not allow them as they could be used against her in a court of law. 

What I do have a picture of is our youngest grandchild Kendall, Baby K, as I like to call her with her winnings from bingo night! Our table finally won! The odds were stacked a little better in our favor with 11 at our table this week. It was so cute. She said she was one away from bingo and when they called the exact number she needed I heard a little squeak of a "bingo" from her side of the table. I could barely hear it from a few feet away let alone 20' where the callers were seated. Mother Jessica called out a much louder "Bingo!" that everyone heard. 

The verifier came over and started calling out the numbers off of Baby K's card while she stared at the ground with guarded anticipation. When it was successfully verified a big smile came across her 10-year-old face and she was handed $87. 

The week went so fast with a mix of family activities, hunting and work. The weather turned around and we had several days in the 50's and I think we even touched 60 one day! With the weather this nice Kevin snuck in two more concrete projects. Who knows, this might have been the last of the nice weather until next April!

First up was an addition to the Pringle Fire Hall. A 14' x 42' pour. There were three of us; Kevin and I and another guy from the fire department. Here was the issue with this pour:

See that temperature in the top of that picture? 22 degrees is more than a little chilly to pour concrete, but pour we did!

Kevin had them add a chemical to the concrete which aids in the hardening process in this cold weather. I snuck inside a few times to warm up and took some pictures of the trucks...

The other pour was at Dan and Bonnie's where we put a sidewalk and sitting are on the east side of their house. The weather was in the 50's during this pour, and being so small, it was much easier. 

I had to leave after getting the concrete laid and doing a quick edging. I told Kevin I would rather have him mad at me than Barb. Looking at my two black eyes, he told me he totally understood. So off I went to our next activity for the day. 

A hayride! I had not used our wagon in several months and when I pulled it out to put the hay bales in it, I found one tire flat. I pumped it up told everyone to jump in and hoped for the best. We did a tour through our west pasture and Jim and Carmen's pasture next door. We brought refreshments, apple cider for the kids and Apple Pie Moonshine for the adults. 

We stopped by Jim and Carmen's so they could meet the gang. By that time, the tire was flat again so we webble and wobbled back home.

Speaking of moonshine, that night Barb put together a blind bourbon tasting for Shane and me of all my bourbons under 100-proof. 13 of them to be exact. Barb and Jessica numbered 13 tasters for each of us and poured a tiny bit into each one. Our goal? To try to identify each one and place them in the order of our preference before they reveal what they really were.

Here is the flaw in that approach. No one can taste 13 bourbons in a short period of time without totally blowing out your palate. By the time we got to the 8th or 9th, they all started tasting the same. 

The next night we tried it again with 5 bourbons over 100-proof with much more successful results. 

Other activates for the week included bowling and hiking. I was not able to go on either of these adventures, but fun was had by all. The hike was at the Cathedral Spires in Custer State Park. Another beautiful hike. 

The deer have been going crazy as I continue my quest for my bow buck. The rut is in full swing, and I have been seeing bucks chasing does every day. Just one short video for you this week of two bucks chasing a doe near me. You get a glimpse of the doe running by, but the majority of the video shows two bucks posturing to each other. The darker buck, which had a smaller rack, had a much bigger body than the lighter colored buck with a bigger rack. If you listen carefully, we you can hear the darker buck do what is called a snort-wheeze. A vocalization meant to intimidate other bucks. You can definitely see that the darker buck is dominant over the other one. So cool to watch in person!

On their last day here, we went to Jewel Cave National Monument for a cave tour. Something we would never consider during peak season. This cave tour was a first for several in the group. Even though we have been on this tour several times over the years, it is always interesting to see the formations and experience it with first-timers. 

After that, it was off to the airport for their 3:00 flight. We received a text at 12:30am from Jess saying that they had made it home. 

This morning, at 5am, as I am preparing to go out hunting, the house seems empty and quiet. Almost too quiet? Forrest, Somer and Lily are still here, out in their camper, but the house is empty. We had a great time with them and are so grateful for Jessica coming out.  With luck, we can make this an annual event!

It is Here!

 The week(s) I wait all year for is finally here! It is the two (sometimes 3) weeks every year where there is chaos around here. What is happening around here you ask? What is causing me to get all excited?

The rut of course! The two weeks a year when all the does in the woods come into heat and are ready for breeding. Mother Nature is incredible, how it syncs up all the does in the area, so they come into heat at the same time giving them the best possible chance of having a successful birth in the spring. Some even say that an early rut means a mild winter meaning the does can have their fawns early and a late rut means a heavy snow and cold winter. Do you think Mother Nature knows what kind of winter we are going to have and changes things like this accordingly? Let's hope not as this year's rut was 2 weeks later than last year, meaning a cold winter!

This is also the time of the year when the reclusive big bucks go crazy and run around the woods looking for the "hot" does. Which is also the reason you see so many dead deer along the roads during this time of year, they run without really focusing on their surroundings. 

Does just do not let anyone breed them. They fight off the advances from less superior bucks and wait for the most dominant buck in the area. Once that is done, the buck moves on to other does. His job is done. He does not stick around for the birth, nor does he have any role in raising the fawn. Dominant bucks will breed up to dozens of does in the area. Does that are not bred during this period will come into heat approximately a month later and to a lesser degree a month later after that if they are not bred during this second rut. This is why you will sometimes see fawns so much smaller or younger than others the following year. 

What does all this mean? It means I get out in the woods as much as possible. This big guy has made it halfway through the rifle season, on 12 more days left and he is safe.

This guy (below) is new to our area, interesting and weird rack...

These next two pictures I took with my Lumix. Love the steam coming out of this buck's, mouth. The Magpie was being particularly photogenic, so I thought I would include it. 

The other morning, I was walking out to my blind. 6:00am, 20 minutes before first light but the full moon illuminated my way. Not quite enough, as I walked right into the fence, not the first time. As I bent over to crawl through the fence, I caught movement behind me out of the corner of my eye. It is amazing what goes through your mind in a millisecond. The first thought is "What was that!?!". We have mountain lions here about, but my next thought was maybe a dog got out and was following me. I was halfway through the fence and stumble backward as I jumped away from whatever was about to attack me. Landing on my backside I looked back and saw what scared the hell out of me. My shadow... The moon was so bright it created a shadow and I'll be damned if that thing did not follow me all the way to my hunting blind!

A couple of our friends have brought deer over to process in our heated processing room. So far, we have processed 4 deer and an elk.  Here is Barb and our friends Doug and Lisa processing a buck that Doug had got. I tilted the camera just right to leave out all the "gross" stuff. 

Our big news of the week is Jessica, and her family have arrived! Their first time to our house here in South Dakota. Grandson Dylan (15) sat out with me on one hunt where I filled my rifle tag, an experience both of us will remember for the rest of our lives. There is a photo, but I put it at the very bottom so those of you who do not want to see it can read the rest of this post and skip that picture. 

We are over the top with excitement to have our entire family here. We have been hiking, 4 wheeling, hunting, had our Thanksgiving together and just hung out enjoying each other's company. 

First up is our hike. One cannot come to this area for the first time and not visit Custer State Park for a hike. We chose The Poet's Table, a shortish hike that involves rock scrambling a ladder climb and incredible views. 

We started off at The Little Devil's Tower trail head. The entire gang came except Shane who had been experiencing some ankle issues. Even little Chloe came!

"Twinsies" cousins Lily and Kendall have been inseparable. Playing together all day, spending the nights giggling into the wee hours of the morning. 

Speaking of Twinsie, could Jess and Barb look any more alike? Then there is Barb and Forrest with a free drink token from a local brewery that they found in a geocache of sorts. 

The trail starts out fairly gradually, but before you know it, you are rock scrambling

Then comes the ladder climb, not a problem for anyone, even the doodle wanted to give it a try, but she needed help. 

There are several small caves in the area, there was one that was accessible that the kids wanted to explore. 

Up near the top, we stopped for a group picture. I tried to take a selfie off all of us, but it was an epic failure. 

Finally, we reached our destination, The Poets Table the 38th highest peak in the state. This is our second time here, the first be a year ago almost to the date. 

The history behind this hike is quite interesting as well. In the 1960's a man by the name of John Raeck arrived in the hills and took a job with the park. He fell in love with the park and stayed, nicknaming himself The Vagabond Poet. He even built himself a table and chair in a remote part of the park where he would write his poetry. This site is now known as The Poet's Table. 

Our early Thanksgiving on Sunday, with the family. Ryan and Alana came down with a finally cone-less Loki and of course, Sophie. I was a horrible picture taker, only getting this one picture.

Luckily, Ryan came to the rescue getting this priceless video of Barb when one of her favorite songs came on....

It is a fun song, she just cannot help herself! Wine, Beer, Whiskey by Little Big Town

I got a couple trail cam photos that I just had to include. You just never know what you are going to see. For two days this eagle stopped and landed on this log....never seen before and never seen since. 

Of course, no blog is complete without dog pictures and videos! Apparently, Loki and Sophie read the blog and saw Chloe and Zoey in that bear outfit a couple of weeks ago and wanted to get in on the action themselves!

After being on Loki's melonhead, I do not think it will fit a little dog again!

With so many dogs over, (6) there is bound to be trouble. Of course, Zoey was once again the instigator. Loki, Zoey, and Chloe were peacefully playing tug-of-war when all hell broke loose. 

And finally, the picture of the deer from when Dylan and I went hunting. Scroll down if you want to see it, otherwise, you can stop here....

P.S..... if there are any spelling errors, that is because I did not have my editor (Barb) proofread this. There is no way she would have let me get away with posting that video of her!