Happy Hunting!

The day dawned with me walking down a trail into the woods in Perry County PA. It was a beautiful crisp, 15 degrees outside (Fahrenheit). Snow still clung to the hillsides, though in some places, the leaves showed through. My best friend/pastor had driven me up to his father's cabin and the three of us drove over to Tuscarora State Forest.


As I started walking down the path into the valley to take up my position against a tree, I realized I had forgotten my albuterol inhaler at home. If any of my readers are asthmatic, you will know and understand that this revelation almost always means certain doom, and like a self fulfilling prophecy, I had a whopper of an asthma attack. I began to pray for a miracle since my hunting partners were not answering their radios and I did not have the keys to the truck, nor was my home in easy driving distance. Just as I finally contacted one of my hunting partners on the radio, another pair of hunters rolled up in a big Chevy pickup, and asked if I was ok and if there was anything they could do to help. I replied that there was little they could do unless they happened to have an albuterol inhaler on them. They at first thought that they did not, but the driver of the truck had a realization and reached into the back for a bag. He produced an inhaler from the bag that had just enough albuterol in it to relieve my symptoms. I thanked them kindly and they rolled on up the hill.

You may say it was a coincidence, but I do not believe in such. It was nice to have my own little birthday miracle.


I was able to stay in the woods for several more hours, and I was glad of it. I didn't see any deer, but the experience of hunting, for me, is less about the taking of game, and more about experiencing the wonders of creation. I found a nice little creek which I plan to return to in the spring when trout season opens.


After returning home from the woods, I found an interesting ornament had been added to our tree. My wife and son then gave me my birthday presents.


Due to our current financial situation, the gifts weren't expensive, but I did get something I have wanted for quite some time; an am/fm radio that fits in my pocket. It's an authentic Sony Walkman so the sound output and quality are fantastic. I put my Nintendo DS speakers in my helmet, and went for a little birthday scoot. It was so nice to be able to listen to my favorite radio stations, though I noticed that the engine makes AM stations crackle a bit. The signal was clear, until I started the scoot, then suddenly the interference started. It's livable, and I am just glad that I can stay connected as I listen to talk radio or music or NPR, whichever I feel like at the time. The great thing is, I can still hear the ambient sounds, so I do not feel unsafe.

So, being 35 isn't starting out too badly aside from the one hiccup. I even got to share my birthday cake with the men at the group home, for which they were overjoyed.

Weekend update

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Well, it's been a while since my last post here, due to multiple different factors; the first factor being Goose season and deer season. I've mentioned before that I like to hunt, and two weeks ago, my pastor and I spent two mornings out at the crack of dawn with shotguns at the ready and decoys in the field.


Our first outing brought no luck, but the day after Thanksgiving, we got some shots at a low flying flock of honkers. Unfortunately, I was so excited to have geese in range, I forgot to actually aim, and I missed all five of my shots.


The weather has been very nice for the most part, so I've been scootin' a lot, and from time to time I will take the sabre out for a spin. That's where factor #2 in not posting comes in. This past Thursday, I overshot a turn on a back road through a forested area and ended up with my back wheel in the leaves and mud on the side of the road. I was going about 10 mph, but just the same, the bike went down with my leg under it. I didn't recieve any outer injuries thanks to my protective clothing, but I pulled a few muscles and lightly bruised my left shoulder. The bike got a slight bit of rashing, but nothing terrible.

I was so sore that I was unable to go hunting on Friday as I had planned, and getting on or into a vehicle was an interesting proposition. So the scooter and the cycle have both been parked. My wife was at a ladies' retreat this weekend, giving me access to her vehicle, but getting into the driver's seat with pain in both of my thighs was a singular experience which I do not wish to repeat.


This morning, I awoke and the pain in my legs was gone. My shoulder still hurts, but that I can live with. There was a thin coating of snow and ice on everything, so I took my wife's Rav4 and left my snow covered two-wheelers where they were.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow morning. I shall be celebrating the end of my 35th year of life and the beginning of my 36th. My father used to tease me each year that it was "a day that would forever live in infamy," punning on the statement made so many years before on the same day of December.

But I shall once again try my hand at deer hunting. I usually go out on my birthday to give myself the treat of having a day out on my own, but tomorrow will be extra special since I get to go up to Perry County and hunt where I have never done so before.

So that is what is new in my little corner of creation. I hope to be able to report a successful hunt tomorrow and a full freezer to boot.

Good News and bad news

First, the good news, Earlier this month, Pennsylvania's House Transportation Commitee approved legislation (House Bill 2070), to ban cell phone texting while operating a motor vehicle. When this will actually become law, I am uncertain.

This is good news as it has the potential to enhance safety for those of us who might otherwise be unseen by some idiot texting while they drive.

On the other hand, this is also bad news since it means one more law and one more opportunity for the commonwealth to stick their collective noses into the business of private citizens. Unfortunately, I'm convinced that this might be one of the times that legislation is necessary, but that does not mean I have to like it.

On the whole, I will admit that I will feel a little safer once this new regulation goes into effect, but then, I believe it was Ben Franklin who said:

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Photographic experimentation and More barns

I had to work today, as I do every two Sundays. I love my work, and today was a shining example of why. I took my camera to work in anticipation of going barn-hunting afterward. I also took my tripod, which I recently rediscovered in a box in my basement. Since I had these tools along, I decided to let the residents at the home take a crack at some photography.

Here are two samples from the two gentlemen who showed interest.


After work, I did as I had planned and went hunting for barns. Having my tripod along allowed me better stability and more options for standing off the road since I could set it up and be less wobbly.

The first barn I came upon was one I had passed many times before, and I think I may have photographed it previously, but I wanted to get another shot of it. The chipping paint around the windows give it a sense of character.


The second had a nifty little courtyard in front with a concrete rail around it. The upper windows really caught my fancy.


The final barn I photographed today was actually a pair of buildings. They had been recently painted, but still caught my eye.


All in all, this was a great day!

Old Timers and Old Barns

I love talking to folks who have lived many years. When I was a boy, one of my favorite things to do was to go upstairs to the apartment above us where lived a man named Mr. MacDonald. He would play checkers and tell me stories about the days when the decaying New England village I lived in was a bustling town, back when the paper mill was in full swing and provided housing for all its employees. The area of Woronoco where the Strathmore paper mills were used to be called "The beehive" due to the buzz of activity. There was a butcher shop, a general store, a community building which at one point was used by a small college, and all sorts of other things one would expect to find in a mill town during the early 1900's through the 1950's. Hearing his stories expanded my imagination and I could picture myself in the black and white photos he showed me.

Mr. Macdonald has been dead for 25 years now, but today, I had the pleasure of speaking to a gentleman who reminded me a lot of him, and he was telling me about his Cushman scooter. I think I can safely call him Mr. Stoltzfus without violating any privacy morees, since that name is more common than Smith in this part of the country. In any event, Mr. Stoltzfus had seen my scooter and we got to talking about motorcycles and scooters. Mr. Stoltfus has to be at least in his 80's and hearing him talk about riding his old Cushman and the Honda's and Yamaha's he'd had brought pictures to my mind, just like listening to Mr. Macdonald.


This evening, I had opportunity to go for a dusk ride. The main roads were busier than I like, but the back roads were pleasantly empty. The color of the sky was breathtaking, but unfortunately my photographs don't do it justice.


I saw several old barns, most of which were on the main road, so I was uncomfortable with stopping to photograph them, but one was off the beaten path and I was able to get a few nice shots of it. There were Alpacas in a fenced area adjacent to it and they seemed very interested in what I was doing.

It's been a nice autumn for riding. The weather is cooling some, especially in the evenings, but it has been better riding weather than I expected so far.