'Tis the Season...

...and I'm not talking about the upcoming Holidays. Well, sure, I've put my pencil to paper making notes about food, presents, and parties that will take place during the next six weeks. What the title of this post refers to is the preparations we've done for the Firearm Deer Season that starts in two days and lasts for 14 days. Looking so forward to it! However, that, too, takes pencil to the paper (me) and physical preparation (Steve, unless you count groceries which we did together today, and my index finger physically snapping pictures of him doing all the work over the weekend).

I think many of you who live in the Great Lakes region experienced a wonderful Indian summer day this past Sunday, with temps in the 60's and 70's. After a dark, rainy, cold Saturday, and three weeks of clouds, we were thrilled to wake up Sunday morning to sunshine. On our way to church we saw a buck in a field. We are amazed at all the deer we've seen this Fall. All the locals say the same thing. So after church, we changed into our "play" clothes, and set out to get things ready. We started at Steve's deer blind. As you can see from the pic above, the afternoon started out with a beautiful blue sky.

As Steve threw out a few carrots and sugar beets in the field, I went up in his blind and opened the windows. The flies were horrible and quickly flew out. I sat in Steve's chair admiring the view through the window behind the chair,

the beautiful blue sky,

and the two-track that takes us to his blind,

 when all of a sudden I came face to face with a field mouse on the ledge under the window. I think we both scared each other...eek!

While Steve finished up at his blind, I strolled the two-track back to the log cabin, snapping pics along the way.

The last of the Fall color from the golden Tamarack tree needles have almost all fallen. 

(And you can see the clouds building in the west.)

Persistent needles still hanging on.

(Just leave a little on the top, please.)

I don't think I've ever shown you a picture on this blog of the old trappers cabin we have on our property. Someday, I'll tell you the story the locals have passed down to us about this historic relic... But the two-track to the left is what I walked from Steve's blind to get to the log cabin and eventually my blind.

Walking to my blind, I find fresh deer tracks in the mud.

I have a small leak in the roof of my blind, (but no mice!), so Steve caulked that for me.

(Snap, snap.)

Oh, and did I mention Steve built a bridge to cross the river where I hunt?

And then he baits for me!

Am I spoiled or what?

Well, tomorrow he and I are moving into the woods - into the Grizzly Den log cabin for the next two weeks. Our son, Riley, will come next week from Wisconsin for Thanksgiving and for the hunt. It will be our first Thanksgiving in the Grizzly Den. YAY!

So, I know I said I would try to post every Monday, but it just hasn't worked for me. Our internet way back here in our home is very iffy.  I can work on a post for 30 minutes and it can turn into 2 hours when I keep getting kicked off the internet. I know for sure it will be at least another week before I'm back on here, UNLESS we get THE BIG ONE. Then I'll come back and update you ASAP.

But in case I am not back on for awhile,

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Be sure and count your blessings - each and every one of them!