Life is good

[WhistlingBadger]

My secret to leaves is to leave them lay.  But I only have about three big trees on my 4 acre property, so there aren't that many.  Maybe in a real forest it's different.

Great story about the raccoon, and I'm glad you were able to help him out.  I showed the Badgerling your pictures and let her see the story.  She approves.   

[Pappy]

Glad she approved WB, I haven't hunted much this week, been taking care of stuff around the house and it has been hot, but am headed to the cabin this morning and plane to hunt this evening, we have a cold front moving in tonight so might get the deer stirred up, it is that time of year. Been hot all week but is supposed to cool down tonight and the weather looks good for the next week or so. I got more leaves to take care of this morning and Bill and I plan on dragging out some logs he has cut, the wood pile is getting low and winter is coming. Also got the Boy scouts coming for the weekend, that is always fun and a very good bunch of boys, the leaders make them walk the line, got to love that now days. Hope yall have a good one also. Life is Good.
 Pappy

[Pappy]

Great weekend, very wet and cooler but fun just the same, Got a lot done around the place and also in the shop made some head way on my latest Osage bow.Also done a little hunting, it was slow but did see a few deer, just no shots. The Boy Scouts came for the weekend also, it was wet on them but they handled it like a champ. Here are a few pictures of the fun. Started off blowing and burning more leaves before the rain came in, seems that never stops falling. 
 Pappy

[Pappy]

Then Bill and I pulled out some logs we had cut for the fire pit, we still have 7 or 8 more to get out of the woods.I got my Osage bow floor tillered and almost ready for the form. Jesse has another flute in the works on the lathe .The Scouts showed up about 6 pm, they had 18 boys and 4 leaders this time. 
 Pappy

[Pappy]

The boys were working on their Wood splitting badges, they done pretty good, well most of them did.
 Pappy

[Pappy]

They kept a good fire going all weekend in the front yard fire pit. They also done some Attila's throwing. Some were pretty good at that also. 
 Pappy

[Pappy]

Little more scrapping and shaping and my Osage is ready for the form, it is very clean wood with beautiful growth and winter rings, but pretty crooked and lots of humps, also way out of string alignment. Think I can fix all that.
 Pappy

[Pappy]

Got it on the form, all seems to have went pretty well. Mark showed up with his latest RD bow, turned out 49@26 and looks really good. The Scouts retired a bunch of flags while they were there, they usually do several every time they come. 
 Pappy

[Pappy]

The scouts re stacked my wood pile and moved it forward to get ready to add more wood on the back side. Then I had a good supper of brats and fixings, it was just me so I had 2 and split 1 with my girls, they love brats also. Very good weekend and the Scouts were very well mannered and behaved, always a pleasure to have them. Hope yall had a good one also. Life is Good.
 Pappy

[chamookman]

Thanks Pappy  ! Bob

[Pappy]

You are welcome Bob, I would love to be in the woods this morning, it is my favorite time of the year, rut hasn't really started yet but the buck are just out roaming around checking out their options. But the rain is coming in and I have enough trouble with out the fear of rain on a blood trail so it looks from the forecast we are going to get a lot of rain [3 or 4 inches] starting this morning through Thursday evening late thanks to the Hurricane , so I will pass. Maybe Friday, then the youth hunt is this weekend so it may be Monday before I get back out. O well I have had fun the last few days, seen lots of deer and some chasing going on, just fun to be out there and watching the morning begin. I always have a lot of things I can do around the shop and farm just tough this time of year to get my mind off the woods and in the shop.
 Pappy

[Pappy]

Great weekend, couldn't hunt, youth hunt this weekend but did get a lot of catching up done around the place. Finished up the leaves, all burnt, hope that is done for this year, also got my Osage bow off the form and ready to tiller, it will need a little more tweaking on the form but is very close now. My nephew is a Taxidermist and gave me 18 lbs of bear fat, so I have always heard how good it is rendered, I rendered it and got 11 lbs of lard from it.It needs to be strained once more through a cheese cloth but turned out pretty clean. Also had some youths come in with deer and a buddy killed one Friday before the youth hunt , he gave me half to help him skin and cut up, always take time for that. Here is a few pictures. Osage looking good so far.
 Pappy

[Pappy]

My old hat was getting in pretty bad shape, been wearing this one for close to 20 year, the hat band broke and had a hole or 2, and also just needed a good cleaning, made a new band, copper head over leather strip, sewed up the holes and gave it a fair cleaning, hope it will last another 20 now.
 Pappy

[Pappy]

Rendering bear fat, 18 lbs of fat meat 11 lbs of rendered grease. this has thickened up after it cooled , but can someone tell me ? does it get thick like regular lard, this seems a little soft. Never done bear before but have rendered Pig and deer, they both get really solid when cold Also got a big pan of cracklings, they were great and tasted just like pig to all of us who tried them. We loved them and so did the girls.
 Pappy

[Pappy]

Had and old Ash stump right if front of my stove, been there for years, I finely got it out, really opened up that side of my shop. Then the youth hunt, nice little 5 point taken right at daylight, only had 2 come in Saturday, kind of slow for such good weather. Any way the boys were proud and I was proud of them. They could sure be into much worse things these days.
 Pappy