NANA NOTES

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!

Don't get in front of a "Smitherring" with a gun!  They get what they go after--at least it seems like they do these days!  Here is Bryden with his first buck. I was at church so this photo is from Jody's Blackberry.  I wish I could have seen him. Thanks, Jody for sending me the picture. 

SCORE FOUR FOR THE "SMITHERRING'S"

I'm a little late with this post but since I may be the only one with pictures it's ok.  Tiffany "got her a nice one" on Sunday afternoon late.  Of course they called out "Dooley the wonder dog" to trail it.  Everyone is trying to make him a deer dog but ME!!  Nice job, Tiff.  It WAS a nice nine point.

 

Dooley did a great job of tracking the deer.  He found the trail and went straight to it. He barked and sat there by it until Jody got there.  Good job, Dool!!  Everyone was happy.

DOOLEY LIKES "DEER PORN"!

Saturday night Ed and I watched "My Dog Skip" [or rather part of it] and Dooley loved it.  I told Ed that I wished I had taken a picture of him watching TV. Whenever the dog would come on the screen Dooley would bark or growl.  Today during the ball games Ed would flip from the ball game to the hunting channel. Dooley saw the deer and went crazy!  He climbed on the foot of the bed and watched for the longest time. He growled and barked every time the deer was shown. Ed is seriously thinking about making him a hunting dog!!

I don't know if he will be interested in the hunting part, but he sure knows what a good buck looks like!

WE SURVIVED THANKSGIVING!

The crowd gathered slowly but by lunch time we had a full house.  Food was abundant and Ed said it was the best Thanksgiving food we ever had.  It was good and we were all "overstuffed turkeys" after lunch.  The majority of the group went deer hunting and Becky, Hillary, Cookie and I watched "Home Alone". Hillary knows every word. It was fun to watch her and we enjoyed the movie.

Back to the deer hunting---Chris and Taylor each got a doe. They were meat hunting.  Abbey had to call in reinforcements to help track her kill. She was one proud little girl when they found it. Congrats, Abbey. 

This was her second buck and a nice 7 point.  Her two cousins also killed bucks so she had to go compare.

 

Oh, after lunch and before the hunt, the grandchildren and our nieces decorated the tree.  I have never let anyone help with the tree--my ornaments are super special to me. Is mellowing a sign of age? They did a great job. All that's missing are the candy canes.

                        

Now all that's left is to finish the decorating and wrapping and cooking and-----does it ever get finished?

We had a great day!

 

SCORE ONE FOR JODY!

First of all, if you are "animal sensitive" please move on.  We live in the country and the sport of choice is hunting.  I would rather hunt with a camera than with a gun, but I live on a farm with lots of guys.  It's the passion here and it consumes most of the time--planning, planting and getting ready.  I even have a sign outside our back door that says "Welcome to Deer Camp". :)  Jody's oldest son got a doe last weekend. Today Jody came in and wanted Dooley to "trail" for him. [Dooley is my Scottish Terrier!!]  He didn't really need him but he and Ed wanted to see if he would do it since Scotties were bred for hunting. [Not Dooley!]

Of course there is the "group" picture--Dooley, Ben, Ed, Sam, Graham, Jody and Sandy--with the poor deer on the ground.  What a bunch of guys-oh, Sandy is a girl.

  

Then comes the weigh in!  This old boy weighed in at 230 pounds. They were excited!

After the weigh-in comes the cleaning and I was out of there.  A bunch of guys with knives and a dead deer just don't appeal to me.

When they all gather in tomorrow for Thanksgiving there will be more hunters.  I'm sure the game will be on to beat Jody's measurements!

After all, isn't that what it's all about-the search for "the big one"!!

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS. . .

is my two front teeth and a nine point buck!  Hayden got his wish--or rather part of it.  The teeth will come later.

Shelby (on the left) got "everything she's ever wanted" when she got her eight point.  These two were pretty happy little kids. 

I should have posted this first but got carried away with the ice picture.  (Don't forget you can click on the photo to see it better.  I'm sure they want you to get the full view!)

A VERY BUSY SATURDAY. . .

Saturday is usually my "sleep in" day but today that didn't happen.  The HGC Bike Team was coming for the afternoon and supper and I had work to do. I had gotten some of the cooking done on Friday but still had more left.  The brisket had been in the oven all night and had the house smelling all delicious.  Ben came over and kept me company while I made a Chocolate Cream Cake.  He loves licking the bowl.  His Uncle Tommy came and got him to go practice shooting (today is the opening day of Youth Week/Deer Hunting) and he wanted to be ready.  He brought the target back and had two dead center bulls eyes.  Ed came in and told me to come outside with my camera.  He said something was going to happen. He ran into some friends at the store who were going on a motorbike ride and talked them into coming to the house.  I had my very own "Motorbike Parade".  They even stopped traffic to come in and out of the driveway.  They came up the front drive, made the circle and went back out waving and blowing kisses to me.  I loved it.  Ed does the sweetest things!

The youth hunt went well.  Hayden killed a doe and Graham got a big one. Graham was quite proud of his and brought it to the house to show everyone.  The bicycle team guys were quite impressed!  Who wouldn't be with these two cute guys!

Dinner turned out to be very good. We all enjoyed the brisket, garlic green beans and wild rice dressing. The guys especially enjoyed the chocolate cream cake, brown sugar pound cake, white chocolate bread pudding (made by Libby) and homemade ice cream.  We had a fun time. A couple of them were truly shocked to see a deer come walking in the back door to be fed with milk bottles.  Where but on Cotton Branch could all this happen on a Saturday!  :)   

 

A FUN AFTERNOON. . .

The days are flying by around here.  Ed's favorite saying is that we go to church, wake up and go to church again. The week just disappears.  Today we put out the cameras for the deer survey.  I left word for Ryan to call us when he and Sam got to the house. (Today was an "early out" day.)  He brought Sam to us and he went with us to put out the cameras.  Papa let him drive.  He was also the "knife boy" and the "camera bug".  For a four year old he can drive very well. :)  We talked about everything under the sun and did our work.  We stopped under a big old shade tree and had a snack.  The breeze was blowing and it was wonderful.  Sam told us about his friends at school.  Most of the driving had been on the farm through the pastures and farm roads.  The last stop was a short drive on the highway from the house.  When we came out on the highway Sam said, "I bet those people passing by are saying, 'look, there's a kid driving that truck'."  Ed and I laughed and said he was probably right.

I am so thankful for this afternoon.  It was one of the best we've had in a while.  Remember the saying, "don't worry, be happy"?  That's just what we did with Sam.  The Lord has given us such a beautiful place to enjoy with our family.  We are grateful for that.

BRYDEN'S DEER

I am finally getting around to blogging Bryden's deer.  I didn't leave him out intentionally.  He missed one on youth weekend and has hunted some all season.  He was so proud and insisted on being "bloodied"!  Congratulations, Bryden!!   

Now Sam--next year is your turn!

THIS GIRL CAN DO IT!!

I haven't hunted in several years.  I didn't see the need.  I raise deer when they loose their moms and I felt that was a little hypocritical to then go out and shoot them.  Sort of a "been there, done that" thing.  Ed wanted me to go on a Longfellow Ranch Mule Deer hunt and I said I would.  Not because I wanted to, but to make him happy--and I'll go anywhere that other people will cook for me!!  First, overcome the flying issue.  I haven't flown since 2000.  (Kelly, you'd be proud.  I did it without too much fuss.)  Second, getting up early isn't my favorite thing to do.  I did that--breakfast was waiting!  Third, it was cold as @#$%!!!!! and the wind was blowing 90 miles an hour!!  Ok, I'm a big girl and I can do this.  I had a job to do and I did it.  Less than two hours later--BINGO!   For you who know about deer--it's a 10 point with a 22 1/2 inch spread.  I shot him at 280 yards and Ed was proud of me.  He said I made his day.  That of course made me happy.  I have to tell you that I also stayed with him ALL day and rode on the buggy (up top--in the COLD) until after 6:00 pm and didn't complain.  That's the buggy with the deer tied to the back.  Wouldn't I have loved riding that down Main Street Meadville!!! 

Ed got a nice 10 point.  Tiffany and Jody also got nice deer.  We had a great trip and I might even go again.

PAPA GETS A BIG ONE!!

It's only fair to report that Papa got a big deer.  He's the head hunt master around here and has worked hard to provide the first rate "hunting ground" for the kids.  However, the fever has gotten to him.  He just couldn't stand it.  I got a call last night to "come take my picture!"  He wouldn't let me take it before.  Now you see why--- This is a very nice 10 point--actually one that Ryan thought he hit on youth weekend.  Sorry Ryan. All is well though.  Ryan was happy for Papa and besides, he knows where the "Big Boy" is!

(Sorry Papa that your eyes were closed in the pictures--they were closed in all of them--bright lights, bright lights!!)

DEER STORIES

This past week was Youth Week for deer hunting.  With nine grandchildren that all love to hunt this place was a "terminal" deer camp!!  Everybody but Bryden and Sam got one; Bryden missed his, but he'll get it next time and Sam, well---he's only three. Ben has just begun to shoot his gun and he's dead on!  I'm glad I got his picture. Those sparkling blue eyes don't begin to tell you how happy he was about his deer.  A nice little six point for a first deer is a good thing.

Graham's deer was hit but ran on him.  Papa found it the next day.  You'll have to ask them for their story.  It's a humdinger.  They even called in the dogs to sniff it out. Any grown man would be proud of that perfect heavy horned eight point.  Ask Papa!! 

Opening Day was Saturday.  Papa went and stayed for about 30 minutes.  Jody went that afternoon to the same stand. He got a ten point with awesome brow tines. Score:Papa-0:Jody-1  Same song, different verse.  Dogs called in--bugger barked!!

Check out Tiffany's blog for pictures of Emily, Abbey and Hayden with their trophies. She's already got them blogged. www.jtherring.typepad.com

Way to go Camp Cotten Branch!

GIRL'S IN CHARGE!!

I'm waiting for Tiffany to post this and I realize finally that I'm the only one with a picture!!  This is "Youth Weekend" in the deer hunting world.  You know what all our grandchildren were doing. Shelby was the first to "bring home the meat". She fits right in with all these boys and has a great time. You can tell that she was excited about her first deer.

Hayden killed one during the afternoon hunt but I was gone to choir practice and wasn't there to use the camera.  The guys didn't take a picture. He was a proud little fellow too.  Way to go, Smitherrings!!