May 20th, 1999

The other day as I was boxing up some random things and starting to get ready for my move to Ohio, I came across something that I thought that had disappeared years ago; a journal I had kept when I was ten, the first year I had gone hunting. 

It was made out of notebook paper and orange construction paper stapled together, and all the entries were printed in pencil. On the inside of the construction paper “cover” I had drawn a turkey. The first entry was dated May 20^th, 1999.

The entry was short, but I remembered the exact day I had written about.

(Mis-spellings are included)

“Dad and I woke up early this morning to go turkey hunting. We got dressed and I ate my kudo and drank my ovaltine. We left around four but we didn’t go up on the hill instead we went somewhere else. When we got there it was 4:43. We walked around for a while. Then we heard one we walked quickly back to the path. We looked for a place to sit down finally we found one. We were sitting there when catbird fluttered down and screeched. I jumped.  Dad called a few more times but the turkey did not anser. We got up and were walking up the path when we saw him. He was sitting in the tree in front of the Appalachian Bowhunters barn. Dad said I could have shot it but he did not want me to. He said it was in the tree (which was legal) and that wasn’t fair you have to give the turkey a fair chance, besides it was in front of a building. I didn’t get mad. He explaned it to me that people make up stories that they called it in and shot it in the woods in stead of in front of the building. We walked up a different path for a while. We went up a hill that turned out to be a sheer drop off on one side the other side sloped down gently. We heard some turkeys and dad stopped and called but they did not come. Dad said it was time to start back to the van. I didn’t want to but I was kinda glad because I was soaked. On the way back we saw morels (mushrooms) and dad said sometime we could pick some. He showed me a salamander it was orange with black spots outlined by red. I picked it up to take home. I put it in my glove. We saw a cat. By the time we got to the van the salamander was gone. I didn’t now how but it was gone. We came back home. I love hunting.”

The rest of the journal entries were shorter, and were mostly about our caterpillars changing into butterflies, how I was sick with bronchitis, and what my favorite toy horse was. But the first entry really made me remember that day hunting with my dad, that the grass was soaked with dew and my boots were too big and my gun was heavy but I didn’t complain. And I’m pretty sure the Salamander went missing when I tripped over a stick and dropped my glove.

Back when I was ten years old and keeping that journal, it had never crossed my mind that 12 years later I would be reading it. But it’s definitely something I will keep forever. 

3 Months Til Bow Season!!!

Only three months until fall bow season!!!! Seriously, I can’t wait for it to just get here already.  I started shooting my bow, though I do believe that this year I will be retiring my old Hoyt Ultrasport and switching over to a Ross bow. On my way back from my grand slam trip with Mike, we stopped at the Ross archery warehouse and I got to shoot one of their women’s bows.

I actually only started bowhunting when I was sixteen, and my first bow was a Silverhawk, XI. It was a womens bow that was given to my dad by a woman he worked with, so I wasn’t about to complain. It was a little old school, but definitely got the job done. I killed my first few archery deer with that bow (and aluminum arrows!!!), and last year I took it out of retirement and set it up for bowfishing.

My second bow was my Hoyt Ultrasport that I bought from my older brother, and I’ve been shooting the Hoyt for the past three seasons. I’ve killed several deer, turkeys and a raccoon with it, and it’s definitely a good bow. The only problem I have with it is that I have to wear an arm guard with it. At first I thought it was just me, but then my younger sister Sarah got the same bow and has the same problem.

All my life I’ve only shot a few bows; the little Bear recurve when I was a kid, then my Silverhawk and my Hoyt. So, when we stopped at the Ross shop I didn’t really expect their bows to shoot any different than my Hoyt…but it kind of really did.

I didn’t have an arm guard so I was a little worried I would hit my arm, but had no problem at all. I also like that it was easier to draw than my Hoyt, and once I had it pulled back it was much easier to hold back. That in itself was a huge deal for me. Two years ago I was hunting early fall bow, and had a doe walk past my stand at 30 yards. I drew back on her, but she stopped behind a tree; I held my bow at full draw for what felt like hours until my arm started shaking and I had to let down. She started walking so I drew again, and she again stopped behind a tree. This happened one more time, and I honestly didn’t think I was going to be able to draw back my bow a third time. Luckily I managed to scrape up my last bit of strength and made a perfect shot on the doe, she ran 30 yards and I saw her fall. But, thinking back on it I’m not even sure how I pulled back my bow and held it that long, that many times.

So, I’m thinking it’s time to retire the Hoyt and switch to a Ross…besides the fact that Mike shoots for Ross, and I’m his camera woman and will also be filmed with him so I switching to the same bow as him is a good thing.

Haven’t decided if I’m going to switch broadheads or not. Last year I bought the Rage 40ke, but never actually shot a deer with one. The deer I shot last year was shot with a Grim Reaper I borrowed from the guy I was dating at the time. BUT, I’ve heard so many bad things about Rage, about people losing huge deer etc. that I’m not sure I want to take the risk. So, the broadhead I will be shooting is undecided as of now, but I have three months to make up my mind.

Last season really wasn’t the best bow season of my life, but I can certainly say it was one of the most memorable. I hunted “Mr. Big” all season, a huge ten pointer that would have scored about 145”. I had tons of trail camera pictures of him, saw him several times at 70 yards before the rut started, but never had the chance to take a shot…and then he was shot by several gun hunters doing a drive on opening day of gun season. It was heart breaking news to me since I had hunted him so hard…but I’m hoping this year I’ll find another Mr. Big and actually get to shoot him.

This year is also going to be very different since for the first time ever, I won’t be deer hunting Jersey. By bow season I will be long moved to Ohio, which besides the fact that I get to spend it with the man of my dreams and the kids, Ohio has a lot bigger deer than New Jersey has. I’m sure I’ll be in a bunch of other states with Mike, to film and/or hunt…so looks like I have plenty to look forward to.

Life Goes On

Though turkey season has ended, my life goes on. I haven't seen a carp in the river, and I keep forgetting to bring my other fishing stuff home from my parents house. If nothing else I would be able to catch some catfish, suckers, or carp by just using worm and sinkers.

Honestly I haven't been fishing in forever; I've never been much of a fisherman (fisherwoman?).

I feel like now that hunting season is over, I have nothing to blog about. I wonder how interesting it would be to blog about fishing??? Probably as exciting as watching it on TV...which is extremely boring.

Normally this time of year I would be setting out trail cameras and salt blocks and planting food plots. But since I won't be hunting NJ this year it would be pointless.

So, since I can't go fishing, hunting, or scouting, and don't see anything to bowfish, I've been trying to keep myself occupied with other things. I've been spending more time with my best friend now tha college is out and hunting season is over.

I've been able to go tanning for the first time since I started working at the farm five years ago. So now I've got a nice tan (my realtree bikini hasn't had this much use since I bought it a few years ago) and I managed to get rid of the tan lines I had achieved from wearing shorts to the farm everyday.

There was a bit of excitement here in the neighborhood today. I was laying out in the sun, soaking up some of the brutally hot sun since it was over 90 degrees, and I heard some gunshots fired nearby. This isn't exactly the kind of place that's suitable for target practice since there are quite a few houses here, so I thought it was strange. Sure enough the cops showed up a few minutes later and blocked off the road for about an hour. Not sure what happened, but I'm sure I'll find out in the news.

I spent a rather uneventful Memorial Day at my parents on monday for our annual picnic. I pretty much just hung out with my dog and helped make some of the food. Honestly if it weren't for the food I wouldn't even bother going, but the food is so good I can't bring myself not to go, no matter how miserable my family is. I generally feel a little weird though, since I pile my plate with food and then watch my skinny sisters eat half a hotdog and declare they're full. I guess that's how they stay skinny, but I'd rather maintain a healthy weight, enjoy my food, and have the energy to walk more than a few yards. But, that's just me.

So, plans for this week...hanging out with my BFF to celebrate her birthday, going to head to my parents to hang out with my sister Sarah and cheer her up since she's not allowed to go to Senior Prom OR hang out with me at my house. And, try to remember to get my fishing stuff.

And, hopefully I will be moved to Ohio by the middle/end of June!!! It's funny that me, the girl who always swore she would never be in a long distance relationship, is in a long distance relationship (until I move out there). I guess you just have to find someone who is worth it!!!

HUNT Is A Four Letter Word

Turkey season in New Jersey is over. I honestly can say that it has been my worst season ever in New Jersey. I hardly even heard turkeys, much less saw them. At least I can be thankful for the fact that I saw and heard turkeys on my trip to Florida/Kansas/Nebraska. But here in NJ it just plain sucked.

I guess I’ll be having tag soup for the next few weeks. The only turkeys I’ve seen in the past few days have been roadkill.

The other day a thought crossed my mind for a split second that maybe I shouldn’t have spent the money to buy my NJ turkey tags this year. But, if I hadn’t bought them I would have been wondering if I was passing up a chance at killing a turkey or two.

I weighed the options before the season started:

1. Buy the tag, get up every morning at 4:30 for two weeks and hunt til noon, spend money on gas for my truck, lose a lot of sleep, and maybe not even get a turkey

Or

2. Save my money and don’t spend the money on tags, or gas money, sleep in every morning, not get a turkey, but think about it every single day and wish I would have got a tag so that I would at least have put forth the effort.

I went with option number one.

The money, lack of sleep, frustration, and all the time spent in the woods??? It was more than worth it. It’s not the first season that’s ended with a barren freezer and empty tags, and most likely won’t be the last.

I’m counting down the days until I can spend money, hours in the woods, and lose sleep during deer season. It’s what I live for.

Natural Camo

The past few days of turkey hunting have absolutely sucked.  99% of the time I’m not hearing a darn bird, and the other 1% I get messed up by another turkey hunter. Just not having any luck this season I guess. Only 5 days left and the NJ season will be over, and on top of that I'm missing Mike. 

 

On the bright side I have made a discovery this turkey season: Natural Camo facepaint. Let me just say that I hate facemasks. I always have and always will. As a little girl my dad always made me wear one while turkey hunting. It made my nose run, and when it was hot it made it hard to breathe. One fateful day when I was ten, I had a turkey in the sights of my shotgun and when I put my head down to shoot, the facemask moved so I could no longer see the turkey. That hunt ended with no turkey, and my dad stopped making me wear a face mask.

I’ve always kind of hated facepaint too though. Its generally sticky, or ends up staining my clothes, or is greasy and waxy and makes me want to immediately go wash it off, or I cant wash it off and have to go throughout the day with stripes on my face.

So, of course I didn’t think Natural Camo was any different.

I got my two vials of facepaint in the mail, black and green, and the next morning I tried it out turkey hunting. And guess what??? I no longer hate face paint.

Number one, it was easy to put on. You just shake the container and draw it on your face. Pretty much like drawing on your face with a magic marker, except cooler.

Number two, it wasn’t greasy or feel like melted crayons once it was on my face. It actually felt like nothing. (Which I suppose could be bad for me since I’ll probably forget I’m wearing it and go to town with it still on or something.)

Number three (my favorite part) was that I could wash it off with plain old water and ALL of it came off. No leftover stripes or shadows on my face. Mission accomplished. Looks like I no longer have a reason to hate facepaint.

http://www.naturalcamo.com/

Tuesday

So the first morning of turkey season this week I woke up to strong winds, heavy rain, and lots of thunder and lightening. Hooray. Second morning wasn't much better, minus the thunder and lightening. I got up, put on my camo and face paint, got my gun in the truck and drove to the spot I was going to hunt. Rain poured down. The wind continued to blow. I still didn't hear any gobbles. It's supposed to be like this ALL week unfortunately. So, I'm feeling a little discouraged. I wish I was even HEARING turkeys, that would at least let me know that they're there.

I talked to a couple other turkey hunters and they're all seeming to have the same problem. No gobbles. Now, the hunters from other states are shooting turkeys. Mike was hearing lots of turkeys in Ohio, and shot one last week. I can't wait until I live in Ohio.

But, I'll be stuck in Jersey for a few more weeks anyways, with my neighbors that stole my mail, and weird landscaper guys who lose their cell phones in the front yard.

But, Mike is driving up here to Jersey to see me on Thursday, which gives me something to look forward to!!! :) And hopefully Wednesday will be a little better for turkey hunting.

Unlucky

Well, after one week of turkey hunting and not even really HEARING any gobbles, I've gotten kind of discouraged. I'm beginning to wonder if all of the turkeys in New Jersey have died or gone extinct. Maybe my youngest brother shot the last one during the first week of turkey season. Who knows. Either way I'm not having much luck.

I have a permit for the next two weeks and I'm not even that excited about it. I've tried hunting the private piece of land that I deer hunt, with no luck. I've tried hunting public land, tried going up the mountain, along the river. The turkeys just don't wanna gobble.

For now I'm blaming the weather. Its been extremely cold this spring, with quite a bit of rain. Everything is late. Somehow in some way this has to affect the turkeys.

I went down along the river to look for carp to go bowfishing, and the water was still way too cold. Usually the weekend of mothers day is the best time around here to go bowfishing. Well, not this year. I haven't even seen a carp in the rivers yet. I'm hoping we'll get some sunny 80 degree days this week to bring them up in the shallows.

Its too bad I don't trout fish, since everyone who does trout fish seems to be catching a lot this year.

But, who knows, maybe this week will be better!!! When it comes to hunting, I've never been one to give up easily. I still have two more weeks to kill a turkey and I might as well make the best of it!!!