Early December in Ottertail Country

Oh, tay!!! Here are some pics from Yram. You're getting them because my camera has not been too active lately. Anyone can send me pics to put on here, just try to reduce the file size a little so it doesn't take me an hour to download.... or, send whatever. This photo was labeled 'moon shadow', so I assumed it was a photo of a shadow made by moonlight. Maybe she's just a big Kat Stevens fan, I don't know. The next few pics are of their new house in Menomonee.



Muzzle-loader deer season just got done on Wednesday. No more getting to work at 6:00 in the A. of M. so as to get in a few hours hunting in the evenings. Ivan and I hunted Tuesday night near the Ottertail. It was quite nippy out and snowing. It was really quite nice out in the woods, considering. I saw two nuthatches, a grouse, a pair of Cardinals and a Cottontail rabbit.



As I gradually turned white under the steadily falling snow, the rabbit did the same. It was amazing to watch it turn slowly from dark gray/brown to lighter gray and finally to nearly white. As it transformed, it's eyes gradually became more distinct until they were two jet black dots on that ghostly pale body.



At one point, the bunny looked just like a 'rabbit slipper', with it's front paws tucked up underneath it, it's head pulled close to it's body and it sat looking straight ahead. A slipper........ I saw absolutely no deer. I did hear a 'big noise' from another area of the woods, however.



Turns out Ivan mangaged to get a buck with his trusty muzzleloader. He still uses the basic percussion model with the hammer and primer on the outside of the gun. It really is more of a challenge than the newer inline ignition models, but he persists and he met the challenge.

I just finished a plate of venison and mushrooms. Yum.....

Ivan, Jerry and I hunted again on Wednesday evening, north wind blowin in my face with about 10° when we went out. I managed to stay in the tree till dark, I saw a mouse, a nuthatch, a cardinal and a doe-fawn combo and a nubbin buck. No shooting, and the only thing we killed was several or so beers back at the lodge.......



Now in this pic, Yram is imperson- ating someone. She sent this out last week and said it was " 'a quiz', who am I?" Hmmm..... maybe she's loosing it? Anyway, if you guess correctly, or guess at all, you're a winner and will get a pass stating that you DO NOT have to watch "Show me the Money", "Deal or no deal", or any other annoying, dippy big-time game shows. Unless you want to.

Peg and I are planning a trip to Milwaukee on the weekend of Dec. 16th. If anyone wants a little venison, let me know and we'll bring a cooler along, probably the lousy one that Yram gave me back after I sent her the good one with all the fish, venison and apple pie last winter. Oh, well.



Here is Yram's Bay. What a nice sight! I can't wait to get over there with the plane and fly the shoreline. That will be good once the ice is on and I don't have to worry about landing in the water!! We'll just dress warm, like we're going hunting, and we'll have a ball.