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Critter Decor and Stacey Huston Photo Giveaway

Would you look at these cute little critters…

They are about to go on my wall just as soon as I find the perfect frames. I found this photo at Stacey Huston’s photography site, Stacey Huston’s Photos, and thought it was the perfect picture for my dining room wall.

Because … well … we decorate with critters around here.

What was nice about working with Stacey is that the original picture is the one on the left.  I asked Stacey if I could get the same picture; one facing left and one facing right.  And with a click of a flip, I was able to get two adorable critter pictures.

And I’d like to mention that I took the above picture myself.  (Note: the flash shine there in the center.) Yes, I need a photography class.  You will never see my pictures on the cover of any outdoor magazine like Staceys.

On to the giveaway:

Stacey is offering one of my readers the chance to win one of these beautiful photos…

This one she called Willows

And this one she didn’t have a name on it.  Darn her.  If I knew my critters, I could tell you these are bull elks or cow elks or horse elks.  But I don’t know my critters. For the love of a critter identification class, I’m not sure those are even elk.

If you’d prefer one of the chipmunk pictures instead, we can make that happen.

To enter answer the following question:

Do you have a critter room in your house?

Maybe it’s your basement, or your gun room, or your library, or critters have taken over your house in all rooms, like mine. For the love of bathroom privacy.

• The winner will be selected randomly and the contest will run from today, December 7, 2009 – Thursday, December 10, 2009. The winner will be announced on Friday, December 11, 2009. An e-mail notification will be sent and the winner must claim their prize within 48 hours or a new winner will be selected. US residents only please.

If you’d like to see more of Stacey’s photography, you can visit at – A Focus in the Wild – Photo a day project. Or Stacey Huston’s Photos page.

And if you’re looking for a unique gift for the outdoors person on your gift list, Stacey’s wildlife photography is absolutely beautiful!

Thanks Stacey and good luck all!

This post is sponsored by Stacey Huston.

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

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411 There’s Someone In My Bushes

My very own – could be a lifetime movie – true story …

I had just sold my townhouse and moved in with my hunter.  The house belonged to my husband’s Grandfather and we decided we would stay there until we found a house together. Grandpa’s house was an older home surrounded by very old large evergreen trees and bushes.  The house sat on a corner on a very busy street just down from the local high school.  I never felt unsafe there until one very dark cold fall morning.

Mark and I just got a new puppy.  Having a new puppy requires lots of training at all hours of the night and early morning hours in a very dark and scary backyard.  Mark had just left for work at about 4:00 a.m. and of course the dog wanted out.  I threw on a sweatshirt, turned the back porch light on and we headed out the back stairs. Mark and I stayed on the third floor that exited out 1 set of stairs to a landing and then as you turned left to another set of stairs that lead to the backyard.  After the first set of stairs, I turned on the landing to the second set of stairs and there he was.  Someone in the bushes about 20 feet ahead.  I stood frozen with my dog in my arms.  It felt like a lifetime before my brain caught up with what I saw and what I was suppose to do.

Finally, I quickly stomped up the stairs, slammed the door and called 911.

Except isn’t wasn’t 911.

Operator:  City and State please.

Panicked maniac:  Hammond, Indiana.

Operator:  Listing please.

Oh dear god.  I called 411.

By this time I was shaking and in a panic.  What if he ran up the stairs after me?  I finally reached 911 and then I called Mark at work.  There was an off duty police officer in the area that knew Mark and knew we were living there.  From the window, I watched the police officer search the grounds as Mark pulled up.  They both searched the neighborhood and saw nothing.

I was hysterical.  I kept replaying it in my mind.  How long I just stood there.  Frozen in time. Staring at him.  He was tall, wearing a dark sweatshirt and sweatpants.  His hood was up and his head was down hiding between two of the evergreens.  I will forever have that image etched in my brain.

Police officer:  Maybe it was just the paperboy.  Try to calm down.

Me:  It wasn’t the paperboy.  He stood there with his head down. Hiding.  Right there.

Mark:  Maybe he was pissing in the bushes.

Me:  No words were necessary.  The look on my face said it all.

They were there for a good hour before Mark headed back to work and I headed to my mother-in-law’s house just a few doors down.  My mother-in-law and brother-in-law tried convincing me of the same.  Or maybe it was a jogger. Everyone was making me crazy and they needed to stop talking.  I needed to call my Mom.  She will understand.  But it was the same sympathy.  No one wanted to scare me and agree there was someone in our bushes.

When I told my story to others;

A friend:  I’d agree it was probably the paperboy.

The friends state trooper friend:  I’d agree, it was probably the paperboy pissing in the bushes.

Me:  Or … Ummm …  Maybe it was the Tooth Fairy or Santa.

There was no paperboy in the neighborhood that morning.  There was no jogger.  The person in the bushes would have seen the light go on and heard me come down the first set of stairs.  Yet they never moved.

No one will ever convince me otherwise.  I know what I saw.  I know how I felt and I know what could have happened.

I also know this – you never know how you will react in situations until those situations happen.  I never thought I’d just stand there frozen as long as I did before it hit me what I needed to do.

And for the love of working in an office for over 20 years – 411 can I help you? Oh dear god.

Have a good day all … I need to practice my 911 dialing skills like a 2 year old.  Even a dog has dialed 911.

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

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Thanksgiving Family Rules 2009

Thanksgiving Family Rules…

1. Shoes off please. So be sure to wear socks without holes.
2. No reaching around me to just have a “pinch” of something. It’s rude and I didn’t see you wash your hands. Nor does it end up being a pinch. It normally ends up being a whole serving.
3. If your Mom didn’t come because she’s mad at me again, I hope you brought her taco salad. If not, someone will take you home to get it. Be sure to tell your Mom you will be forced to take the first bite.
4. Don’t blame me if the mashed potatoes are a bit lumpy. “Mad sister” in charge of mashing potatoes didn’t show. Blame her.
5. To my other sister – It’s not alright to sing, “Taco, burrito, what you got hanging out your speedo” in front of kids.
6. Can we go one holiday without crying? Thanks. You know who you are.
7. Please bring a sweater. If you tell me it’s cold I will tell you this – while you slept in today in your nice warm bed and all you had to do was bring chips and pop, I was here breaking a sweat cooking your 10 course meal.
8. My dog is not a cat. Please don’t throw him across the room thinking he’s a cat.
9. Yes my hair is a bit darker since the last time you saw me. The winter weather makes it that way.
10. If you kick, bite or pull my dogs hair, I will do the same to you. And if my dog, who never bites, bites, it’s your fault.
11. There is no running around the house. If your kid slips and falls on the hard wood floor, I’m sorry. Your kids shouldn’t be running around the house.
12. Isn’t it polite to bring the host a gift? I’ve been cooking for you people for almost 20 years.
13. Jer (my sister) if you slip and fall on the hard wood floor, I’m sorry but we’ll laugh. Oh and if by accident you somehow fall down the basement stairs again, for the love of depends, bring some clean underwear.
14. And Mark, it’s not alright to say you are going to the bathroom and sneak off to bed. Not only can we hear you snoring but that trick is getting old.
15. Please make sure your kids do not drink out of my cup. That’s all that needs to be said.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving all!!!

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

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Idaho Archery Bull

I began archery hunting in 2005 out of necessity more than because I wanted to. Oregon is a draw only state for rifle, so it didn’t take me long to see that if I wanted to hunt more than once every 4 years, I’d better learn a thing or two about archery hunting. But, after calling in a bull that first year that screamed his lungs out at me every 30 seconds, I became addicted to the way of the bow.

Fast forward to this season, now an Idaho resident with the choice to hunt bow or rifle, and despite having been humbled in the act of bowhunting, I’ve chosen archery as my preferred method of hunting — especially for elk. After four seasons, I still only had stories and memories to show for my efforts. As this season was approaching, my brother and I talked ourselves up big and vowed that this would be the year we got the monkey off our backs.  We planned a 4 day hunt to kick off the season beginning on opening day.

The opener was wet — very unusual weather for Idaho’s archery opener. August is generally the hottest and driest month, but the rain was coming down as we found ourselves eying the end of the road for our first crack at the 2009 elk season. Lightning cracked seemingly all around us, but our anticipation could not be held back.

We set up on a huge flat bench that ran along a steep wall in a drainage we’d scouted earlier in the year. Our calls produced a couple lazy bugles, but nothing to get overly excited about. Eagerly, we eased to the next spot — near a big water hole that we knew elk frequent. Once we hit the ridge above the water, we could smell the elk. Fresh droppings, beds, tracks — the whole nine yards. We were in them. We set up and started off with some cow calls followed by a single bugle. Pretty soon, we’d located two herds below us as cows were mewing back and forth. Then a bugle came from one herd. Our hearts leaped — this was what we’d been waiting 11 months for! Another round of calling, and then from above us came the scream of a mature bull. I looked over at Todd and gave a fist pump. The wind was in our favor and I was on the uphill side from Todd meaning I would probably be getting a shot if this bull came in. And come in he did.  His bugles began to come closer and anticipation began to build. When the elk appeared, he had circled a little bit, and his antlers tipped the ridge just 40 yards from Todd — and then the wind shifted. Todd, who got a better look at this magnificent bull, said he’d come in with his nose in the air and as soon as the wind shifted, he was gone. After such a build up, it was hard to believe it was over so soon.

During those four days, we called in three bulls, stalked to within 15 yards of one (Todd) and missed one at 40 yards (me). It was enough to leave us frustrated, but also optimistic that we were seeing bulls — and getting close. To us, it seemed it was just a matter of time.

The next weekend, Todd had previous engagements, so I went up the mountain by myself. I went to a new area — an area I’d shot three bulls from in previous years with my rifle. I knew the area, I liked it, and simply being there gave me a mental edge. I started up the ridge and was bumping deer every few steps it seemed. As I neared an old overgrown logging road, I bumped into a bull. As I started across a wide open flat, the bull spotted me and as he wheeled and ran, I thought I’d just missed a golden opportunity. Not willing to admit defeat, however, I got by the only tree nearby and started to call. I knew there was no way I could call that bull back across the wide open spot as he could surely see me — and he wouldn’t see any cows. After calling a few times, though, he answered back with a bugle, and off in the distance another bull answered him. You talk about a perfect morning, this was it. Being by myself, I was trying to utilize a camera mount on my bow given to me by Brian Piltz from Insane Archery rather than lugging my big camera around. The footage isn’t great because I was using a point and shoot picture camera, but I was glad to have the camera mount to capture some of the action.

 

The bull stood about 140 yards away and refused to come any closer across that wide open space.  I quieted and allowed him to wander off into the brush, and then using the brush to conceal my movements I began working my way closer to him. Pretty soon I could hear his footsteps as he sampled the mountain’s menu. Losing patience, I moved toward the sound just as the bull stepped out and caught my movement. I came to full draw and chose my spot. As I released, the bull lunged forward and I watched in disappointment as my arrow went in too far back.  There was no blood trail, no arrow, nothing. I began to question if I’d hit him at all. After giving him several hours, I followed his tracks as best I could, but pretty soon they mixed with so many other elk it was hard to tell what was what. Eventually I found myself on the next ridge over combing through the thick, viney brush that seems almost impenetrable. At this point many hours had passed since the shot, and worry was weighing heavy on me. I was picking my way through that thick brush when I spotted the tan body of an elk. The monkey has been evicted from my back.

This article by: BaseCampLegends.com