Barbie Bags an Elk!

 What a blog title! Actually, it should be the title of a children's book. It would definitely be a best seller, read in every school world-wide. 

It would go something like this:

This is Barbie, she is a hunter. This is an elk. Barbie put the elk in a bag. 

             

Maybe not exactly like that, but I am getting ahead of myself. 

Both Barb and I have been applying for elk tags for 6 years now. The elk population here in the Black Hills very good so they allow a number of bull and cow hunting licenses each year to control the herd and reduce elk/car incidents. On average, it takes 15+ years to get a bull elk tag, meaning, we would be well into our 70's by the time we got one. Cow elk tags on the other hand, do not take nearly that long, so last year when we applied, she decided to try for one. A few weeks later, she received notification that she was successful in pulling a tag!

Now we just had to wait for the season to open on December 1st. She practiced shooting two rifles; a .300 Win Mag with a scope and old school lever action 30-30 with open sights, the kind you see in a lot of the old westerns. We would bring both guns and use one or the other depending on how far the shot was. Although we have had 70-100 elk in our area recently, they have moved on, so we had to go out and search for a herd elsewhere. 

Opening morning, Forrest, Barb and I awoke at 5am for a 6am departure and 6:30 sunrise. Within 30 minutes we had spotted a nice herd of 50 or so. They were about a mile off the road on the edge of a hill, but they were on the wrong side of the road for Barb's hunt zone. We watched them for a while seeing if they would move our way, but they did not, so the search continued. 

An hour or so later we spotted a couple of elk bedded on a hillside 150 yards from us as we were driving a forest service road. But alas, they were both bulls, off limits for us. 

Then it happened; she received a text from a local rancher who she had contacted several days earlier about hunting on his land. The text said he has had a herd on and off in his horse pasture for the past few days and she was welcome to come over and hunt. 25 minutes later we were getting a tour of his property. The elk had left for the day, but he said if we came back the next morning at about sunrise they should be there. 

The three of us were there the next morning watching 20 or so elk, waiting for the sun to get high enough to distinguish the bulls from the cows. We set up on them about 200 yards away and waited. As the sun rose, they started leaving the field and filtering off into the forest. By now, they were 250 yards away, a good 150 yards further than Barb has ever shot before. She kept watching them through the scope while Forrest and I watched through binoculars. We found a cow that did not have a calf with her and focused on that one, talking Barb through the shot. I knew the gun was capable of a shot that far, but was Barb? I told her to just focus on her aim and if she was comfortable to pull the trigger. Seconds passed and nothing..... then she said "I pulled the trigger, but nothing happened". That is when I saw the safety was still on. 

Safety now off, Forrest was ranging it and said "260 yards". I told her to hold an inch or so higher than she wanted to hit and pull the trigger when she was ready. By now, several other elk were behind the cow, so we had to wait for them to clear. Once they were clear, the rifle went off and I saw a puff of dirt fly up on the far side of the elk. My first thought was that she missed, but then the elk took several steps and fell over! She had made a perfect shot!

I turned and looked at Barb and she was full out crying. Not because she had shot something, but because she was so happy and relieved. Her biggest worry was that she was going to make a bad shot and just wound the animal, but she made a perfect, quick and humane shot, and she was so happy. 

I know that some of you have a hard time reading this, and that is okay. If you are a meat eater, you realize that it has to be harvested one way or another, but most do not have a firsthand role in doing so. Harvesting your own meat brings you closer to nature, makes you appreciate all that God has given us and have a greater respect for the animal. There are pictures of Barb and her elk at the end of this post, so those of you who want to skip it can do so, but if you do look at it, look at the hillsides and the surrounding area, you will not find a prettier sight anywhere else in the world. It was the perfect morning where Barb got to share this experience with "her men" (her words). 

We called Kevin, who lives about 3 miles away from this location and he helped us load it into our truck. No easy task, as it had to weigh over 500lbs. The rancher drove out and congratulated Barb, she gave him a big hug, something it looked like he was not quite used to. I chuckled inside, yep, Barbie is a hugger!

When we got home, Forrest and I hung and skinned it allowing it to cool off. Did I mention it was 7° when we were hunting? None of us felt it at the time, but after the hunt, we noticed our fingers and toes were numb. 

Over the next two days Forrest and I processed it and got it in the freezer. Meanwhile, inside the house Barb would jab me by saying "Looks like I am the provider for the family this year". Oh boy, I am never going to live this one down! I could not be prouder of her!

Pictures below....

Being Thankful

My thoughts this week were centered around how thankful I (we) am for so many things in our lives.  It is natural this week, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, all bring these thoughts of thankfulness and reflection. We have so much to be thankful for in our lives, but recently I have been reflecting on 2024 and the things we sometimes take for granted and need to remind ourselves that these are blessings. 

First and foremost, I am thankful for Barb. She is my world, my everything, I could not function without her.  Her strength, her drive and her overall positive attitude carries us through the day, weeks, months and the entire year. I know no other woman who works as hard and has such a positive outlook on life day to day. 

This past year has been quite the adventure, our Alaska trip, hunting with Forrest at the farm, Jessica and her family visiting.....All things we are thankful for this year. 

We have been relatively healthy throughout the year, something we often take for granted. As many of you know, that is something that can change in an instant, totally rocking your world. We had a couple of bumps/scares in the past year, but overall, our health is good allowing us to get out and do the things we love. 

Closely related is our happiness. Health certainly affects one's happiness, but there are many totally healthy people who just cannot find happiness, going through life focusing on the negative and letting it affect their overall attitude in life. There are so many good things that happen during a day, but it is human nature to take these for granted and let the one or two little negative things/annoyances affect the entire day. We are constantly reminding ourselves to let the little things go. In the overall scheme of life these things do not matter, need to be overlooked and not affect your overall attitude.

On the heels of Jessica's visited I am reminded at how thankful we should be that we have good kids and get along with them so well. Not only them, but their spouses and children. Sure, there are minor annoyances, as I am sure they are with us, but that is just what they are minor and should be overlooked and not let them affect our lives. 

I am thankful for our friends. Kevin, Cheryl, Dan, Bonnie, The Finken's, Sobieck's, and the Ross's up in Alaska. All were big parts of our lives this past year. Our friends in Minnesota (yes, you too Dino), Wisconsin, Florida and Canada, people we may not have even seen this year, but we are thankful to call our friends. 

We are thankful to have great neighbors on all sides of us. Something one has no control over. We have become good friends with some of our neighbors, others are silent, respectful and courteous, again, something we take for granted. In fact, we got out to supper with Jim and Carmen this week!

So those are the things we are grateful for as I type this on a whim at 5:45 in the morning before going out hunting. I am sure I forgot a few things/people, but I have not had my morning Moutain Dew yet today. 

For those of you fearing for my wellbeing, fear not I have survived another week and no, Barb did not really give me black eyes. Ironically, she DID end up with two black eyes this week when she walked into the edge of the door in the middle of the night. Not seriously black, but some definite bruising. 

Out in the hunting blind, the quest continues. The bucks are chasing does like crazy, none stop action every morning and night. I would say 1/3 of the bucks are coming in like this....

Busted racks. They are fighting more this year than I have seen in the past. I had an encounter with on really nice buck that I probably would have taken but half of his rack was gone! You don't suppose he did that himself to make him less attractive?

As you can see, we got more snow, about 3". Barb will sometimes pick me up or drop me off at my blind. Here is my view as she pulled up to pick me up the other day. 

Out in Pennsylvania, daughter Jessica and Baby K are on their own quest for a big buck. No luck yet, but they it looks like they are having fun!

Forrest and I took advantage of the snow and went exploring for elk. Barb's Elk season opens on Sunday. Although we did not see any elk, we did see some tracks, giving us a clue to where they are hanging out.

Our biggest clue as to where the elk are hanging out came on Wednesday night when we pulled in the driveway at 9pm after attending our weekly bingo event. There, in front of us, on our property were about 100 elk! Hopefully they hang around another few days!

Speaking of bingo and Wednesday, it was a big day, as it was Somer's birthday! Although no one at our table won big, we had a good time, and Somer had a great day.

I purposely did not mention our niece Alana and nephew-in-law Ryan above who brought us many laughs this year. That is because they were a big part of this week! The day, of course was Thanksgiving. What a day we had planned! The theme of the day was dogs. Of course, we had Dakota and Zoey, then Jack and Chloe. Alana and Ryan came down from Spearfish with their two dogs, Loki and Sophie making the total count 6 dogs and 7 humans. But wait, there's more! Alana's sister and our other niece, Tess, drove up from Denver to join us with not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 dogs! Making the final count 8 humans, 10 dogs. We were definitely outnumbered!

To say, I was hesitant/skeptical would be an understatement, but it went really, really well. A couple minor squabbles and one Christmas Story moment when Loki jumped up and grabbed a chunk of turkey off the counter.

After eating we watched some more football and played a few dice games.

Just two trail camera photos this week. This first one is a cool picture of a magpie staring into the camera.

The next was an unplanned picture but it shows how I am now filling my water tank. So much easier than putting it in the back of the side by side and tipping it over. I should say was filling my water tank as everything is now frozen. 

Our last event of the week was one that Barb looks forward to every year. Our Christmas tree hunt! When the kids were young, Barb made it quite the event; going to a local Christmas tree farm looking for the perfect tree. She would walk up and down even row of trees comparing each and every one. I T  W O U L D  T A K E  H O UR S!!!!! It has become a running joke in the family. The last couple of years we have been getting our trees from Bomgaars. Even there, she has to inspect each and every tree. 

This year we went to The National Forest to select our tree. For $10, you can buy a Christmas tree permit allowing you to go out to the forest and cut a tree. How in the world would she ever select a tree from the millions scattered across the Black Hills? Luckily, it was narrowed down to only a couple hundred thousand as she wanted a spruce and not a ponderosa pine. 

Forrest, Somer, Lily, Chloe and I tagged along as Barb went from tree to tree say "No". Two hours later, our group had dwindled to 3 as Somer, Lily and Chloe tapped out and returned to the truck to warm up. Finally, she narrowed it down to two tree and went back and forth between the two trying to decide on her final selection. Finally, it was done! She had selected a tree! 

The problem was, we were now 1/2 mile from the truck, and I had to go back and get the chainsaw. 20 minutes later I return to "The Tree" to find Forrest and Barb nowhere in sight. "Barb!" I yelled....nothing, three more times, no answer. I finally call Forrest on the phone; he answers and says we are over the next ridge looking at more trees, but we are coming back. 

Tree cut, Forrest and I drag it back to the truck. Finally, we have our tree! A 14' beauty that we cut down to 11' that stands proudly in our living room. Barb spent the next morning decorating it. It's a little thin, but it will do for this year!

When Somer came in, Barb had Christmas music playing, Somer made the comment that in their family, they only played Christmas music on Christmas day. In our family, we play it Thanksgiving through Christmas. 

What is your tradition? Only Christmas day? A week before Christmas? The entire holiday season? What other traditions do you have?

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!