Well, the boats are all put away, the dock’s out of the water….and the leaves have fallen….

I really enjoyed fishing this year and I can’t wait till spring. But that doesn’t mean that there’s not a lot of fun to be had!  It’s time to do some deer hunting and time to get the snowmobiles ready for riding – can’t wait!

This blog posting is a little different than previous entries.   As usual I’ve tried to share my outdoor activities, but this time I’ve also included a little bit of travel to South Carolina.   I caught fish out there so it’s appropriate….but it also includes some food pics – just couldn’t pass up posting those pictures!

But first, a little bit about an outing that Ryan and I had to the family farm.   We just wanted to get out and enjoy nature.   So we hiked back into the Little Wabash River bottoms, cooked some food over a campfire, and of course enjoyed a cigar together.  It was special to spend time with Ryan as he doesn’t get much free time from work.

Here are a few pictures….

We did a little hunting for hen or chicken of the woods.   We did find a couple but they were just too old and so we couldn’t harvest them…

Was fun to relax and visit – the time went to quickly…

And of course Ryan fixed a great meal of filet mignon stew with veggies, potatoes etc.  It was really tasty!

It was a great few days being in the outdoors!

Now, let’s slide towards deer hunting.   Andy has been putting time in practicing all year. He’s able to put together some really tight shot groups. I think this is the year – he’s ready to score his first deer.  Every November, usually the first or second weekend, Andy and I go to southern Illinois where we meet Gene, Scott, Kyle, and Zach. It’s my favorite weekend of the fall. We usually see several deer and even if we don’t, we enjoy some wonderful camaraderie. This year was no different. The weather was warm but still saw some deer. And then of course, there’s always the fire in the evening matched with some tasty cigars.  Here are a few pictures from the weekend…

And of course, here’s a couple of the obligatory selfies of getting ready for the evening hunt and sitting in the stand….

We always eat well – Scott makes sure of that!   Here’s a picture of the best venison filet I’ve ever eaten – it was seasoned and cooked to perfection…..

And we were successful with a nice sized doe being brought to camp….

And here is another picture of a buck that Kyle harvested – what a beautiful deer!

Andy set up a ground blind to be able to hunt with Sarah in a few weeks.   Little did Andy know that the ground blind would hardly be used before Sarah caught the “deer hunting” bug!   More on that later, but here’s a picture of setting up the ground blind….

Now for a little change of location….Lesa and I have established a fall tradition of going to South Carolina in November. We’ve found that the weather is excellent, the seafood is in season and wonderful, and there are few other tourists. This year was no different except that we weren’t alone. We met my brother David and his wife Connie mid-week. It was great fun to be with them. And then another of my brothers, Ralph and his wife Julie came down towards the end of the week and surprised David and Connie…..but I’m getting ahead of myself…..

On Monday of our trip I went fishing with a guide. His name is Captain Bill Kendrick of Sonrise Charters. He is a good Christian man and really knows how to fish. I had a great time fishing with Bill and plan to fish with him again next year.  Here’s a picture of Captain Bill and his boat.  It was a great flats boat to fish out of as it was truly flat with no sides and can float in literally 3″ of water – a flats boat by all definitions!

Here are a few pictures of fish we brought to the boat – it was really a lot of fun!  The first is a sea trout, and the next two are redfish….

Of course we had a lot of great seafood while we were down there – most everything’s fresh from the area and it tastes like it.

While we were there, we enjoyed seeing the “super moon”.  And beach pictures, both sunset and moon were really pretty….

As I mentioned before Dave and Connie joined us on the trip. Ralph and Julie surprised them on Thursday afternoon at a neat little cigar bar called Peaceful Henry’s in Blufton.  After Ralph conducted some business we were able to really vacation together. We had lots of fun and truly cherished the opportunity to get to see each other….

Okay, another venue change!….back to deer hunting in Illinois!   Andy continues to go after his first white tail. And his enthusiasm has infected his wife. Sarah has very recently taken up bow hunting and shooting – and is really enjoying it. I don’t think it will be long until one of them makes the connection and hangs one up!

All in all, it’s been a great fall…and I’m ready now to head into snowmobile season – sure hope Mother Nature cooperates!

See you soon!