October Fun!!

Well, here it is November and its been over a month since I've posted anything but believe me, it wasn't because I had nothing to 'report' on.  October was as 'crazy busy' as I thought it would be.  October, as you know, is when we really start thinking about fall and all that there is to get done before winter.  The days are usually beautifully warm and colorful which makes its hard to stay inside, at least for me and since we we're suppose to be getting new floors put in soon, we had a lot of 'indoor' work that needed to get done.  Bryan also had to spend the last week of October in Carson City for a class so that meant that we had even less time to get stuff done before the floors were installed. 

October also means hunting season!!!  Bryan and I were not blessed with tags ourself this year, but my dad, Sara, Tony, Becky and Jessie were so even though I didn't have a tag to fill, i had a lot of 'hunting' to do-oh darn!!  

My dad likes to hunt with his muzzle loader so actually 'hunting season' for us started in September.  His tag ended up taking a lot more effort then we initially thought it was going to.  The first 2 days that we spent out, we didn't see any deer at all and actually very little wild life in general.  The drought is really taking a toll.  The areas that we hunted at first have always been good areas to go to but not this year. 

The weather also played a roll to on our ability to get out,however, the rain was very refreshing and welcomed-(as if i could control it anyway).  In an effort to try to get to an area before another t-storm came in, we were able to see what a flash flood had done the day before which had made the road un-passable and then almost got caught in another down pour; the lightning that we got to see was the most amazing I've seen to date!! 

So, we waited a couple days to let things dry up and bit and headed back out to where we wanted to go.  The persistence and patience paid off and after a couple miles of hiking my dad got his deer!..........in the bottom of a 'nice' rocky, steep bowl.  Little did I know that this 'work-out' was 'light' compared to what Jessie was going to be blessed with.  She had the same area as my dad and I planned on bringing her up here in October to hopefully get her first buck. 

   October has officially arrived and Jessie and I have the hunting bug; Bryan has the 'oh no, where are we going to hike and how big is it going to be and out of what kind of terrain' bug.  Well, on opening day, Sara, Jessie and I decided to do a 'girls day out hunting' since Bryan had to work and we really wanted to go out.  We weren't able to get out first thing in the morning since Sara had to coach a soccer game so we headed out as soon as she was done.  We decided to go somewhere close by since we didn't have all day.  This proved to be unsuccessful as far as harvesting a deer, but was still a great day out and a good 'warm up' for Jessie.

  On October 7th, Bryan, Jessie and I got up early and headed out to where my dad and I had went to get his deer.  This area has become our 'secret' spot.  God's hand in this day was amazing to me. I know that God is with us everyday and we are surrounded by His blessings but quite often we get to caught up in worries and cares that we don't look for them.  This day it was hard to ignore!!!  It started off with an amazing sunrise-they can be just as amazing as the sunsets for all of you that don't like to get up before the sun  ;).   When we had almost got to our destination, we got to see a bull elk-my first ever that I've seen first hand in the wild.  When we got to our spot, we grabbed our gear, talked about the tentative rout to hike and took off walking.  There was sign everywhere but after a couple miles, we hadn't seen anything.  I could tell Jessie was getting a little concerned but we kept encouraging her and kept on.  Before long we were sneaking down into a rocky draw and ended up spooking 3 cow elk-again, a first for me and Jessie. 

  We kept on going and after a few hours of walking and sneaking we had made our way back to the truck.  We decided that it was time to eat some lunch and come up with another plan. 
   After getting our bellies full, we unloaded the ATV and decided to take a road that we had seen to another area and then go hiking some more.  We had already hiked 4 miles, so a couple miles on the ATV was nice.   After the first mile or so, Jessie and I hopped off and went walking to glass another ridge and ravine/ditch/ steep, rocky area-whatever you want to call it.  Nothing there, so back to the ATV and down the road a bit more.  Got to another spot, stopped,and off we went.  This time we didn't get to far before we saw our first deer-3 does.  At this point Jessie was getting tired and was tempted to fill her tag this year with another doe-I objected and told her we would find her a buck.  It was early in the season and we were gonna keep trying.  So, we kept hiking and did about another mile back around to the ATV.
   We went a little further and I decided that we needed to stop and take a better look into this other ravine before we went the other way up over another hill.  So, off we went.  It was now after 1:00 so I knew we were going to be looking for something 'bedded' down.  I told Jessie to keep here eye on the shadows especially up against the rocks.  She listened and at about the same time, her and I spotted this beautiful buck!!   We quickly knealed down and she got set up to take her shot.  Bryan was behind us but couldn't see the buck.  Jessie looked at me and said, "mom, I'm shaking"!  I encouraged her to take a deep breath and focus on a good shot.  Click!!  the gun didn't fire!!!  The buck didn't move.  Being right by her, I grabbed the bolt and chambered a different round and told her to try again.  Bang!!!   A perfect shot!!!

  Jessie just got her first buck and its a beauty!!   I think I may have been shaking as much as she was!  What a blessing!  Bryan and I were very proud of her but especially because the first words out of her mouth were thanking the Lord!! 
   After, we had given each other all hugs, Jessie and I headed down to go see her buck as Bryan went to see how close he could get the ATV-retrieval was going to be tough!!  The rocky, steep bowl' that my dad got his buck in didn't hardly compare to this 'ditch'!!   Her shot was just under a 100yds and the 'drag' to get him to the ATV was a little over 100yds-almost straight up and did I mention that he was BIG!!  Glad that Bryan and I have been working out because it paid off getting him out of there!!

 So, we successfully got us all back to the truck.  Boy were we tired!!  Jessie and I had hiked a total of at least 6 miles but it was well worth it!!

   We hadn't been in the truck headed back home for to long before Jessie was out!!  This great day was ended with an amazing sunset to top it off!!  God is good!!

  Two deer down and a few more to go!  Next, I was hunting with Sara.  She had a different area then everybody else but still an area that I was familiar with.  Between work schedules and days that grandma could babysit, we got out 3 times.  Her and Tony were able to go out a couple times too but unfortunately, she wasn't successful in harvesting a deer this year. 

  Our trips out though, were never disappointing if you ask me.  The country that we were in was amazing.  We hiked around 15 plus miles over 3 days and saw between 10 to 60 deer each time-all does though.  We thought that it was weird to see so many does and no bucks, but that's how it was. 

   Sara looking good looking for that buck!

Me, not looking to bad after many days of little sleep and on the go now for over a week!

  On our last day out, we started on the top of the mountain, spotted some deer a long way away and ended up in the bottom of a canyon hoping that there was a buck in the bunch.  There wasn't but the colors of the trees were breath taking!

  Sara ended up being the only one that had tag soup this year.  Tony was able to get a nice 4 point and Becky got her doe.  This year proved to be educational I think for everyone.  Droughts really have a major affect on wildlife and we got to see it first hand from seeing no deer in areas that usually have them to seeing does that are very under weight due to the fawn at there side and very little vegetation  to seeing an entire heard of around 20 plus does and almost no fawns at all. Ultimately for me though, I realized even more that God is our provider for all things-even the deer that is in our freezer.  He gives us the ability to hunt and all that that entails and 'success' is made possible by Him. If we are not 'successful' by our standards, this is also made possible by Him and we should still give thanks even when we don't understand. For me, the days out hiking with my family and getting to see the wonders of God's creation made each day a success.