Opa's place -Where an old rooster visits with friends

[chickencrazymamahen]

Evening!! Hope all is well with everyone. Spent the last 2 days making homemade slovak kielbasa from my grandmother's recipe. Our whole house smells like it now, brings back wonderful memories for me. The smell is about to run hubby out of the house, he doesn't share the same love for it that I do.

Momma was tickled to have some for supper last night as it gave her some memories of her own from when her family would gather and make it each year before Christmas. I am still using the grinder/stuffer that was my grandmothers and then my mothers and it makes me smile using it even if my arms do feel like they are going to fall off tonight.

 

[Opa]

Several related families in my son Joe's neighborhood get together to butcher hogs and make sausage. He was pleasantly surprized when they asked him to join in their annual tradition. The ages of the participants ranges from 50 to 80 and each has their assigned task. One of the son-in-laws retired from the Air Force and moved into the neighborhood. It was his second year of sausage making and when Joe walked in he remarked "great, a new guy. I don't have to do the menial jobs anymore". That was fine with Joe, he was just glad to be included plus he was 15 years younger than the son-in-law.

As the day progressed, Joe just automatically started cutting meat without instruction. The oldest member asked him where he learned to do that and he replied, "my Daddy taught me. He's always butchered his own meat and made sausage". The next morning the son-in-law was told to keep doing the gopher work because Joe knows more than you.

It certainly reminded Joe of the value of family traditions.

 

[theotherranch]

Opa, obviously you taught Joe well, but that's not surprizing to any of us!
On a different note, and I hate to say this given how your hunting is going, but did you see where the twelve year old from Pa. got two deer with one shot in NC?
The family has been going to NC for years, and this was the first year her dad let her shoot at a deer( she's been shooting since 4 years old, but not on a hunt).
Apparantly she shot a doe from a stand and there was a button buck behind the doe that wasn't seen by her dad.
She got both of them!

 

[Opa]

I had a similar incident a few years ago. I had several deer passing by me. I waited until the largest doe approached. It was a quartering away shot that I placed just behind her shoulder. She bolted and ran just a short distance and I heard her fall in a thicket. By hunting buddy called to tell me that from his blind he saw her go down. After waiting about an hour I went to retrieve the deer. I followed an excellent blood trail to the thicket, but rather than wade through it I went around. Just past the thicket lay my deer. Much to my surprise it was a button buck. Mental chastising myself while I field dressed the deer I couldn't believe that I hadn't gotten the deer. She had been the last deer through so it was puzzling until I happened to look a little further past the thicket. There lay the big doe I had shot at. Backtracking both animals and examining the bullet hole I determined that the round had gone diagonally through and hit the little buck.

This year is shaping up to be the worst season I've ever had. Hunted this morning and only saw one small doe at about 125 yards. A doable shot for my muzzleloader but she was moving to fast and she was shielded by all of the downed treetops. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. On the way home a big doe crossed the road in front of me and had I not been paying attention she wouldn't have made the other side. Not being a fan of bumper brisket and not wanting my truck buggered up braking was the wisest choice.

 

[Opa]

So far this has been the toughest hunting season I have ever had. Several factors have impacted my hunting area greatly. The fd ields of the farm I hunt typically have been divided between row crops like corn and soybeans and alfalfa. This year it was planted all in corn and in September it was cut for silage and immediately replanted in winter wheat which has absolutely no appeal for deer. Secondly a 100 acre parcel abutting on the north was switched from row crops to sod. Again no draw. Next the land abutting on the east and south has been harvested. Lastly the tornado that went through our woods and the property to the west has had a devastating effect on deer movement and the woods now is extremely difficult to hunt.

On Monday I finally had a large doe within shooting range but I botched it. Each year after cleaning my muzzleloader I spray a light coat of oil in the barrel. When I load it the following season I fire a cap to burn off the oil before loading. This year I neglected to do that. When I fired at the doe there was a 5 count delay between the cap firing and the powder igniting. That gave the deer time to react to the initial sound so that she was no longer there when the bullet reached the spot. Talk about a bone head lapse of hunting skill. David watched her run off to join 20+ others in a thick blowdown.

Yesterday resulted in nothing seen and today it's raining quite hard and rain is predicted for tomorrow as well. This is the first time in over 30 years that I have been concerned about filling the freezers.

 

[chickencrazymamahen]

Hope your luck improves!! Tough looking area though. The deer here seem to enjoy the wheat we overplant our gardens with for winter, different areas, different foodsources I guess.
Muzzleloader season opens here Saturday and I think hubby will hunt some; filled my tags during regular season so I just have to keep working on CHRISTmas!!!!!!!!

Have a good evening everyone.....

 

[Opa]

Hunting season is still a bust so far. This morning I saw 6 deer out about 150 yards in real heavy cover so that never offered any shot opportunity. Then as I was headed back to my truck I walked up on a bedded deer less than 15 yards from me. My inline muzzleloader has a second safety the involves turning a knurled knob on the back of the hammer. I quickly removed the safety and the scope covers as the deer just stood there looking at me. As I brought the gun to my shoulder it bounded away into a thicket 10 yards further. Still I had a shot. Just when I when I had a good sight picture in my scope, I realized that the angle of the shot would be directly at David's stand. Assuming that he was already out of his tree stand it wasn't a shot that I was willing to take. Bad as I want a deer, I want my son more. I watched as the deer moved further into the thicket knowing that safe is always the best choice.

 

[theotherranch]

I just talked to Opa a little while ago(about 2:30 Eastern), and he was loading the truck to go hunting.
Please send him all the positive thoughts you can spare that he gets a deer!!!

This poor man ain't had nothing but bad luck this year.

 

[Highlander]

Sending happy hunting vibes from over the pond!

 

[Opa]

It was really nice to talk with Todd this afternoon. At least that was a positive aspect of the day. The hunting was productive. I didn't see a thing and the group of ten or twelve that David saw all came out to late for him to take a shot that he was comfortable with. I suppose many would have attempted the shot but I raised him and his brothers to be responsible hunters so I glad he didn't shoot. We still have until January 1st so I still have a chance.