It's that time of year again - hunting season. This year Son #1 is taking Wigglie #1 with him. It’s the first year Wigglie #1 is old enough and he has his own compound bow, has been practicing and is ready to go get that big one.
Son #1 has a tree stand of the condo kind out in the field south of us. I'm not kidding. We could put a couch, fridge and a small TV up there. In fact, if I could physically do this, it would have been done. I could have used it all summer as my "run to" place.
But my over active imagination stopped me. I imagined that I would have went up there with a good book, relaxed, fallen asleep to wake up with squirrels dancing around head. I would have freaked out and fallen out of the tree with my cell phone still up in the tree. No one would know where I was. At night fall the coyote would come and taunt me while I lay there broken and mangled. But then, there would be the chance that my Farmer in shining John Deere Green would have become worried and would have traversed field and dell looking for his extremely good cookie baking wife. He would have called all his farmer friends and the search would have been so profound I would have been found before day break. And, then there's a chance that a billion and five dollars will fall from the sky and land in my driveway.
Needless to say, no books or Famer's wife has graced the tree stand condo alone.
Last summer there was a desperate need for another tree stand in a field north of us. Son #1 is cursed with the first born qualities of having to do it right. So, no small wooden box would do.
He used attractive camouflage plywood and for a nice added touch a metal roof to keep the rain out. Plexiglas windows were to follow but I haven't heard if he installed them. So, the big, heavy, sturdy box was built in the driveway and had to be moved out to the field and up onto a platform that Son #1 also built. It was time to call in the reinforcers - Farmer and John Deere Green.
Farmer brought the tele-handler over from the farm and using the forks, he lifted the deer blind up and slowly carried it out to the field.
When we got to the field, Son #2 and Wigglies #2 and #4 were precariously perched on the tinker toy platform that the blind was going to be placed. This platform is 20 feet in the air. My blood pressure elevated to equal heights seeing my babies up there.
While watching them climb down from the platform I didn't know I could hold my breath that long. It's a good thing Son #2 could descend as fast as he did or I may not be here today to share. Wigglie #4 became a monkey as she clung to her daddy and brave Wigglie #2 came down on his own.
With Farmer at the wheel he was able to delicately lift and place the blind on top of the platform just about perfectly.
Once the blind was set, Son #1 secured it in place.
This is the field the blind overlooks.
Last season he watched several deer pass by. He made a commitment last year that he would only shoot at the really big ones - he's trying to get the little guys to grow up. There were several 6 and 8 pointers that he let go.
Now, this year, Wigglie #1 is out there with his bow. They don't use the blinds for the bow hunting. They have tree platforms. Wigglie and Son have a harness that they hook to the stand in the tree to keep them from falling. It's a comforting thought that either or both could be hanging around well after dark before someone came looking for them.
Coyote den behind the stand in the gully.
I keep thinking, "Isn't there some sort of hobby or activity that my Sons could get involved with that would include, cushy, comfy and safe in the description?"
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| Gooey enjoying his cookie - nice and safe. |
