Being married to Joe was my ticket to hunt. I had never hunted before and had never thought I would be a hunter but once Joe introduced me to hunting I was hooked. He hunted every season on any thing he could get a tag for. This first year I could hunt it would be for turkey and blacktail deer. I was excited and could not wait to go.
We went over movie after movie to teach me the difference between blacktail deer, mule deer and white tail.  I learned quickly but was quized time and again to be sure.
This year Joe's younger brother was going with us. We all had tags and decided to meet on Friday night and get together a plan.
We got up early before daylight and got all of our gear loaded. We left early and got to the starter point way early. But Joe said it would take us a little while to get into place. We got out and got our back packs on and our rifles. Joe headed up first then myself and then his brother. We had to climb up a hill through trees and shrubs and the ground was soft. As I went forward through the brush I almost lost my balance and was falling backwards with my heavy back pack. Joe's brother reached up and pushed me back up, asked me if I was okay then said if I wasn't in shape I should not be there. He was being a little hard on me at first but I guess I needed to be more aware at 4 in the morning and walking fast in an area I was unfamiliar with. I was not sure of what it was that was expected of me.  Married to Joe it was learn as you go. And this was the second hunting trip I had been on.
We made our way up the hill as it was getting light. Joe turned around and whispered where he wanted us to be and told me what to do as we climbed up the hill. He was staying on the ridge to the right, I was going to be over in the middle and his brother all the way over to the left. We would all climb up the hill looking for anything. Joe's brother went first and we gave him time to get over to the far left. Then Joe giving me more instructions told me to get over into position in the middle. He told me he would give me ten minutes and then we would all start about the same time to make our way to the top. It was getting a little more light and a little easier to see. I started working my way up the hill slowly. I would stop and listen and then head up again. I thought I heard something running but never saw anything. I had to climb up rocks and under tree limbs and found a bedding place for deer but nothing there. It didn't seem anything had been there any time recent. I got to the top first and didn't see anyone there. I sat on a big rock and ate some of my snacks that I had packed. It was good to get something to drink. I heard something to my right and there was Joe's brother heading toward me. He had seen a doe but that was it. We sat and talked for a short time when we saw Joe headed up to our right. He had taken a shot at a deer but had missed.  We all sat down deciding to go further up the hill. We took off and found a dirt road heading up the hill so we started walking. As we got a ways we stopped and Joe said he was going to have me go down the hill at this point. I was to sit on a tree limb and count to a hundred slowly. They would make their way up and at two different places they would head down the hill as well. Joe told me they would scare something out and for me to be on my toes to shoot something coming my way. I sat on the large limb and put a shell in the chamber. I started counting and I could hear as one of them was going through a lot of brush. I heard something running and it was getting closer and closer. I stood up and waited.
All of a sudden there were deer running out of the trees. There was a doe, then another doe, then a small buck. I put my 30-06 up to my shoulder and took aim and shot but he kept running. I chambered another bullet and shot again. This time it hit. He jumped up into the air and hit the ground and started rolling down the hill. The others were running off and I stood there wondering if I had done everything right. I knew that the guys probably heard me but I didn't know what to do after that. I went over and drug the deer over closer to where I was sitting. I decided to just sit and wait, they should be back for me soon. Time passed and no one was coming back. I decided to shoot my gun again to raise some attention. More time passed.
As the guys went down the hill they got to the turn in the road almost back to the truck. They met up with each other as Joe saw a small buck and took aim and shot him. They went up and got it. Joe turned to his brother and asked if he had seen me. He said no so Joe realized the shot he heard earlier must have been me. He told his brother to dress the deer out and take it to the truck and he would head back up hill to get me. It was late in the day and I was getting a little worried. It was good to see Joe heading my way with a big grin on his face. You got one. I said yes, but I didn't know what to do with it. We dressed the deer out and Joe took a picture of me. I was really proud of getting a deer. My first blacktail deer. I was hoping the first of many more to come.

Joe had a favorite spot to hunt turkey. It was on a private piece of property in western Oregon and the people were always so nice to let us go hunting there. I finally got a turkey tag after waiting a year to go hunting. So, my very first hunt was for turkey.... I was so excited. Joe was already down at his Mothers the whole week and I had to work so I headed down Friday nite. On the way down it was raining real hard now and then and I came across a rainbow that looked like it almost touched my car. I thought I should say a prayer and ask for success at getting a turkey,
I was kind of nervous as this was the first time to shoot anything bigger than a rabbit. Which I had done years before I met Joe. I always had guns and was a pretty good shot. But to be hunting with an avid hunter for the first time was a little scary.
We got up at 4 am and got our gear and headed for the truck. It was a half hour drive to the hunting spot so we drove in silence to the place he parked. We got out and got our guns and back packs and headed down towards a creek. I thought to myself I hope we don't have to cross this creek in the dark. Sure enough, he stops and takes my gun from me and hops across the slippery rocks to the other side. I swallowed hard and proceeded very carefully and I finally made it. My heart was about to jump out of my chest. But, I thought I needed to be calm and took a deep breath. We walked a short distance ahead and there was a hill right ahead of us that you could tell had been traveled on before. He handed me back my gun and told me to follow him. We had to get on our knees practically to get up this hill. I was slower at getting up there and he didn't wait for me. He kept going. I got to the top and found the trail he was on. Up on top the grass was so green and the trail went down a small hill and back up the other side. We were by a fence that we eventually stepped over. Right on the other side of the fence was a blind. It was set up with tree limbs and bushes and he told me to sit behind there and get comfortable. He went and set up decoys about 50 feet or so in front of us in a clearing.  He came and sat down and got out a couple of turkey calls and proceeded to call. He was agressive at calling and we heard a turkey way off in the distance getting closer with every call. He was real close and we watched as he went through a clearing just out of range and he kept going. Well, this just frustrated Joe and he got up and told me to stay there. He was going to follow that turkey. So, as I sat there I picked up the call and scatched it real slow. I thought I should practice so I would call awhile and put it down and the try again. I was sitting there for a couple of hours when I heard something in the bushes. I thought Joe was playing a trick on me and looked all around me but I didn't see anything. I sat real still watching and all of a sudden there was a turkey coming up the trail and crossed right in front of the blind and went over to the decoys. Then another and another and then a bunch in a group. They all passed by the blind and almost looked right at me. I thought this has to be a joke. Well, I thought I better do something so I picked up the call and  called one more time and one of them gobbled. I picked up the gun and shot him.  My heart rate had picked up to about double. As he flopped around the others just watched him and then they strolled on up the hill. I was wondering if  I had done the right thing. I went over and picked up the turkey and took it back to the blind and sat back down. I was shaking and real nervous thinking if Joe would like what I had just done. Joe was just at the edge of the woods when he watched me go over and pick the turkey up. When he got near he asked how many turkeys I had seen. I told him there was about fifteen or so that walked right in front of the blind. He shook his head. He started picking up the decoys and packing his gear. He decided to take a picture of me and the turkey and then I carried my turkey the gun and my back pack out until we got to the creek and he reached back for the gun. He didn't talk much going home. When he was preparing the turkey for the freezer he told me he had taken his younger brothers and other friends up there and no one else had even seen a turkey. I think he was a little upset but could not figure out why.  He never took me hunting there again. We had my turkey for Thanksgiving dinner and his mother made it a point to say that I had furnished the turkey this year......

I went to see an old friend in Oregon. She grew up around our house in Arizona but had ended up moving to Oregon and met a real nice guy there and got married. She had horses and lots of other animals and they were living in a real neat area. It was nice to see her again and she kept telling me she had a really interesting  guy that she could introduce me to. I finally gave in and she called Joe on the phone and explained what she was doing and then handed me the phone. As I heard his voice my heart stopped. It was a super low voice and I got real nervous. But as we talked he seemed quite friendly and easy to talk to. We talked for weeks after that. Every night after work we would spend hours on the phone. We lived an hour apart so it was hard to get the time to meet. We finally decided to meet half way at a steakhouse and have dinner. I gave him directions to the place and we were going to meet on a Friday night. I got there right on time but no Joe. It was raining and I got my umbrella out and walked up and down the parking lot looking for his truck. I didn't see any truck like he had described. I heard a truck coming up the road that was a little louder than normal and there was Joe. He had a big grin on his face. As he parked and got out I was walking over to him and he said your directions weren't the best. I guess he had gotten lost. We went in and had a nice dinner and a few drinks. It was like meeting with an old friend because we had talked on the phone so much we knew a lot about each other by this time. We spend a long time visiting and then went home our separate ways. Eventually we started spending more and more time together and I eventually moved in. Hunting season was approaching and I had to wait a year before I could put in for tags, so of course I could not go. Joe packed up all of his hunting stuff and took off the whole month. He called only once or twice the whole month.  When he got home that first hunting season he came over to me and put a ring on my finger and asked me to marry him. He said he was so happy that I was still here after the whole month and he thought I was the right person for him to marry.  So, Joe picked the day of Feb 14th for us to get married. His family showed up to help us celebrate. I could hardly wait until I could go hunting with him.

I moved my account and am looking forward to starting my stories again. I love writing about the places I have been and the things I have done. I will be adding some in the near future.
Thanks to everyone that has been following me. I appreciate all your nice comments. 

I will be back... doing some construction on site...

Welcome to my blog. Please check back soon for new entries.