The Joy and Terror

The summer summer of 2008, we were privileged to have a pair of robins make their nest in a maple tree right outside our breakfast room picture window. Our breakfast room is on the second level of our house, so we had a view right into their little cozy home. We watched with great anticipation as the pair made their nest just so, and watched with amazement as the eggs were incubated. What was so surprising was watching the "daddy" robin bringing food to the "mommy" robin over and over again, as the incubation period went on. Then, one day, we saw the mommy and daddy standing on the edge of the nest looking down. They had this sort of surprised look, as in "What in the world are these little ugly bald things with enormous mouthes doing in our nest?" They finally figured out those little ugly things would henceforth rule their lives for the next several weeks.

We were so happy when we could finally see the little robins poking their heads up. We affectionately nicknamed them "bobble head," because their heads are so big compared to the size of their necks, and they just wobble back and forth. We watched with awe as both mommy and daddy robin took turns feeding the babies and guarding them from the elements and other hazards. Their insistent chirping for food reminded me of my kids!

And all too soon, they were gone. Almost... And this is the terror part of the story.

The day before Father's Day, the girls were making a special breakfast for their dad. My husband and I had to fly out of town on Father's Day and were leaving very early in the morning for the airport, so the girls decided to do breakfast a day early. We sat down to a beautiful breakfast of pancakes and fresh strawberries. I was mid slurp with a cup of hot coffee, when I looked out the window and saw a disaster. I saw an upside down baby bird dangling from the robin nest! I stood up, and saw the parents on the ground tending to their other two newly fledged babies, but one of them hadn't made it. I jumped up from the table and ran out the sunroom door, saying "I'll be right back" to my family. I did not want the girls to be heartbroken over the little robin than didn't make it, and I was planning to remove the little body and dispose of it before they saw it.

I grabbed the step ladder and placed it under the nest. The ground wasn't level, and I was in a bit of a precarious position to say the least. I climbed up and gently grabbed the little bird, and discovered that one of its legs was entangled in fishing line, which had been woven through the nest. And suddenly, the wings moved and a squawk came out of the "dead baby." Then, I heard other squawks, and as I wobbled on the ladder, with one arm around the tree and the other hand on the baby, I felt something hit me in the head. Mom and Dad Robin were in full attack mode!!! And I was only trying to help! I finally disentangled the little tiny matchstick sized leg from the fishing line and made it safely down the ladder.

When I looked up at the breakfast room window, my family was lined up looking out the window with mouthes agape! They were definitely shocked at the spectacle of their mom and wife wobbling precariously off balanced on a ladder with robins dive bombing and fussing loudly!

When I started breathing again, I examined the little leaper, and discovered that his "knee" joint was dislocated. I was doubtful as to whether my little leaper would make it, as I placed him in a shady hidden spot in the flower bed. When I gently put him down, he fell over and couldn't stand. We anxiously watched and waited, and soon heard him squawking for food. And about an hour later, I went out and did a head count and found all three fledglings sequestered in various shady spots. What was so funny was that when I would crouch down to look at them, they would open their mouthes and peep for food! Guess they just were checking to see if there were any more instant food dispensers in the world besides mom and dad!

For two days, the little fledglings were on the ground in the backyard, and then they were gone. Sadly, a storm blew the robin's nest out of the tree, or we might have gotten to see the same act all over again.

Raising kids and baby birds is hard. I hope when it's time for my little ones to fledge that they don't get wrapped in something I wove into the fabric of their lives that I meant for good but it turned out to harm them.

Wyoming Antelope Draw

Antelope Hunting:  How to Make Your Antelope Dream Hunt a Reality – In Wyoming

     Have you dreamed of the possibility of drawing a coveted antelope tag in Arizona? Have you known someone to put in for said tag year after year, and never draw that tag? In Arizona as a resident, if you just now are starting the points game and put in for a antelope tag, your chances of drawing a tag are less than 1/10th of 1%! After twenty years of applying, in some units your odds may have crept up to a whopping 5% chance of drawing a tag! Don’t know about you, but there is a better chance of the good Lord calling me home than me drawing an antelope tag in this state!
     Before I moved here two years ago, I lived in Colorado for twenty years, where there are a fair number of antelope.  However, most of the antelope are located in the far eastern part of the state on mostly private land with difficult access.   Years ago, I saw a hunting show on TV, and the host encouraged everyone to go on an antelope hunt in Wyoming at least once in their life.   Antelope hunting is the quintessential spot and stalk western hunt because of the breathtaking, vast, wide open spaces that the fastest land animal in North America roams.  This hunt appealed to me, as I was getting back into big game hunting after a long sabbatical to raise my children.  When my oldest daughter finally reached high school and started playing varsity soccer, she dropped club soccer, which freed up our time in the fall.  For the past fourteen years, I had been a stay at home mom raising my girls and going to soccer games every weekend of the year except for about ten weekends a year!
The first step was to learn about how to get a tag.  We already had hunter safety out of the way.  But the draw system was new to me.  I read lots on line and asked lots of questions.  After doing my research, we applied, and a short time later, my daughter and I were in possession of our first four antelope doe tags- two for each of us!
We watched videos and read as much as we could to learn about hunting before the season.  We weren’t able to pre scout, and showed up after dark to camp out on BLM land.  I even asked on a forum, “What is BLM land and how will I know when I am there in the dark?”  Well, we did find it, and opening morning we were up and looking for antelope.  Shortly after beginning our hunt, we found a group of antelope and blew our first stalk.  We blew quite a few stalks, actually, but finally succeeded and filled all our tags!  Just myself and my little 14 yr old daughter!  We had never butchered big game, and had only watched YouTube videos.  When we came home with two large coolers full of meat, my husband was stunned.  I was busy for the next few days processing all the meat by myself for the first time as well.
So how might one do this hunt, you ask?  And what might it cost?  First, you have to decide whether you want to put in for pronghorn bucks or does.  For our purposes, we are going to do pronghorn does as those tags are easier to draw and are the most affordable tag out there.  Second, the cost.  The non resident fee for a reduced price antelope doe tag is $34.  The application fee is $15 and the conservation stamp if you draw a tag is $12.50.  You can put in for two doe tags for a total amount of $95.50.  $34+34+15+12.50=$95.50.  The full price antelope buck tag is $326, in case you want to know.  If you don’t want to apply this year, you can put in for a preference point only for $31.
After deciding you want to hunt for a doe, and you don’t have any preference points and have never been to WY, you can research two ways.  The WYGFD puts all their information up on their website and it is fairly accessible.  Or you can use a paid subscription service like goHunt to determine your best options.  What you want to look for is units for antelope does that have a 100% draw odds, or really high draw odds.  If you and your spouse/friend put in together, you can put in for a “party” hunt, where if one of you draws it is guaranteed the other draws as well.  Alternatively, you can put in for one unit, and if unsuccessful, get your money back minus the application fee.
Here is a current list of all units that have a 100% draw odds for antelope does:
002, 003, 004, 010, 015, 016, 017, 020, 022, 024, 025, 026, 029, 031, 032, 053, 062, 065, 071, 072, 076, 077, 082, 098, 102, 109, 111, 114.
     Now, just because the odds are 100% doesn’t mean it will be easy access!  Here is where you have to dig deeper.  There are several “types” of doe hunts: type 6, 7 or 8.  The type 6 is a general doe hunt, and the type 7 and 8 hunts have special restrictions like within ½ mile of irrigated land, or south of a highway, or private land only or some such restriction.  I usually avoid the type 7 or 8 hunts.
      Wyoming has a wonderful Hunt Planner, and they list the “walk in areas” and Wildlife Management Areas for each unit in the Hunt Planner map.  I will say that if you find a unit with high draw odds, and the only walk in land that is available is a handful of 600 acre parcels, you will have a very hard time.  A section of land is not really adequate to hold any antelope.  Look for walk in areas that are at least 1200 acres or more.  If you can find several walk in areas around 2000 acres, you will have a much easier time.  Also, the biologists are pretty good about talking to you, and may even know of some ranchers or farmers who would let you hunt on their land for a small fee or for free, especially if you are doe hunting after buck season is over.  I included links below.
One exception to note for out of state hunters:  just because a road is labeled on a map, or on OnX hunt maps, does not mean it is a public road.  When you look at OnX maps, you will see lots of public land (National Forest, BLM, and State Trust land).  However, hundreds of thousands of those acres are “landlocked” and unavailable to the public because the roads are private.  To research the status of a road, you need to go to the county of the unit you are interested in and get a list of the county roads from the Roads and Bridges department.  There is also a resource which shows which State Trust lands are land locked.  I will list that link as well.  Wyoming laws are not friendly to hunters, and you cannot “corner cross,” which is stepping across the corner of one parcel of public land to another opposite parcel of public land is trespassing.  Also, private land does not have to be posted or fenced.  If it is private,  no hunting is allowed unless you have written permission from the land owner.  Stepping on private land or driving on private roads will get you a trespassing ticket.  That said, there is still much public land available for hunting!
If you are on the fence about hunting this year, you can put in for a preference point which will help you down the road should you decide to hunt in 2020.  Being unsuccessful on drawing a reduced price doe hunt does not earn you preference points.  Only unsuccessful regular price buck hunts draws earn preference points.
When you decide what unit you want, you can put in for two doe tags in that unit.  After the initial draw, if there are leftover tags, you can put in for two more doe tags if you are really eager to fill the freezer with antelope.  I have done this in years past, but it is getting much harder to do with the popularity of antelope hunting in Wyoming.  If you really want to get some meat for the freezer, there are many ranchers/farmers who will give you permission to harvest several whitetail does for free or for a small fee.  These hunts are not much hunts, but more like slaughters.  However, if you have never hunted and just want to kill a deer, or just need meat for the freezer, it is an option.  I did this last year with two other ladies and we killed six whitetail does in the space of 18 hours.  We were overwhelmed with deer processing and will never do it again.  I had my trailer with a deep freeze and my vacuum packer, and we processed all our deer before moving onto our antelope hunt!   Another consideration, when you do that, carcass disposal becomes problematic.  The landowner may or may not allow you to leave the carcass as it lays, and you may have to find a landfill that takes deer carcasses and transport your carcass and pay to dispose of it.
If you play your cards perfectly and have the time, you could conceivably draw a deer buck tag, two deer doe tags, a antelope buck tag and two doe tags, and pick up two more deer doe tags, and two more antelope doe tags all in the same season.  Spend a week or two in Wyoming and fill your freezer.  Also, no license is required for jack rabbits, so have at it.
If you have specific questions, I can point you in the right direction.  If we get enough gals interested in doing this, perhaps we can caravan to Wyoming one year and go on a grand adventu  Good luck, and may the odds always be in your favor!
Deadline to apply is May 31, 2019!  Preference points deadline is October 31.

Wyoming Antelope Hunt Planner:   https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Hunting/Hunt-Planner/Antelope-Hunting
Wyoming Public Access:  https://wgfd.wyo.gov/public-access
Wyoming Draw Odds:  https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Hunting/Drawing-Odds
Wyoming State Trust Lands: http://gis.statelands.wyo.gov/GIS/OSLIGIS/StateLandAccess/
Wyoming Wildlife Biologists:  https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Law-Enforcement/Field-Personnel-Contact-Info/biologist-contact-info
Hunt Planning and strategies:  https://www.gohunt.com/
Hunt Maps:  https://www.onxmaps.com/

birth, death, and rebirth

September 28th is my sister's birthday, and the day my mother went to be with Jesus. Two joyous occasions, separated by thirty five years to the day. Birth, death, rebirth. Ultimately, victory for my mother as she folded up her old, worn out tent.

2 Cor 4:16-5:7 The Message: "So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever. For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven - God-made, not handmade - and we'll never have to relocate our "tents" again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move - and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we're tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less. That's why we live with such good cheer. You won't see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don't get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going."

That little taste of heaven he puts in our hearts is what keeps me pressing on. I don't know about you all, but some days, I can't wait to go home.

September 11, 2001

   On September 11, 2001, we were in Wuhan, Hubei Province, People's Republic of China.  About 6am, we heard a knock on our door.  A women in our travel group informed us that we needed to immediately turn on the TV.  We did, and we  looked in horror as we watched replays of the World Trade Center coming down.  The actual event occurred after we had gone to bed, so we did not see it happen live.
   We were in China to adopt our second daughter, Sarah Mei Jei.  She had been placed in our arms on Sept. 6.  Two days later, I suffered the most extreme food poisoning episode ever in my life, and was close to going to the hospital.  I was helpless for about several days.  A very gracious Chinese doctor on call at our hotel, had come to my room and visited me, and given me some antibiotics and several Chinese remedies to help me.  When the terrorist attack occurred, I was just beginning to get my strength back.
   Our immediate thoughts were that we would never get to return to the US, to our home.  We were certain that there would be a nuclear event, probably nuclear reprisals against Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, any place that  Muslim terrorists called home.  We just knew that the US would be at war with every Muslim country in the world!  We were ordered to not leave our hotel, and the Embassy was notified of our whereabouts.  All international flights into the US were disallowed and cancelled.  We began trying to sort out our options.  We managed to talk to our family and assure them that we were safe.  It was many hours before we knew if Brad's cousin who worked in the Pentagon was okay - thankfully he was.
   We started thinking about what it would mean to us if we never were to return home.  What if we lost our home, our pets, our bank account, our cars?  What would that mean?  And what is home anyway?  We realized it is where our hearts are - and are hearts are definitely with our children, so we were home.  After many tears, and fighting off panic, and much prayer, a peace came upon us that passes all understanding, a calm in the midst of a storm.  God's Spirit, the Comforter,  visited us in a mighty way, and remained with us.  It was amazing, as we began to consider life post 9/11, and the possibility of living in China with our two Chinese daughters!  A sense of freedom and excitement came over us.  Brad was convinced he had much to offer the Chinese as an expert engineer in cold formed steel, and I thought I could teach English.  And we would end up being tentmakers in China, sharing God's love with the people who have captured our hearts.  Talk about a new beginning!!
   After a week or so, we realized that God wanted us to return home, and that things would go back to the way they were before we left for China (well, sort of....except for the A10 Warthogs that routinely circled out my kitchen window between my house and the mountains).  We settled back into our old routines, and set about the work of winning over our newest daughter, loving her, wooing her, and living life to the best of our abilities.
   The lesson God had for us was this:  Are you willing to leave everything for Me?  We found out that we could.  But just like Abraham and his son Isaac, just at the last second, God provided another way.  How about you?  Are you willing?
   By the way, this is not a one time test that we passed and don't have to repeat again, but that is another story...

Sucking Mud Really Sucks

     Last October, I was privileged to be able to take my daughter deer hunting in the plains of eastern Colorado.  The little patch of ground we were hunting had a deep irrigation ditch to get across, and then a little stream to cross as well.  I knew about the water, and purchased some really good tall rubber boots.  Liz and I came to the ditch, and I ferried over our gear and guns safely.  I then returned to ferry over Liz by giving her a piggy back ride.  We got to the other side without incident, although it was a bit muddy at the edges because it was a cattle crossing area.  We hiked on and then came to the stream.  We crossed at one place and then began hunting.
     Eventually, we found ourselves about a half a mile from where we crossed, and I decided that it looked safe to cross where we were instead of backtracking.  So I stepped off the embankment, and promptly went up to the top of my boots in a vile, black, smelly mud!  I immediately fell backwards back onto the embankment, got Liz to take my backpack and rifle, and began pulling for all I was worth!
     I succeeded in freeing my right foot from my boot, then pulling the boot out.  However, no matter how hard I pulled, my left foot would not budge.  After about ten minutes of struggle, I got my left foot out of the boot.  I was thinking about how awful it would be to walk back the 1.5 miles to the car with only one boot...  Liz was trying not to laugh, but found the whole ordeal hilarious.  She kept bringing me bigger and bigger tree limbs to try to pry or dig out my boot, but I kept breaking them off in the sticky muck.  Finally, she brought a really big limb over, and I pried and dug and pried.  Finally, amidst the sucking noises, I noticed by boot was beginning to move.  After about twenty minutes, my boot finally came free, praise God!  Oh, the stink of that mud was indescribable, but I shall try.  Imagine rotting, wet vegetation.  Then imagine cow urine.  Then add in cow poo and mix together.  Oh, and I forgot: the smell of that plant near streams that smells like a skunk.  When I finally rolled over with my boot in hand and covered in black goo, I was able to laugh.  I have to admit, it was pretty funny when it was over.  During the ordeal, I did have a few moments of panic when I thought I might not be able to get myself unstuck, or at the least, I would loose my boot.
     As I was driving the long drive home, I thought about how powerful the suction of the mud was, and how difficult it was to extract myself from it, and remembered the first time I went into debt to buy something.  Signing that piece of paper looked so innocent and harmless, but when I stepped into that debt...  Now, years later, we are working  hard to extricate ourselves from the sticky, gooey, smelly muck of consumer debt.  We bought a boat, a car, and most recently, a travel trailer with cash.  We have vowed to never go into debt again  for retail purchases.
     Right now, we are fighting that sucking mud that really sucks hard, but I now have hope that someday, our feet will come out, we will roll over and look at one another, and laugh because we are free.  Thanks, God, for the lesson learned from that stinky mud!

A Our New Adventure: 1971 Aristocrat 17 STL Lo Liner

     This year, I began working for Brad and drawing a salary, for several reasons.  One of the reasons was so that I could fund my hunting trips, which would be a huge incentive for me to work lots for Brad so that I could hunt more!  (Sometimes it is difficult to be around a person 24/7 and work for them...)
     Well, I am proud to say that I have been working and saving all my money, and have been able to horse trade and sell some things and get a new used rifle for hunting this year, as well as to purchase an old 1971 Aristocrat Lo Liner!  This little travel trailer will keep me warm and snug in relative comfort on my hunting and fishing trips, and I won't have to stay in hotels any longer!  I am actually relieved, because during hunting season, being in a hotel is not a quiet and peaceful place to be...  Guys stay up late hooping and hollering, and then clunk around in their boots at 4 o'clock in the morning.  There is so much strutting and gabbing and posturing going on in those hotels, it's hard for anyone to get any sleep. So I will be relieved to sleep on my foam mattress in my little trailer parked out in the boonies on BLM land with only the jackrabbits, sage grouse, and antelopes as my neighbors!  My girls are so excited about the trailer, they can hardly stand it!  Gone are the days of answering the call of nature in mosquito infested forests during a cold rain!  And now we will have a warm place to play games and wait out the weather, and pop popcorn and drink hot chocolate, whiling away our time!  We have board games loaded in one cabinet!  One of the games is a vintage Monopoly (thrift store find), with the little metal pieces, and yellowed dice!  Sarah commented on how different the old Monopoly was from the newer one we have in the house.
     The girls and I are leaning towards naming the trailer "Momma's Gone Huntin."  Here are pictures of the trailer the day after we towed it home.

1971 Aristocrat Lo Liner

 The table folds down into a twin size bed.

Little fan goes really fast now!

 I am loving the avocado green!

               Long cushions fold down and pull out to make queen size bed, and above that is a fold down bunk bed, which will be Sarah's perch!

    Magic Chef Stove Top and Oven

Dometic Propane Fridge

Cushions fold down and pull out to make queen size bed.  Battery and convertor are underneath those long cushions!

Welcome to the gourmet galley!

Now, here is what I know:
The plumbing and wiring is a mess, the toilet does not work, the water doesn't work, the stove top does work but the oven does not, the fridge I haven't figured out yet, the central heat - not working yet, hot water heater not installed and so old as to be questionable!

What does work:
The inside lights, 110v lights and outlets, the trailer running lights, wheels roll.

What I am working on:

I pulled out the Monomatic toilet as it was absolutely gruesome (40 something years old).  I initially tried to service it, but the job was so gruesome, and the plastic parts so brittle, that I gave up.  We currently don't have the water system working, so I have a new Porta Potty arriving in a few days.  Cleaned around the toilet flange and was going to put a new flange in with a knockout cover to close up the old hole, but that didn't work.  So now, I am going to have to build a little platform to cover the flange and provide a flat surface for the new Porta Potty, which is self contained and not hooked into the plumbing system.

I cut out a huge bird's nest of wires that were melted and fused together.  In the process, the porch light and oscillating fan stopped working!  Brad pulled out his Ohm meter and helped me get things back to working.  I did not realize that little fan ran so fast once I got it hooked up right!  I installed a 12v radio/cd/ipod player and speakers in that same area, but am having to wait a few more days until Brad gets back to hook up the electrical.  Cleaned connections on 12v battery and cleaned battery compartment.  Not thrilled to be sleeping on top of a voltage converter and a RV battery!

Today, I discovered there are no holding tanks.  The gray water drains onto the ground...  If the potty were hooked up, I would have to have it connected to a septic line to dump it.  The water pump is making noise but not pumping.  I removed it and cleaned it and will reinstall tomorrow...  Found PEX plumbing disconnected and some other vinyl tubing running from the pump to the kitchen faucet.  Looks like all the PEX is disconnected, which means that the lines to the bathroom and to the water heater may be suspect as they are cut and open.  Also, tried to get a propane tank refilled, but no one wants to touch it as it has the old style valve on it that was outlawed about six years ago.

Planning on reinforcing framing around battery, putting a 1x6 on bunk bed edge to stiffen it and to prevent anyone from rolling out of the bed by accident, replacing screen on the door, finishing reupholstering the cushions, and a million other things.

Six days until maiden voyage, stay tuned!