News from Home

 My other baby brother and she who sees robins first are avid deer hunters!  We encourage them because they share the canned venison with us!!  If you have never tried canned venison...it is the most tender flavorful meat ever!  My Mother used to can venison every year. 

Here they are happy as clams in their heated hunting deer stand!  It is one classy deer stand!!

Jody also sent a photo of the pretty sky on November 11, 2025.

It is fun to get photos and news from home! 

Yes they harvested a deer! 

Far Side

1953 or 1954 Deer Hunting

 I have several old photographs of me and a deer. 

Who: My Dad and me

Where: the Farm in Carsonville Township

Why:  Hunting photo

When:  1953 or 1954  I am either two or three years old.

I believe that is my Uncle Adolf on the left and my Dad on the right.  Note my fancy headscarf...most likely a dish towel.  The windows in the center of the photo were living room windows, the outside wood chute is the little toot on the left and the door to the house is on the far right. 

Here we have another person...Uncle George or maybe my Aunt Marie's husband Uncle Kenneth on the far left. 

I wish I knew exactly who was who...but in the end it is my Dad and his brothers or his brother in law  at the end of a good hunt. 

Far Side 

Deer Hunt

 Deer hunting season opened here in Minnesota on Saturday.   Far Guy and I used to hunt years ago...actually we liked being in the woods...now we live in the woods and can go outside when ever we want!

I come from a hunting family ...all my siblings hunt.

Now a days I hunt with my camera. 

Two fawns and a doe last week in our yard...there was a third fawn but he/she is not in this photo.  They come into the yard every day to eat acorns.

We have one Grandchild that likes to hunt.   She used to spend hunting days with my Dad ( her Great Grandfather).  They both enjoyed hunting together. 

Dad used to call her his good luck hunting charm. 

Maddie got her deer on Saturday.  She said "We saw a couple of bucks, but this one walked right up to the stand and gave me the perfect shot. I am pretty sure Great Grandpa sent her to me, he became my good luck charm."

Photo of Maddie and her deer.

Her Great Grandpa would have been thrilled for her! 

Far Side

******

The ornament winners are

Barbara   "Scavenger hunts for clues"

Miss Merry  "Dollhouse"

Ed " Fresh cut Cedar tree"

Please email me  captainconnie2001atyahoodotcom with your mailing address.  Congratulations!

Ornament Winners!

 I will share their stories about their favorite Christmas gift! 

My favorite Christmas present when I was young was a bicycle. I remember how much I loved that bicycle. It was pale yellow with dark green stripes. The hand grips had streamers which made it even fancier. My father attached a basket on the handlebars. I would peddle over to our neighborhood grocery store to pick up items for my mother or take dinner over to my grandpa’s. I took such good care of that bicycle that I would compare my feelings about it to someone getting a new car.

Thank you for helping me remember some really happy times growing up. Whether my name is drawn or not just thinking of that bicycle made my day. I was such a proud and happy kid because of it.

Thanks again,

Marlys

Congratulations Marlys! 

My favorite gift as a kid was a pair of steel roller skates. They could expand and contract to fit different sized shoes, so I think they were a gift to all 4 of us. I can still remember the sound and feel of those steel wheels rolling on the sidewalks.

Congratulations Dawn!

My favorite Christmas gift was a doll that I received when I was when about 5 years old. She had curly hair and was just about the same height that I was!

Congratulations Jan!

I enjoyed reading all your stories about your favorite Christmas gifts!  I wish I could mail ornaments to everyone.

Marlys, Dawn at Change is hard and Jan at Jan's Journey  I will need your mailing address please contact me by email captainconnie2001atyahoodotcom

This week we have Dental appointments and the third covid shot for me later in the week.  It is a good time for me to get the third as yard work is pretty much done and I have no plans for next weekend. 

Deer Report:  Hailey and Brooke got their deer also! So it was a good hunt for our Great Nieces!

I shoot my deer many times with my camera!  

Going on the record now to say I hate the time change. 

Far Side

Leaves and Hunting

I am pretty much done with the leaves in the yard.  The last mulch  (10 1/2 times) was completed yesterday...I could rake a bit out back when I have the energy...maybe.   I raked in front of both garages....one of my pet peeves is the leaves that blow inside the garage when the door is open.  If there are none there they cannot blow inside! 

It was a fine weather day yesterday...it was 56 F or 13 C eh for a high...practically summer like. 

The old lawn mower was put up for sale and it sold within a few minutes.   Yeah! 

The new lawn mower is sitting in the garage...after it gets its mulching blades and kit it will be ready for next spring.  I drove it around the yard a bit just to make sure that it was working.  It steers much easier than the old one. 

I have a few things yet on Fall work list...but it is coming along.  

Deer hunting season started yesterday.  What a beautiful day to be out in the woods! Great Niece Olivia got a deer! 

Baxter is all set! 

Far Side

The Hunt for Deer

 I come from a deer hunting family.  I went hunting with my Dad and learned from him how to walk quietly in the woods, how to properly place a shot and how to gut out a deer.   My brothers are hunters too.   Far Guy comes from a deer hunting family.   Far Guy and I deer hunted together for many years.   We loved being in the woods together...now we live in the woods and I hunt with my camera.  (Less clean up!) 

"Our Woods"  sixty plus acres owned by my brothers and I are the hunting area.  We live on the South part and my brothers live to the North.  There are a number of good places to hunt here.  

My sister in law "She who sees Robins first"  is a hunter.  She had real good luck yesterday morning and got a really nice buck. 

She was just thrilled!   

This deer's relatives decimated her small container gardens last summer. 

My other baby brother and she who sees Robins first.

They will process their own deer meat.  They are really fussy about fat and hair... the meat will be properly cared for and it will be canned.  Canned venison is the best way to eat deer meat if you ask me. The flavor is wonderful and it is fork tender.  I have a jar from them I have been hoarding...now I can open that one because they might share a new jar with us! 

A fork buck was taken by my cousin's fiancee on the first day of the hunt.  His first deer so he was real excited about that. 

So our woods have yielded two deer this hunting season...I believe each hunter can take two deer this year. The hunt ends next Saturday....so there is still hope for my brothers to get their deer. 

It is fun to see enthusiasm for hunting. 

Photos are from facebook.

Far Side

Oh Deer

The deer love the acorns in our yard.  Lately they have been feeding at night.

Last night a Fox or a Coyote went through the yard...his/her tracks were out there in the fresh snow, we brought the Trail Cam in to see if our best guess was right but the camera was not focused where he/she walked through.

We saw a buck tracks on one occasion. He showed up once on the trail cam.  He is most likely the buck that my sister in law shot.  She described him as a little six point buck.

Hunting successfully culls the herd.   If there is a good hunt less deer are road kill.
Last night on the way home from Bingo with my Dad I saw four deer crossing the road...luckily I saw them in time and avoided a collision.

My Dad and my Aunt Anna usually split the meat of one deer, yesterday was the day they cut up and washed the meat...ground some up for venison burger and canned 24 jars of meat.  They are meticulous about hair and tallow on the meat...neither are allowed.

We didn't win at Bingo but we were one number away from the $600 jackpot.  Next week there is no Bingo because of Thanksgiving.
Far Side

The Hunt

The Minnesota Deer Hunt begins this weekend.

IF we were hunters we could hunt from our yard.

These are photos on the Trail Cam in September.

My brother brought over a jar of canned venison...the last of his 2018 deer.  I think he is counting on getting a deer this weekend.   My Dad also plans to hunt.

It is still cold here, some of our snow has melted.  From the tracks in our yard we have several rabbits and a big Buck (Deer) went through.  Usually the last weekend of deer hunting is cold this year it will be cold the first weekend...maybe after that we will get a good old fashioned Indian Summer...I can always hope.

I finished and painted a wood carving yesterday...it has been in my carving bag a few months...good to finally finish it.  I took a photo that I will share sometime after I have given it away.

Far Side

Oh Deer

Far Guy said “look out the kitchen window.”  I grabbed my camera and got one photo.

Do you see him/her?

Brazen little buggar anyways….it then began to eat the frozen soggy Impatiens.

They must have been tasty…but then I scared the poor starving creature.

What?

It sauntered off down out driveway snacking on leaves and branches as he/she went along.

If I were a deer hunter I could hunt from my kitchen.

End of the week

I have six more Christmas Cards to create.  I packaged up all the Christmas Ornaments to mail or deliver later this month.  Yeah me, soon I can work on other projects!

We had a clinic appointment, they should make those places fragrance free as Far Guy had difficulty breathing after his appointment…it took about an hour for him to feel “normal” again after we left the building.

We visited one of our favorite antique shops…a few old photos were purchased and a woody station wagon with a surfboard that will find a place near the train set.

Deer Hunting Season starts today.

I hunted early.  No license needed.

These two were eating along the back road last Tuesday when I drove by they just looked at me, so I rolled down my window and snapped a few photos.

We still have snow…and more is forcast for the weekend.  Old Man Winter has arrived.  I thought maybe he was just making an early visit but it sounds like he may be staying….the bum anyways.

Monsters in the woods

The woods are coming alive, this weekend there will be swarms of blaze orange clothed hunters headed for deer stands in the early morning just before first light and back just after dark.

This deer stand is well camouflaged except for the new lumber used in the supports.

Tucked away in the woods the deer stands are practically weekend retreats. All the comforts of home away from home …heat (not that they will need it this weekend), snacks, hot drinks, a comfy lookout swivel chair…

 

I thought this one looked kinda like a monster in the woods.

Good Luck to all the hunters, we have lots of deer in our area so I hope it is a good hunt.

Neither Far Guy or I hunt anymore.  We used to, but we found we just liked being in the woods more than the hunting…and now we live in the woods …so we can go out anytime we want!  I enjoy hunting with my camera!

Deer Hunting

Yesterday I got up early (before sunrise early) and went to the deer stand with my Dad.  It was cold…frosty…we made our way on a well worn path to his deer stand by flashlight.   It is a deluxe deer stand high in the trees with stairs, complete with movable windows and heat.  It gets so cozy warm that you just want to go to sleep.  I have not been hunting alone with my Dad  since I was a teenager. My Dad likes hunting.  I took my camera.

The sun came up and the watch began.  We had some lunch, Dad told me some stories about his early working days when he left home at 16 years old and went to the shipyards in Berkley California with Bee and Hannah Kangas. I will write them down before I forget them and Dad is still around to answer my questions.

A nice buck walked in and Dad took a shot and missed. The deer made a quick u turn. The phone rang and it was my other baby brother asking “Did you get it?”  His deer stand is not too far away.  Dad said “No, I missed it.”  Then Dad said “I cannot hear you.” My brother dropped his phone… BANG…my sister in law “she who sees robins first” shot the nice buck.  Turned out to be an eight point buck.  Shortly after that when Dad was all settled in again…I walked home.  It was a nice day and the sun was finally out!

I came home had a piece of toast and finished sleeping. Later in the afternoon just before sunset we went for a ride.  We saw a limping deer by the old Jack McGrane farm…and seven others along our route.

 

It was a nice day of deer hunting.

My other baby brother sat with Dad for a long time later on Saturday, Dad saw one more deer but couldn’t get a clear shot.  So he will hunt again today.

 

November Snows

I think we are on our fifth, sixth, or seventh snowfall.  We don’t get much…it turns cloudy and dismal and spits some snow. The big snowfall missed us and the big city and  central  Minnesota got walloped. Tee hee. We like to share our snow.

See not even enough to shovel.

I have been working on finishing up some “stuff” for the craft sale on Saturday.  No worries after the sale I will list some carvings on the page on my sidebar.  I have not had a chance to start selling “stuff” on eBay yet…Facebook sales have been pretty good…no shipping involved!

I made Madison a bracelet that matches her dress for the winter formal.  I am working on Paige’s bracelet.  If the weather cooperates I will be their photographer.  For the winter formal girls ask their guys on the date.  Not that Paige has time for a guy…but someone caught her eye long enough for her to ask him to the dance.

Madison was our company over the weekend, she was hunting with my Dad and would show up for lunch and a visit.  They saw one buck…but missed it…I can’t recall my Dad ever missing a deer.  Missy didn’t miss it when it ran past her!  Josh has a wolf license…sure hope he gets one. (Josh is my nephew and he and his wife Missy live next door.)

 

Noah is coming this weekend to go deer hunting.  We have a big buck that skirts the woods behind the garages…Chance barks at him. We had a weasel or a mink in  the yard the other night…I went out to the garage and it ran through the yard.  We also have several bunny rabbits…funny what stories the snow can tell you.

 

Wistful Wednesday: Deer Hunting

I grew up deer hunting, first with my Dad just for an afternoon.  Later I got my own “stand” at Uncle Adolf’s place.  I had the campfire.  Uncle Adolf, my Dad and Uncle Andrew and various cousins would show up to check on me and warm up their sandwiches in the fire.  At the end of the day Dad would show up and unload my rifle and count the bullets…you only got so many.  Even with the shotgun I got three shots that’s it.

One year..I was old enough to have a Driver’s License and I was supposed to drive back into the farmhouse with Dad’s pickup…not sure why?  I cased my rifle and put it in the bed of the pickup.  Along the way I ran onto my cousin Hilda who was hunting squirrels.  I asked her if she wanted a ride..she did so she put her 22 in a case in the back of the truck.

I didn’t drive very far when a Game Warden stopped us.  The questions began. He checked my license and questioned Hilda at length about small game.  Then he wanted to see our weapons..fine…the only thing is they were loaded. (Ditzy girl hunters anyways.)  He gave us tickets and took our guns.  Oh boy…we had to show up at his office in Park Rapids a few days later with a parent.  He let us off easy with a warning and gave us our guns back.  He said “I hate to discourage young ladies from hunting…but next time unload your guns”  Ya…thank goodness we got off without a fine and the rifle I was using was my Mothers…I knew it would be back to the old shotgun for me.

In later years I would hunt with Far Guy.   We loved to be in the woods and we appreciated the venison.  Now we live in the woods and I hunt only with my camera.

 

Me and my Dad’s deer during hunting season about 1953.

Flu Shot and 32 Deer

I finally got my flu shot yesterday.  Far Guy got his shot on Saturday…they ran out of serum so I waited until yesterday.  My arm is sore, Far Guy seems fine…he says his arm itches.

One more thing to cross off my list!

We went for a ride right after supper.

This was the first of thirty-two deer we saw in a one square mile area. Deer season starts November 8 in our area.

The two deer across from our driveway ignored Chance..apparently they are “our” deer and have heard him bark before because they kept right on grazing…buggers.

It was getting too dark for great photos.  Thirty-two is the most we have counted in years.  I recall one time a number of years ago when forty deer were counted in one field.  The most we have seen in one field this year was eight.

I hope the deer hunters have a great hunt.

Belly deep in peas

Heard on the news yesterday that the Minnesota Deer hunt will be very limited.  IT WAS A HARD WINTER.  Give me a break.  This is the first year I have seen two sets of twin fawns in our area.  Every night we see deer. 

Belly deep in the neighbors pea field.

She can graze and walk along skimming the peas.

Even when Chance barked and I hollered “Get out of the peas”  She stood her ground…she was bound and determined to get a belly full.

Smart aleck deer anyway.

Seems like we have enough deer in this area.  Yet the idiots powers that be at the Minnesota DNR are limiting the antlerless (doe or fawn) permits in much of the State and in 95% of Minnesota only one deer can be harvested per hunter.  So that means more deer ticks which means more Lyme's and anaplasmosis which brings people into the clinic and hospitals, more road kills which is good news for the Bald Eagles and the auto body shop repair people.

I saw a bumper sticker today it said “Hunt with your kids so you don’t have to hunt for them”  It made sense to me.

Wistful Wednesday: The Hunting Bus

My Father in law was an avid deer hunter.  So were his friends.  They all went together and bought a bus.  They hunted in Montana and Wyoming with that bus.

It was a guy thing.

Inside the bus.

My Father In Law Marvin, with his friends Sam and Ben.  I had the best time looking around this old photo..they had Nut Goodies..Campbell’s Soup and Folgers Coffee above them..and 7 Up and some kind of hard liquor…I noted they cut a coffee can up and were using it for an ash tray.  Ben was hardly ever seen without a cigar in his mouth.

They must have kept clean..here is Sam washing his feet.  Note the bunks for sleeping.

Looks like they played some cards.

I wonder how warm it was in that bus..this looks like a cold morning..but it must have been a successful hunt..one deer for each hunter:)