Redemption

Nothing salves the sting of a big buck that got away like a big buck that didn't. I called this deer in yesterday morning.

Deer Season Update

Bucks deemed too small to kill: 4
Big bucks that have gotten away: 3
Bucks that sniffed the hood of the truck before it was light enough to shoot: 1

Deer season part 2 has been the best of times and the worst of times. The hunting has progressively gotten better since the end of October and we seem to be at the peak of the rut right now. I've passed on numerous opportunities to take small bucks or does. I had the weird experience of driving down a logging road in the dark, seeing a buck in the headlights and watching it walk up to the truck, take a sniff and walk away. Of course I love being in the woods, observing the deer and learning so much about them. That part has all been good. But it's also been extremely disappointing. I've been trying to get a nice buck with my archery gear and screwed up two opportunities at good bucks. Then yesterday morning I called an absolute brute to within 5 feet and couldn't get a shot. I could barely sleep last night playing the woulda-coulda-shoulda game. An awesome experience, but discouraging and depressing. To be continued...

Recent Conversation

Amy: Hey, do you remember the name of that actor, he was in...
Steve: Liam Neeson
Amy: Yes! How do you do that!

Where's the Kitty?

Amelia has become more and more tolerant (resigned?) of Autumn. Now that Autumn is mobile she endlessly chases the cat, never giving up hope. While Amelia remains confident she can out maneuver and outpace. I recently caught this bit of "cat and mouse."

Where is that kitty?

I can't find her anywhere.

There she is!

There's a few more pictures for the grandparents here at flickr.

Follow-Up To Behold!

At the request of our representative from the Imperial Senate.

Behold!

"Then I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a ram which had two horns was standing in front of the canal. Now the two horns were long..." -Daniel 8:3

I just wrapped up the taxidermy work on my 2009 ram. This style is called a European mount. I've done Euro mounts myself of several rams. It's cheap and looks classy IMO. In case you happen to find yourself in possession of a skull and would like to try your hand at taxidermy here's my recipe for success:

1. Trim off as much meat and tissue as you can
2. Place skull in a plastic garbage bag and seal off for one-two weeks. This begins the bacterial breakdown of the tissues, but keeps flies out. After this period, remove skull and hit the base of the horns with a mallet. After this time in the garbage bag the horns should just pop right off.
3. With a stiff wire (coat hangers work well) stir up and remove as much brain matter from the skull cavity as possible. Also cut off approximately 2-3 inches of the horn cores off. This allows the horns to go back on correctly and helps get at the tissues inside the horn cores.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a couple good handfuls of baking soda. After a couple minutes to let the soda dissolve into the water, place the skull and boil for approx 45 minutes.
5. Remove skull from boiling water. A lot of flesh should come off very easily. Clean off as much as you can, empty your pot and re-do step 4, boiling for about 20 minutes. The baking soda does a wonderful job of breaking down the tissues.
6. Here's where your patience comes in. With a knife, tweezers and pick you've got to get as much remaining tissue as you can in all those tough to get to spots.
7. Soak skull in white gas. A sheep or deer needs about two weeks, greasy skulls like a bear need to stay in a month or more. The gas acts as a degreaser. Skip this step and your skull will probably yellow over time.
8. Soak skull approx. 24 hours in 40% peroxide solution. This stuff can be obtained at beauty supply stores and is sometimes called Clairoxide 40. Make sure you wear gloves, long sleeves and eye protection. This stuff is like acid. This soaking will dissolve all the remaining bits of flesh and bleach the skull to a nice white color.
9. After drying treat the skull to 2-3 coats of clear gloss spray enamel. This protects the skull and gives it a nice finished look.
Now for the horns:
1. After you popped them off the skull there will be tissue inside them. Use a fillet knife and wire brush to remove as much of this tissue as possible.
2. Soak the horns in water with dawn detergent for a couple days. This also acts as a degreaser.
3. Fill horns with borax and let set for a week or so. This helps break down and dry out any remaining tissue and eliminated any stinky-ness.
Now you are ready to put the horns back on:
The last step is reattaching the horns to the skull. This is done with bondo. It doesn't take much, just a couple globs on the end of the horn core. Too much and the bondo will ooze out the bottom of the horn and discolor your skull. Do one horn at a time, allowing the bondo to firm up. Once the horns are re-attached allow approx. 24 hours for the bondo to cure.

And now you are ready to proudly display your trophy.

Carrying Strap Included

Overalls are a great clothing item for babies. They have such convenient built-in handles. As you can see from her smile, Autumn thinks this is a pretty fun method of conveyance as well.