Joe's first deer - in bagdad
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Joe
First Deer in Bagdad

OK, not that Baghdad, but outside Bagdad, Kentucky. But that is where my son, Joe, got his first deer this fall. The story starts a littler earlier in the year. Joe decided that he really enjoys shooting, so we put him in the 4H Shooting Sports program, where he did really well. I have been letting him look at my old Field & Streams and he became intrigued with deer hunting. I told him that if he wanted a deer rifle, he could save up his money and buy one. Once he got the rifle, then I would hold up my end of the deal and take him on a hunt.

Well he held up his end of the bargain. This summer he spent some long, hard days in the hay fields and diligently saved up the funds for a rifle. We visited various places and he decided on a Remington 30-06 caliber rifle. Finally the day arrived when he the money saved up and we went back to the store and got it along with some ammunition. He began to do target shooting and got his scope zeroed in.

Joe’s sister lives in Louisville, Kentucky and we were fortunate to find a place within driving distance of her home for the youth hunt that they hold in October. Of course the day that we left was Friday the 13th. An ominous day to begin a trip. We got to a late start because of truck problems, despite assurances that it would repaired by the end of day, it wasn’t. I couldn’t take my wife’s vehicle because of a wedding. So it took a call to a rental agency to get another truck for the trip. Since we got a late start we didn’t get to the campsite until way late and it wasn’t until midnight that we could get into the sack.

The next morning we were up before sunrise and after some hot chocolate to help rid the overnight chill and a couple of doughnuts; John, an owner of the land we were on, arrived. He took us to the back portion of the property were a blind had been set up close to some oak tree’s. Not long after settling in, we heard some rustling of the leaves as a nice buck browsed for acorns. I pointed him out to Joe and when he moved, Joe was able to pick him out thru the tree trunks. He slowly raised the rifle, waited for a good opening and snapped off a round. The buck wheeled and turned and disappeared in some brush down hill. We zigzagged thru the area and tracked as best we could, but could find no sign of a hit. Maybe a branch deflected the bullet, or maybe it went high and missed completely.

We settled back into the blind and after about an hour another deer started rustling thru the leaves looking for acorns. This time it was a doe. Joe was really wanting a deer with antlers and so it was difficult to pass up a full broadside shot when the doe stopped and stared our direction for a full 10 seconds before moving on down the hillside out of sight. A short time later John came back and we went back to the campsite to take a midday break. He had some other things to take care of that afternoon and after showing us some other prospective hunting sites on the property he left for day.

We grabbed something to eat and discussed strategy. Two deer had been spotted, but our tag was still unfilled. We regretted passing the on the doe. The decision was made that the next good shot he had, he would take. We got our gear back together and in the afternoon headed back to the blind. As we neared the ridge that lead up, I told Joe to walk slowly, to go on ahead, I would wait behind. My thought was that there could be deer that returned to the ridgetop to browse while we were gone – with two people crunching leaves, it could scatter the deer. But one hunter, moving slowly, might be able to sneak up there and catch them unawares.

I watched him slowly climb up the path. Suddenly he stopped. Raised the rifle to his shoulder. After a second or two – bang. “Follow up shot”, I yelled up the hill. Sometimes a deer can be knocked down, but the wound be non-fatal – a second round needs to be chambered in case they get back up. He yelled back down the hill, “I saw two of them, but only one ran away - I think I got it.” Closer inspection showed that yes, indeed he had. One shot had dropped the deer immediately.

Joe had seen 2 deer browsing side by side as he reached the top of the ridge. One had antlers, but they were small, indicating a young buck. The other had no antlers and appeared to be a doe from a distance. He wanted the young buck to have a chance to develop, so he went for the other deer. When we inspected the deer, it turned out to be a button buck. A younger buck that was still a year away from developing true horns, from a distance it is difficult to tell the difference. But Joe was excited nevertheless.

When we got back to the campsite he called several of his friends on the cellphone to let them know about his success. After the shaky start to the weekend, it was a relief that we were able to end the hunt like this. We packed up the truck and prepared for the trip home. It was his first deer and definitely not his last. Already he is regretting not being able to take that first nice buck and he can’t wait to get back in the woods to get a better one. As we pulled out I commented, “You know Joe, that someday you’ll be able to tell your grandkids that you got your first deer in Bagdad….Kentucky that is.”

Fair week
Mood:  rushed
Topic: Joe

Joe has been having a fun summer. Now it is fair time and he is staying over at Kyles and going each day to the fair with him. He has some money from baling hay to have a good time, plus some money from me for helping to reroof the house.

 Ran into Jackie Cox's mother and father the other day. Found out that she got a scholarship to play basketball at Urbana.  So I was very happy to hear about that. Chelsea is working hard to get ready for her season as well.

Chad is trying for another house outside of Germantown. It can be moved into as is, but someone else is putting a bid in on it. So he will have to wait and see if it goes thru or not. Sarah is a big sister for a local girl, she took her to the fair.

DC
Mood:  energetic
Topic: Joe
I was an escourt for Joe's Washington DC trip. All in all it was good time. We were in the first bus and we had to switch drivers outside of DC. Our driver was on the radio to the other driver saying that by his GPS, we were 50 feet away from the building. The other driver replied that we were like 2.5 miles away. So much for modern technology. AFter they figured things out we finally made the rendevoux.

The hotel was under renovation and one of the elevators was out. So with 90 kids trying to use the elevator, we opted to take the stairway - to the 8th floor. What a hike it was, I called it the 8 mile hike, because it felt like we went that far by the time we got up there.

We got to see a play "sheer madness" that was interactive. Mount Vernon was fun. Saw all the memorials and several of the Smithsonian museums. We did have a 'sock incident' where someone propped open a door at night with a sock. I imagine that they are being interrogated by now.

I saw Grace, the girl that Joe is sweet on, she seems nice. He said that he would dance with her tonight at the dance that they holding after 8th grade graduation.

Vanessa's baby shower was this weekend. Becky did a great job of decorating and everyone had a good time. Eric and Vanessa almost did not have enough room for everything.

Went bicycling with Chelsea, legs held up fairly well. She wants to go kayaking - I told her that we would go the week of her birthday.

toad ranch
Mood:  sharp
Topic: Joe
Joe and Cody captured several toads and frogs a few weekends ago. The bullfrog was very large. One of the toads was pregnant, it had eggs, and now they are hatching. The bottom of the aquarium is becoming covered in tadpoles. I imagine in a month that we will have hundreds of tiny toads. Becky tried to get Joe to hunt easter eggs - no way was the response. She really needs a grandchild.

Chelsea had her first open gym with North. She got along with the other players OK. They seemed to have good chemistry from what I could see. She goes to court today for her last accident. Not sure how it will go.

Joe turns 14
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Joe
Well Joe turned 14 yesterday. Kyle and Cody stayed overnight. We went bowling in Richmond and got something to eat on the way home. Kyle had no success until he used "Bill" the bowling ball. It was a loaner from the bowling alley. And it did have the name "Bill" engraved on it. They also had a good time playing video games on the pc's of course.

The boys are getting older now and have a more adult sense of humor. It was fun cutting up and joking with them on the drive over. Kyle's and Joe's voices have changed, Cody's hasn't - all in good time I guess. Joe shaved the peach fuzz off his lip a few weeks ago, but it coming back even thicker. We may need to invest in a razor for the young man.

Chad is seriously looking for a house. We'll see how this project works out. I hope he gets lots of garage space and lots of acreage so that he can move his stuff off of our property.

Chelsea made the honor roll. She mock rolled her eyes and said jokingly - Geeze, I can finally get Uncle Vaughn off of my back. We are working on getting Joe focused. The grades that we see are finally starting to pick back up.

Dancing Joe
Mood:  happy
Topic: Joe
Joe went to the last Junior High dance of the year last night. Originally he was not going to go. But he had two girls ask if he would dance with them, so he obliged them. He had a good time. I asked him if he started any Conga lines this time - "No, that's kind of old."

When he went boating, Joe found a unique piece of driftwood that he is making into a cane. He is using my dremel tool to carve some tiki type markings. It looks pretty good so far.

Buckler
Mood:  happy
Topic: Joe
I had Joe give me a hand putting together the workshop in the barn. It is finally starting to take shape. Joe asked that I give him a hand putting together a buckler. He had found a round piece of aluminium and so we got some wood and leather to make a servicable buckler. We used some Neatsfoot oil for the leather and even though it was ancient, it softened right up. He is armed and ready for battle if we are ever invaded by any Carthaginians.

Chelsea has her first AAU tournament this weekend. They will only have like 6 players on Saturday. So she will see plenty of action.

Vanessa got a job in Louisville. I think that it is a parts inspection job similiar to what she did here in Ohio. Chad did some more work on the little red car. I guess that she is going to try to come back up in the next few weeks and take it to Louisville again. I am hopeful that all of the bugs are out of it this time. I worry about her driving all that distance and breaking down.

Chad is working on his Oliver tractor. He seems to have no interest in getting the Plymouth Duster ready - even though I put all the money into parts to get it on the race track...

African Preacher
Topic: Joe
Pappaw had two guests over. An old friend Dave McNeil and his travelling companion - Stephan from Uganda. Stephan is a preacher who is trying to raise money for a new school in his community. He was interested in my cattle - he owns 7 himself. He has 12 kids and was a teacher, then a principal. He and Joe really hit it off. Although both Chelsea and Joe asked him a lot of questions about his country. It was good for the kids to find out a little about how other folks live.

Joe Bday
Topic: Joe
Well our baby is now officially 13. He had Kyle and Cody stay overnight. They watched TV, played games on the computer, and bounced on the trampoline. Poor Joe was recovering from a cold, so he wasn't quite 100%.

Chelsea decided to duck out of the last tournament game in basketball. hard to say what the exact reason is. She claims that she was getting the cold shoulder from other girls on varsity. I asked her was she going to do next year if she made varsity and still got the cold shoulder? She also was kinda sorta seeing a guy and they parted ways. She has a habit of acting out when relationships go bad. So this could be a reaction to that as well. I am not going to psychoanalize her. I told her that I was displeased and left it at that.

Chad rode the bull at the Yellow Rose. I wonder if he is turning into a redneck??? He must have met someone there on Saturday night because on Sunday he said he had to go see someone in Verona. We don't know any one that he would see in town.

Vanessa is still going round and round with the apartment people. They are selling the joint and the maintenance is going down, down, down. Her ceiling is still not patched up all the way, sink and tub are leaking. She is really getting fed up.