Deer season ends here soon. Our oldest is the only one of us that has killed a deer this year. She killed a nice buck earlier in the season. Due to the angle of the shot, she also got to learn how to gut a deer that had been “gut shot” (shot through the intestines). She was successful at it and handled the smell as well as can be expected.
Both girls successfully completed their hunter education course last night. As expected, they both had high scores. Now they can get their own licenses to hunt on their own. Until now, they’ve had to sit in a stand with an adult licensed hunter. Since they can now hunt on their own, we may need to look into additional rifles suitable for deer.
Between deer season, family obligations, and work obligations, we haven’t had much of a chance to shoot recreationally. I haven’t had a chance to knit, read, bake, you name it. My desire to simplify life does seem to be gaining much ground.
I love my truck. It has the 5.9 liter Cummins diesel motor in it. My favorite vehicle I’ve ever owned was a 1990 Suburban. Diesel Power magazine is running a series combining my favorites:
http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/chevy/1201dp_swapping_a_cummins_into_a_1973_to_1991_chevy_suburban/index.html
Unfortunately, I no longer own my Suburban and it was only a 1/2 ton. Me thinks my Christmas money may be spent on a 3/4 ton Chevy!
I spent a while on the phone this morning with my grandmother. Granny turned 90 last month. She’s from the Northeast US and decidedly not from a rural Southern . . . farm. I can’t really describe our little piece of paradise as a farm. Chickens and a mediocre garden don’t a farm make. But, it’s as close to a farm as most in my family have been.
Anyway, as anyone with pets or small livestock knows, they are hilarious and provide hours of entertainment. The interaction between the guinea pig, cats, dogs, and chickens is comical and, amazingly, very friendly. One of our plump little cats spends many hours a day half-heartedly chasing the chickens. The chickens are bigger than she is. If the dogs aren’t careful, the chickens will steal their food while they look around munching each bite. We still have a couple of hens laying eggs outside the house. One is laying them under the house. She made such a pretty little nest lined with beautiful gold feathers, under the hen house. We have a couple of cats that don’t quite understand that the dogs aren’t really found of being rubbed against, especially while they eat. We have one that will do figure eights around our oldest male’s legs while he eats. The dog is standing on tiptoes giving me “help me” looks after the first figure eight.
Anyway, I’m telling my grandmother many of these and more stories this morning. She loved it and decided I should write a book. It was nice to hear her laughing and happy. Unfortunately, she’s cooped up a lot by herself as many of her friends are gone now.
Back a few months ago, my work was cut some, as was my pay. We are making it, but barely. My food storage has helped a lot. Most of the items I’ve been replacing but at a slow rate. Some stuff, however, I have not been replacing due to the price. There are certain items I buy in large quantities and my income has not allowed me to replace certain items those because of the price of the quantity. So, now I’m faced with being completely out of some items but still not having the money to replace in full. I am researching replacing those items in smaller quantities. However, due to the rate of inflation of food in the last six months, I’m not sure of our ability to replace them at all.
I’ve contemplated going without them completely. It was certainly in the back of my head that in a total SHTF scenario, we’d be without most stuff eventually. In that period before our preparations ran out, we transition ourselves to a different way of life. I’m not ready to make that transition yet. But, as the economy worsens and my ill feelings about the political scene increase, it is certainly in the front of my mind.
I’m back home and left wondering how’d I grow up to be this normal. I’m not saying I’m normal but . . . .
A long time ago, I was born in Texas. I’m back today to say good bye to a loved one and to catch up with some I haven’t seen in a while.
The trip over was a hilarious 9 hours with my sister. We live 3 hours apart and between children, work, and hobbies, we don’t spend the time together we should. We decided it was probably good that we didn’t speak much during our teen years. We’d have probably gotten in a lot of trouble. She has a complete lack on control over her mouth which sends me into fits of laughing. I then lose the ability to edit my thoughts as they become words as well.
Thank you to all the veterans that make our freedom possible.
I know I’ve posted before about how much I love my truck. I drive daily a old Dodge D350 Dually with the Cummins motor. I had a Lincoln Town Car I had inherited. It required premium fuel so I sold it since the truck got better fuel mileage and at the time diesel was the same or often less than premium.
However, times they are a changing. I am watching daily as the cost of gasoline drops and drops. A gallon of regular unleaded can be had around here for as little as $3.159. Unfortunately, diesel has not dropped. In fact, since gasoline started dropping a couple of weeks ago, diesel has increased in price by $.10 a gallon. The cheapest I am able to find diesel is $3.799. There are stations at $3.999. These stations are often truck stops.
That’s the second part of my frustration. Why is the truck stop charging $.20 more a gallon for diesel than the station across the street? I’d think that by selling so much diesel they’d be able to get a price cut and be able to offer it for less per gallon. Are they gouging the businesses? The big trucks can’t get into the smaller stations and the smaller stations don’t accept the fleet cards, usually. By laying it on the truckers, they are laying it on consumers as well. It gets passed on so that eventually, everything we buy costs more.
I am enjoying a lovely day working on the deck. The temperature is in the mid-70s with a light to moderate breeze. The breeze is sending down a shower of leaves and acorns. I am being serenaded by the acorns drumming on our assorted metal roofs. Each shed and the house has a different type of aluminum roof. Then, the hot tub with its vinyl cover provides a distinct thump mixed in. The tink of the glass windchime, the bark of a dog, and crow of a rooster. What better day to spend an otherwise tedious day working.
My family had the opportunity for the third year to spend a weekend at the Junior Shooters Clinic put on by the USAMU Action Shooting team at Ft. Benning, GA. I can’t say enough good about the team, the unit, the base, and what the kids come away with. The guys on the action shooting team are incredibly nice and they love helping our children. You need to mark your calendars for every junior you know. The last weekend of October 2012 is already set aside on the USAMU calendar for the Junior clinic. We’ll be there. I hope to see you there.
The unit has posted some pictures to facebook. Check them out.
USAMU Action Shooting team Junior Shooters Clinic
Oh, and a great thing for the parents is you get to visit with other parents about anything and everything but especially your junior shooter. Also, on Friday, OSUT graduation takes place at the Infantry Museum and we can go watch and then tour the museum. If you’ve never been, you need to go.
I’ll be posting more. Good values in our children are of the upmost importance and being coached to improve their shooting skills from some of the best in the business is a big step in the right direction. They are great shooters and great, honorable men.
Children, Guns | EmmaPeel | 
January 27, 2012 2:54 pm | 
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