Standing on the deck overlooking the water of Lake Iwanttobethere I feel a warm southern breeze in my face. The water has a little wave action today and leaves are washed up along the shoreline. Barney goes out on the dock but merely glances into the water before trotting back to check out the boat house. I have made a pretty good dent in the pile of leaves by the fire pit but the wind over the past few days has brought me more leaves. Maybe later I'll fire up the big mower and make a few passes and do some mulching. A little color has returned to the lake as it seems everywhere you look you see blaze orange. Across the way I can see Elmers blaze orange vest blowing in the wind. It hangs on the old clothes line that is tied from his back porch to the pine tree. Next to it his red wool coat that he has worn deer hunting for longer then I have been alive.

My blaze orange is also out. Stuffed with apple leaves it hangs from the clothes line. I for years have used the trick of apple leaves stuffed in all my pockets and down my sleeves and pants legs. I don't know if it fools the deer but I smell good. Chuck has his orange hanging out to and if you look across the bay you can see other coats flapping in the breeze. Just a few days away from the opening of deer season here at the lake and orange is very common around town. Some guys will not take their coat off for the next few weeks and of course anyone working in the fields is wearing orange. Both Bud and Barney have blaze orange collars and we keep an eye on them. They don't get to run free and are only allowed in Chuck and Elmers yards. Never can tell when some fool will shoot at anything and that is one of the down sides of deer season.

Last week I met up with the guys and we all went out to McDonnell's back forty where he has a gravel pit. All of us shot our guns and made adjustments where needed. Elmer took out his old 30-30 and fired one round and called it good. A box of shells last him ten years and he was down to three. When he asked Big Earl what a box of shells cost he went off for a half an hour talking about "In his days" shells were a dime apiece and ya bought them out of a candy jar. You only paid for what ya needed. Sitting at the picnic table waiting our turn to shoot we talked of old seasons and of course the list was brought out and names checked off. We made sure that everyone was bring the same thing to the shack as they did the year before and the year before. Hammering Hank said the he and Skinny had brought some wood last week and mouse traps were out. I had not been to the shack since spring when I took my walk. I thought for a moment of the gray ghost and remembered seeing them big tracks. I wondered to myself if he was still there.

I was interrupted in my thoughts with an elbow from Chuck. Big Earl was laughing at me and everyone knew I was day dreaming of that big old buck. My turn to shoot and I fired a few rounds and returned to the table. I passed out the do lists, nice having a computer these days. I just printed up copies from last year and we all had our lists for who was suppose to bring what and what the menu was going to be for the week. Elmer asked if it would be ok to bring Marv to deer camp and after some teasing he was of coursed welcomed. Of course he will have to bring cigars and toilet paper. With Doc being the last one to shoot we packed up and headed to the Lodge to continue our planning session.

Sunshine Ray is a pretty popular guy this time of the year as everyone is trying to get the forecast out of him. He has called for warm weather on opening day and no snow. We are planning according to his forecast and I for one am packing my long jons. Big Earl is trying to convince us we should all buy some of his blaze orange umbrellas that he has in stock. I think he ordered to many for Halloween and is just trying to reduce his stock. He found a place that will custom make his umbrellas and after ordering all of them pink ones for flamingo season he ordered blaze orange ones. The front of his store is colorful with the orange and pink umbrellas standing in the rack. I asked Earl if he still has any Halloween candy left, don't know why they don't sell them bags year round. Earl says he does, but they are not so fresh come July.

Well I should get the mower out and go after them leaves. Still have a lot of things that need to be done before I can take all next week off and deer hunt. I will make a few trips back to the cabin for a hot shower and of course check my mail. That and I can't stay to long away from Bud and Barney. O and the wife to.... From Lake Iwanttobethere {111,897}

Friday before deer hunting is pretty busy here at Lake Iwanttobethere. I made several trips into town to pick up things as I had to go to Ma and Pa's grocery to pick up items on the menu. As you may know I am the camp cook and as soon as the menu was given the thumbs up at our planning meeting I made some changes. Can't eat the same thing every year at deer camp. Of course we will have the usual things like Coney's and chili. Steaks for the first night and a turkey to roast. I managed to get one of them pink geese that Hunterdown has been passing off as a Flamingo. That will be for Sunday night's dinner along with some wild rice. A few loafs of wheat bread from Amy's bakery along with dinner rolls and buns. I have already replaced the lite miracle whip bottle with real miracle whip without the wife knowing. Mustard and ketsup, some hot sauce. The box with can beans and fresh veggies for the stew. The knap sack from the back closet was dug out and inventory went over. No need to replace anything as nothing was used last year.

Went to the General Store to see if Big Earl has his stuff together, he was working the counter as the store was busy. For some reason there was a rush on people buying licenses and of course orange hooded sweatshirts were in big demand. Sunshine Ray's forecast looks like it might be coming true. The bass thermometer was hovering right around 60 which made them heavy orange coveralls look awful heavy. Marv was in the store with a shopping cart of hunting gear and Elmer was alongside. The two of them were in the candy aisle and Elmer was explains that ya want candy but you don't want anything that you have to unwrap in the stand. Elmer was holding up lemon drops and Marv was holding butterscotch buttons. They asked me and I just said I prefer Kit Kats and they both shook their heads at me.

Outside Reed the Realtor shop his bio diesel RV was parked. Reed was loading it and Doc Burriem was supervising. Both of them had been bring their hunting equipment to the office and were now ready to load it in the RV. I didn't know they were driving it to deer camp but I guess the damage from last winter had been repaired and with the new paint job you can't even see the soot from the fire. I did notice something and that is the drivers side is white but the passengers side is green. Asking Reed he said Dug didn't not have enough paint in stock to spray the RV all the same color so they just went two tone. It does kind of match the black rims on one side and the white rims on the other side.

Vicki at the Masterbaiters bait shop waved as she drove by, she to was busy picking up coffee from Ma and Pa's. The bait shop is our weigh in station and she will be open all weekend long. She gives out free cofee to whoever comes in as usually there is a good crowd standing around waiting to see who brings in what. When I went into Ma and Pa's like always the first thing you hear is the jingle of the bell over the door. Ma for a change was not sitting behind the counter watching TV on her little black and white but was busy dusting off cans and packing them in brown paper bags. Pa was no where to be seen but I found him back in the big walk in freezer. He was complaining that his high school kid had not finished cleaning the freezer and with this warm weather he was going to need all the hanging room he had. I helped him move a few of the last boxes around and he gave me my box of steaks and burger that I had ordered. The turkey was almost forgotten but I remembered that I had to get butter. Ma had my can order ready and I loaded it all in the Dodge and was slapped on the back by Ma and told good luck. No sooner had I gotten out of the way when Gus and Skinny walked in. They were there to pick up some of that hot lunch meat that only they eat at camp and of course to talk to Pa about freezer space.

Well by the time you read this we will all be in deer camp. Come Friday afternoon we will all make the drive and one by one we will drive down the grassy tote road then ends up in the small clearing where the deer shack is. We will park under the stand of pines and unload our trucks. Rifles will come out of cases and be stacked along the wall in the gun rack. Clothes line will be strung between the two big pines and jackets will be hung. Wood stove will be started and we will watch and see if the smoke curls out of the stack. With luck there will be no birds nest inside and the smoke will rise. Fire pit will be raked out and a fire started, there is no better steak then the one cooked over the grate on the pit. Darkness will come quick and we will lounge around the fire. Making trips back and forth inside the shack taking turns rolling out sleeping bags and stocking shelves. Mouse traps will be checked and the hanging ropes flung over the pole waiting for tomorrow's deer.

A beer or two may be cracked, the sharp crack bouncing of the trunks of pines. Like parents we will sit around the fire waiting for the last of our group to show up. Then in the quiet of the dark night under the stars we will hear the last truck coming from the South. Even though we are here and he is there we will be in the drivers seat with him as he makes the turn off the gravel road. Has to drive around the fallen Pine and then get back on the grass covered trail. Come around the washout and pass the gravel pile. Drive through the clearing and we can hear him pause as he is looking for deer in the moonlight. Start again and make the last turn on to our trail, There in the dark we can see his headlights as they bounce over the scattered boulders. We all nod to ourselves in the glow of the fire that someday we should move them rocks out of the way. One last turn and he is here. Some back slapping and quick work is made of unloading the truck. His gun is added to the rack and bedroll tossed up on the top bunk in the corner. His knapsack on top. The last steak hits the grill and the smoke mixes with the fire to rise skyward. We all sit back in our assortment of chairs along with Elmer in his rocker and we listen to the crackling and snapping of the fire and the quiet of deer camp. From Lake Iwanttobethere {113,202}

Well first week at deer camp has come to a close. I must admit it did start off with a bang. Lots happen during the first week of camp and I have already forgotten a lot of things. A few do stand out and I will pass them on to you. As you may know Marv who is Hammering Hank's father in law and the father of the beautiful Tess has joined our deer camp. Elmer and him have become great buds and when Marv heard that Elmer would be coming to camp for two week he asked if Elmer would sponsor him. Well our first night at camp we did big old steaks on the fire pit grill and had a few Hamms. We traded stories and turned in early. Around five in the morning the call of nature called Marv and he quietly made his way out to the outhouse. After doing his thing he was heading back to the deer shack when he spotted a buck in the half moonlight. He quietly made his way into the shack and loaded his rifle. As he went past the window heading for the door he could see the deer still standing where he last saw him. Opening the window he aimed and fired.

Well a couple of things are wrong here, first it was to early to be shooting at deer. Second he didn't open the window wide enough or stick the rife out far enough. Third the blast from the rife shattered the window and woke up everyone from a dead sleep and fourth the deer was not a real deer but a decoy that the Johnson brothers practiced shooting at with their bow. Well lights were found and some shouting followed. Not so much because people were mad is that no one could hear each other after the rifle blast inside the shack. Some plastic was found for a quick repair on the window and Marv was explained the rule about shooting inside the shack which also included shooting at mice. Looks were aimed at the direction of the Johnson brothers when ever shooting mice is involved and fingers are pointed at the shacks baseboards.

Well it was close enough to being getting up time so wood was added to the potbelly stove and pancakes were made and served. Sandwiches were made and water bottles checked. One by one guys left the shack and headed out into the darkness to make their way to their stands. By lunch time everyone was back and no one had gotten off a shot. A few small does were seen but it was almost fifty-five out and everyone was complaining they had worn way to much clothes. I did spend some time on my stand and got in a pretty good nap.

A little rain on Sunday and doe was shot by Big Earl. It hung for a few hours on the pole and then at dark Earl took it into Pa at Ma and Pa's so it could hang in the cooler. Marv brought with him one of them thousand piece puzzles and dumped it out on the table. The rest of the week guys would stand away from the table smoking their cigars or sipping on a soda looking at the puzzle. From time to time someone would step forward and place a piece of the puzzle in it's correct position or toss the piece back in the pile. No one wanted to sit at the table and actually work on the puzzle other then Marv and Elmer. They would sit with their blackberry brandy in short glasses and with their eye glasses resting low on their noses search for pieces. Looking over the picture and sipping from their glasses from time to time the smoke curling up from the ashtray where their cigars rested.

Every morning the Johnson brothers would pack up their day packs and make the hike up the ridge to their stands. Come dusk they would make the hike back down, I don't know how much hunting they did up there but they said they liked the view and didn't want to be bothered by anyone else. Big Earl had brought a case of surplus caramel apples from the store and they sat on the counter for anyone to have. I think they were a might out dated as I watched as Doc tried to eat one. Biting them was out of the question so Doc tried to peel it with a knife. Butter knife didn't work so he moved on up to a hunting knife. After awhile he went out to the wood pile and returning he placed the hunting knife on the side of the caramel apple and pounded a piece off using a stick of firewood as a hammer. Caramel was a tad hard but the apple was still green inside. I didn't even try the apple as I had early seen a mouse sniff at the box of apples and move on without even trying to take a taste.

Guys came and went during the week, weather stayed warm and only one other doe was shot, that one by Gus. Big Earl went back into town and Junior his son took his place. He brought with him a pane of glass and the window to the shack was repaired. I ended up doing that as everyone knows I always have a tool bag behind the seat of the Dodge. Hunterdown was seen and he already shot a few deer, guess he has a better spot then we do this year. I did thank him for the goose as it went over well at dinner the second night. A couple of the guys were even talking about taking up flamingo hunting next fall if they tasted so good.

I spent some time in the stand, got in a few nice naps. Solved all the worlds problems and ran out of Kit Kats. Today I did go home to take a hot shower and pet the dogs behind their ears. Found empty bags on the kitchen table so I know the wife has been out Christmas shopping while I was gone. Also found three apple pies waiting for me to take back to camp so things even out. Hope your deer camp is good and we will see you here at Lake Iwanttobethere.
{114,134}

Weather here at deer camp is changing, again. We started off with unseasonable warm weather the first week and now we are back in to almost deer hunting weather. No snow yet but it did get cold enough on Friday night that the stove had to be tended to during the night. On the trip to the stand Saturday morning there was a crunch of frost under foot and water puddle were frozen. Friday it rained pretty much most of the day and into the night. The rain did quiet down the woods as the damp leaves and water dripping from branches muffled the walk to the stand in the afternoon. Sitting in the stand the thought of Big Earl's big blaze orange umbrellas was starting to make some sense. I was dressed well and soon I forgot about the drizzle, My biggest problem was trying to keep my glasses clear but that just gave me something to do. The drizzle did stop but then the fog came rolling in, it was that low ground fog that is thick and deep for the first ten feet as it rolls across the forest floor from the swamp. I thought I saw some movement, maybe the top of a rack moving through, dipping and then reappearing on the edge of the swamp. Of course my first thought was it had to be the great gray ghost, the monster buck that I spotted a few times last season. My heart missed a few beats as I tried to get a better look through the rain drops on my glasses.

I waited and watched, still as a mouse with a hawk overhead. Funny how well these old ears work when I am focused. Not moving my body I watched a spot where the ground comes up some. If the ghost was following the trail he would come up out of the fog right there and I would be able to see him and perhaps get a shot off. I watched for several minutes maybe even a half an hour but the ghost didn't reappear. With the overcast sky darkness came quickly, I had to make the choice of waiting a little longer and walking back in the dark or moving now. I was just getting ready to climb down when I heard the sound of a guitar strumming. The damp air and a slight breeze was clearing the fog away and carrying the sounds of the Johnson brothers and their guitars. I waiting a few minutes more, the fog was almost gone or it had just disappeared in the darkness but still no sign of the ghost. I got down from the stand and looked at the only dry spot in the woods, right where I had been sitting.

I made my way back along the trail to the deer shack, the sound of the guitars guiding my way. Walking slow and taking my time I let my eyes be guided by my ears. The music stopped and so did I, it was quiet. My hat sat high on my head and my ears could pick up laughter coming from the camp. I was closer than I thought. I made my way into the clearing and my eyes adjusted to the dancing flames rising high in the fire pit. A big fire was licking at wet wood from the pile that had not been tarped. In the glow from the fire two more deer were hanging from the cross pole and the Johnson brothers were sitting in them cloth backed folding chairs with grins on their faces. I was guessing the deer were theirs.

Entering the shack the pot belly stove was a cherry red and various blaze orange coats, hats and pants were hanging from anything that would support them. Just about everyone was trying to dry their gear out. I got out of my stuff and realized just how wet I was. I might have been walking slowly because of all the extra weight I was carrying. I went in the cupboard and pulled out the clothes line, tying it off to the two hooks on opposite ends of the shack and then hung my clothes. Gus taking his pants off a chair said out loud that he was wondering where that rope was

Marv and Elmer sat working on the second puzzle they had brought, another thousand pieces laid scattered across the table. I took the ladle from the counter and dumped two big scoops of stew in a bowl and a chuck of bread and sat at the end to eat and watch. Barley and Hopps came in and told me of the hunt on the ridge and the two deer they shot. I nodded and congratulated them both. They returned outside to go over to the RV and get in on the Friday night card game that had already started. Eating my stew I was warming up, I didn't know I was cold till I felt the heat from the stove. I watched as Marv was holing up a piece of the puzzle, turning it over and over in his hand till he set it down off to the side where some other pieces lay. I know if anyone was looking at me they would have seen the twinkle in my eyes as I laughed a little inside. On my last trip home I brought a few random puzzle pieces from home, just to add to the pile. From the shack here at Lake Iwanttobethere {114,314}

Several of the guys had to call an end to their deer hunting vacation as their time at the camp was up. The diehards still remain at the shack including both Elmer and Marv. Sunday we took a long afternoon break as Reeds RV was relocated in the parking area. We moved the RV so the big back window was facing the porch and the TV was placed in the open window. This allowed us to have a tailgate party and watch the football game. The deep fryer was set up and we cooked a turkey, from time to time the bird was brought up to have meat cut off and the put back down to cook some more. Several of the guys were done hunting as a few more deer were hanging from the hanging pole and would be heading back after the football game.

Evenings have been clear and cool, frost greets us every morning but it gone by eleven or so except for where the sun does not hit. The days are filled with sunshine and the nights are filled with stars. A meteor shower is suppose to happen tonight so we may stay up a little later and sit outside the shack and watch. It's not like we don't have warm enough clothes to be sitting under the stars!

I made the ride back to the cabin midmorning to bring back empty pie plates and hope the wife had a few filled ones to replace them. The lake was covered in deep fog that was rolling across the shoreline and creeping up along the access road. Not being in any real hurry I took my time driving along the road. Not that far from where the cabin trails joins up with the road I saw some movement off to the side of the road on the lake side. Coming out from the ditch and crossing was a bully of a buck. I came to a stop and of course like everyone I counted the points, four on each side. I say he was a bully of a buck as he was thick bodied. A massive swollen neck if you could call it that as it looked like his head just grew out of his chest. One big eye watched me as he slowly walked across the road. His head dipping down to smell the ground and then back up again for a few steps before dipping back down to the ground. A dark black nose seem to wrinkle a little and he looked at me and then kept moving. I search with my right hand on the seat of the Dodge looking for my camera that was under my coat on the seat. Not finding it I glance down to find the camera and looked up in time to see the buck slip into the under brush of the other side of the road. With my camera in hand I looked back to see the buck had been swallowed up by the brush and brown grass. "Dang" I said out loud to myself that was a beast. Putting my foot back on the gas I moved the Dodge in a creep down the road, Of course it is deer season you always see nice big bucks when you are not ready.

Not five minutes down the road it happen again. Another buck this one only a six pointer and younger. The big buck was fresh in my mind and I counted points and saw the neck on this one was not nearly as big as the first deer, The coat was a deeper brown and the tail not as bushy. This one came from the lake side like the first but here I could see the smaller buck snorting and his breath rose around him as he walked across the road. He stopped in the center of the road and turn to look at me, pawing the ground with his right hoof. I kept an eye on him as I fumbled with the camera with the other hand. I was just bring the camera up to get a shot when with a hop a skip and a jump the deer was gone from the road. I am always surprised by how much ground they can cover and do it so effortlessly. I got out of the truck and with camera in hand peered into the brush, hoping maybe it had stopped and was looking back at me as much as I was looking for him.

Another truck was coming down the road so I had to move, I drove off but this time I kept the camera in my lap, Two bucks in five minutes, perhaps there would be a third, it could happen. From Lake Iwanttobethere {114,631}