Getting high....

Those of you who know me, know that as I've gotten older I've become less comfortable with heights. This year we decided to put up a couple of 15' high ladder stands on the one farm. The first time I tried to climb up one I got 1/2 way up and came back down. The second time I tried I got all the way up, but was pretty tense about it. My hands were sweating and I couldn't let of of the little bit of metal at the seat. I have to add that we bought the cheapest, smallest stands they have - just a little seat and a small place for your feet. Not much to them. When you're up there you can't really see the ladder below and it's a pretty freaky feeling... well, for me anyways. In fact, my hands are all sweaty just typing about it. lol

The 3 of us have had the nasty bug that's been going around and it cut into our hunting season. So far neither Tim nor I have been able to go out. Yesterday was our first day in the woods - Tim was out in the morning.

In the afternoon I climbed up into one of the stands and tried to make peace with my fear of heights. At first I was awful. Being attached to the tree by the safety harness helped though. After a while I found it easier to look down and not have to fight the feelings of queasiness and vertigo. Eventually I could look over at the other tree trunks moving in the wind and not feel that extra surge of fear when my tree moved. By the time I climbed down I was feeling much better than when I first climbed up. There is hope.

Here's the view Tim had when he was out hunting yesterday morning from the stand at the other end of the woods:

Here I am in the other stand once I got my heart rate down and felt comfortable enough to take some pictures....



In my face net:

My Excalibur Vixen xbow is ready for action:


This is the view through the scope. It's only 2.4 x magnification but it has calibration for various yardages which makes for more accurate shot placement. It's a little tough to hold the bow level and position the camera for a picture at the same time so yeah, the bow & the crosshairs are canted.I'm sure you'll notice the absence of deer pictures... that would be because I didn't see any. I did see 3 noisy riders on horseback coming through the woods which I'm sure didn't help the deer situation any. I pulled up stakes and headed home before dark yesterday because my brother flew in from out west and we were to meet him at my Mom's in the evening. I didn't mind leaving early as it was getting plenty chilly up in the tree and I'd started shivering pretty hard. Still, it was absolutely wonderful to be out in the woods again. Even just walking to the stand wearing my camo and carrying my bow felt so very right. The few short hours in the woods left me feeling like a totally new person. Therapy of the best kind! I'm ready to climb back up for another hunt again and tackle that fear monster.

Hopefully those deer photos will be coming soon. :)

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Fear is the father of courage and the mother of safety.

~Henry H. Tweedy

WOW weekend

A couple of weeks ago my friend Mary-Lou and I attended the WOW weekend put on by OFAH (Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters) just for women. Check out the website:
http://www.ofah.org/wow/index.cfm


Was a beautiful weekend at the camp up near Minden:


We were divided into smaller groups to rotate through a variety of activites, including shotgun & rifle shooting, bass fishing, canoeing, archery, survival skills, high ropes and the climbing wall, carving, among others.

Our group the range preparing to shoot shotguns:


The archery range:The canoes at the lakeside:

Practicing bundling a hypothermia victim for transport:

Fire starting - this one was using steel wool and a battery:


Wonderful pork roast on Saturday night:


Had fun carving a whistle Sunday morning:

It's neat to go to these all-women events and realize that there are more women that enjoy some of the things I enjoy! Makes me feel a little less like a square peg in a round hole.

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Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels.

~Faith Whittlesey

First REAL school day...

A week ago Ben went for his first full day of school. Just over 6 hours in class. He was cheerful as we left the house.
Holding tight onto my hand, but still smiling! :)

As we got to the school he was overwhelmed when he saw the playground full of kids playing noisily. Then as we waited for the teacher to come open the door, he was put off by several parents trying to introduce their own scared kids to him as they'd be classmates... and for some reason they seemed to think that if they spoke louder it would be better. Argh.

By the time the teacher opened the door he was crying and clinging. He didn't want to go and certainly didn't want me to leave him there. I walked him down to his classroom and waited until the teacher was there. In the end, the teacher had to pick him up and hold him to keep him from following me out the door. Afterward she told me that he "worked it out" and settled in a bit. Being the cruel, scrapbooking mom I am, I took pictures....

"I want to go hoooooome!"


Here he is AFTER school - just as the teacher let them out:

He was very happy to see me waiting for him, and eagerly told me all about his day.


Today he's back for his 2nd full day. I left him sitting on the carpet in the middle of the room crying, but not clinging too me like he was the first day. He kept asking if today would be shorter than the last time. I tried to explain that it would be the same amount of time. I told him that if he has fun that it would seem much quicker... but that if he cried and was sad it would seem longer. He'll have 3 days this week. I'm certain by the end of this week he'll be used to the routine and be more independent.

Now... I need to find a paying job for those hours that he is in school!

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The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.

~Aristotle