Survival Aides

There are times in our lives when we wish we had ways of hearing the news,or possibly break the monotony with a little music. They would certainly come in handy in the areas struck by the ice storm last week. Having gone through an ice storm ourselves a couple of years ago... We know how important having a distraction to the constant quiet can be. News of the outside. Oh yes! They would be great to add to the kit for the car if you should have to travel long distances. No matter what time of year. Today, I will be telling you about two emergency devices produced by a company called Emergency Essentials. Hubby and I received them from a friend for Christmas. Both independent of batteries that need to be changed,no need for a direct electrical connection. Nothing more than a way to crank the crank is necessary to power either the solar radio, or the emergency flashlight. Just 5 hours of full sunlight will provide 30 minutes of listening time. However, if you are able to fully charge the NiMH battery,which takes 35 to 40 hours,listening time increases to 7 hours. Another attribute for energy production in case the sun isn't available is the hand crank.Cranking for one minute will power the battery for 20 minutes or more of continuous radio play. An additional positive characteristic for this little radio is it's capability to pickup AM/FM and Weather band stations. We haven't taken it out of the house yet,but were impressed after taking it out of the wrapping. Maybe even a little extra light on the subject wouldn't be a bad idea either. As you can see we haven't tried the flashlight as of this date. Better get it out of the package before we need it. I am always looking for ways to have some normalcy when things are in survival mode. One of my thoughts presently is "How will extreme cold effect performance?" Do any of you have experiences with these products or others similar to them? ;)

Inauguration Day Blessing

It is You - by the Newsboys

As we lift up our hands Will you meet us here? As we call on your name Will you meet us here? We have come to this place To worship you God of mercy and grace It is you We adore It is you Praises are for Only you The heaven's declare It is you It is you Holy, holy is our God Almighty Holy, holy is his name alone Holy, holy is our God Almighty Holy, holy is his name alone It is you We adore It is you Only you As we lift up our hands Will you meet us here? As we call on your name Will you meet us here? We have come to this place To worship you God of mercy and grace It is you We adore It is you Praises are for Only you The heaven's declare It is you It is you Holy, holy is our God Almighty Holy, holy is his name alone Holy, holy is our God Almighty Holy, holy is his name alone As we lift up our hands As we call on your name Will you visit this place By your mercy and grace As we lift up our hands As we call on your name Will you visit this place By your mercy and grace It is you We adore It is you It is you Holy, holy is our God Almighty Holy, holy is his name alone Holy, holy is our God Almighty Holy, holy is his name alone Holy, holy is our God Almighty Holy, holy is his name alone Holy, holy is our God Almighty Holy, holy is his name alone It is you We adore It is you Only you I would like to honor God for giving us another Inauguration Day. Another day in a Free America which we must continue to guard - not take for granted. Be on guard that this freedom may be taken from us within our own borders... The thought comes you will see me as an alarmist. What I will say is that things happen, because we sweep little changes under the rug, and then when they all add up it is too late. The rug rises to encircle and smother. We may not agree on the direction our Country is going,but for this day let us join with others in lifting our hands to our hearts. Pledge allegiance to this great nation and the leaders we are placing in office to stand as a mind United.

Expressed opinions on this blog are those of the administrator...

Timber Life's Tundra

This is the start of our regular route to the outside world beyond Timber Life. Walking in windchills between -30 and -40 to get pictures further down the drive aren't in the plans today. Hubby made a path with our Belarus tractor out in the fields yesterday to get our 4x4 pick-up out to the road a half mile to the west. He missed work on Monday and things were beginning to stack up so he had to make the 45 minute drive. The wind blew things back in as he returned to park the tractor...Instead of risking the possibility of having to walk in the dark he made some arrangements to stay with his brother overnight. It looks like he will stay another night in town since he must make sure he gets to work before 8:00 in the morning. So goes the winter life on Timber Life's Tundra. Stay warm everybody... ;)

Iowa Deer Muzzleloader Coming to an End

The Iowa Deer Hunting seasons are beginning to wind down. Last night brought a new blanket of snow to cover what had become bare to ice covered ground. Wind is to start being a factor tomorrow, opening day of the January Antlerless that runs from the 11th - 25th. More snow is on the way for Monday and Tuesday - a drop off of daytime highs. Ah winter... Today is the end of the second Muzzleloader season. There has been some activity on the adjacent open bean field to the south. At this point, the only report I have heard is of not getting kills with shots fired. Deer injuries seemed to have been the majority of results. I did hear from a hunter tracking a droptine buck. An atypical antler formation for this area, estimating it to score 180 - 200 on the Boone & Crockett scale. He told me that he had injured him and the animal was observed to be staying in my timber. I gave him permission to get the buck if it had been injured, that was early this past week. Another stipulation was that I get to see this buck that lived in our neighborhood. So far no updates have been received as to his succcess... 2008-2009 Iowa Deer Seasons Youth - Sep. 20th - Oct. 5th Disabled - Sep. 20th - Oct. 5th Archery- Oct. 1st - Dec. 5th Dec. 22th - Jan. 10th Muzzleloader - Early Oct. 11th - 19th Late Dec. 22nd - Jan. 10th Shotgun - First Dec. 6th - 10th Second Dec. 13th - 21st November Anterless - Nov. 28th - 30th January Antlerless- Jan. 11th - 25 th STATEWIDE RESULTS - Last Updated: Sat. Jan. 10th 10:45:39 CST 2009 Does - 64652 Antlered Bucks - 48918 Button Bucks - 13846 Shed Antler Bucks - 986 Total as of last update - 128402

Happy New Year 2009!

Kenny G is a favorite musician of mine...I would like to share this montage of our American past with you to ring in the New Year.

Sadie Says - I've Been a Good Girl

I've been a really "Good Girl" this year! My First Christmas has come and gone. Nephew Nick and niece Alexa got me a a doggy Christmas stocking filled with lovely fetch toys.Now it's time to get down to some chewing and ripping . Hope you all are having a great holiday season too! ;)

Fred Thompson on the Economy

My post today is off topic to most of what is published here. I will not apologize for having strong opinions about the state of where our country has gone. Bureaucratic arrogance has knocked the underpinnings out of the foundation. Common sense no longer has a place in government. Grand speeches,lawyer doublespeak, that in essence says nothing, but makes people feel good. Former Presidential Candidate Fred Thompson, has given us his point of view on what is happening with our national economy. Certainly,we all have opinions on how we see our current state of affairs in America and how they will play out in the future... I find that I have common thoughts with those expressed by Mr. Thompson...He may be saying them in jest. However, maybe his thoughts will give us something to consider if we are at a point where we are letting others do the thinking for us.

The video is 8 minutes long - in my opinion worth every minute if you have the time to spare...

Merry Christmas to All...

What a marvelous time of year we have reached...The young, the old and everyone in between are gathering to reflect on what the past year(s) has meant to them. Gifts may or may not be exchanged... My hope for you all is that you get to share the day with all those you hold near and dear. Merry Christmas from Timber Life

Iowa Shotgun Deer Season Comes to a Close

This past week brought a couple of excursions out to sit and take in the cold late afternoon temperatures waiting for deer. The wind was almost nothing,so a couple of hours outside wasn't to bad. Keeping in mind that having the wind in your face to keep the deer from identifying your presence was an upper most concern. Late Wednesday afternoon, I took refuge with my back in the cleft of a standing tree, with a fallen one laying in a south to north direction to my left, in front. The location was five feet from heavily traveled deer trails to my right along either side of a fence line. I always try to get to the location an hour before known activity. The first deer to come along was a young doe running the trail on the other side of the fence. Taking the route on my mentor/neighbor's property to a waterway ditch, jumped the fence, ran up the hill and looked back. I was busted because I had stood up to try to change locations. She turned and watched me for the longest time before she went a short distance,hopped another fence to the cornfield. I moved to a location that was backed on the east by a fence with heavy rosebrush cover. I sat in between two paths that were heavily traveled, usually. Expecting the deer to come over the fence within feet from behind. After I moved, the deer were seen at a distance and didn't come over the usual route until I had been in the house for ten minutes. Thursday, the last day spent actively hunting in the late afternoon took me to the timber of my neighbor on the other side of the fence. He had put up a makeshift partial blind that would deflect wind and hide your presence if you remained relatively still. It sat just a short distance from the trail I spoke of previously. Deer were starting to arrive as daylight was beginning to leave me. They passed to the south of me going from east to west. The closest deer I had within what might have been a good shot was a spike buck. He was on the other side of the fence wouldn't you know. Thinking my opportunities for the day were finished I had just started to pickup my chair to head back to the house. I hadn't checked behind me before I made the commotion. Bless them! The deer had started down the very path I was waiting on,due to my comedy of errors I wouldn't be having one chance to shoot. They saw me and headed southeast, back to places out of sight. My season ended with family obligations and frigid weather. Oh yes, no deer, but a lot of interesting experiences. ;)

Beautiful Snow

It doesn't take you long to see that we are once again Beginning to look a lot like Christmas. We along with many others will see a white holiday in a little over a week due to the weather systems passing our way this week. Today is the fourth day of the Second Shotgun season. Sunday,day two, was the last time I was out to attempt to hunt. Around 7:00 A.M. I positioned myself at the northeast corner of the house. Deer were feeding under the far Oak trees, closest to the fence, seen in the picture. They had started to move to the east. My target was a dominant doe...She had started to move, paused between two small saplings, I took a shot with my little Remington 20 gauge. She hopped as if she had been stung, took off over the fence leading her group without stopping in my line of sight. The clan went wild, joined another bunch munching on exposed pasture grasses and took of for the safety of my mentor/neighbor's timber. Checking for a bloodtrail - coming up with nothing this time around...with the temperatures taking a real nose dive Sunday morning, around 10:00 A.M., it has become very uncomfortable to be out since then. The season continues until next Sunday. Only time will tell if I will brave the elements after the wily Whitetail...

Iowa Second Deer Shotgun Season Opener

Iowa saw another shotgun deer season open on December 13th. My day started off with a short walk at 5:45 A.M. into the North pasture to sit beside a pile of wood to await the legal shooting hours to arrive. The weather wasn't too bad with temperatures in the 30's and low breezes to start with. On my initial trip out, I came across an adult deer by the sound of the snort as it left it's feeding on acorns, before I entered the pasture. Then I woke up a doe with two fawns on the east side of a draw, a path frequented by deer often. The only light at the time was the brilliant moon. The time seemed to pass slowly...I kept writing mentally a research paper for my computer literacy class...then some blogposts. Too bad I didn't have my notebook and a penlight. Hmmm, maybe the pen wouldn't have worked from the cold? It wasn't to long before I heard the crunching of snow behind me. The sound of one deer hopping the fence, coming my direction, then another after a time. I knew that I shouldn't be doing to many fast movements ,even with the light still not bright enough to legally shoot. The first deer, a fawn , came around to the west end of the wood pile and got a visualization of me. Still I didn't move . I could see by the body language, ears pulled back, meaning it wouldn't be long before it would be taking flight. Both deer took off on a different path back to the neighbor's timber they had exited not long before. Sunrise brought sightings of deer everywhere...out of range. My day ended with sitting inside the fallen hickory,in the funnel I have spoken of before.Temperatures had warmed up into the upper 40's melting the snow off somewhat.The deer remained just across the ravine, south of where I was stationed. The wind had been coming out of the south all day. Deciding as the daylight was waning to go back into the house, gunshots moved a couple of groups of deer across the soybean field to the west of my location. The first group consisted of does and fawns. It looked like a doe had been injured, so I began my approach to see if I could take advantage of the situation before the sun totally set for this opening day. As, I walked toward the group they seemed to be curious,they stood for the longest time. Getting closer I alarmed them little by little. The one I thought was injured was the last to take off but she headed over the field, fence, pasture into the cornfield to the north with the rest of her group. So, ended my first day, of the Iowa Second Deer Shotgun season that runs from December 13th - 21st. ;)

Shotgun Deer Season One

Shotgun Deer Season one opened here in Iowa last Saturday, December the 6th. The season runs from December 6th - 10th. As you may have heard from Darrell over at AlphaTrilogy - Iowa experienced some high, cold winds, for those brave enough to head out to try their skill at bringing down a deer or two. Checkout his hunting experiences with friend Dana and Dana's cousins.

This year I didn't have my license on day one. It wasn't until the evening of Sunday, day two, I went out to wait for the deer to come through with the "normal" evening routine. Which didn't turn out to be routine. Nobody showed up on cue. Not even an orphaned fawn or two scratching under the Oak trees for acorns. Of course, earlier in the day, there was a mixed entourage touting their presence in our front yard and just beyond the fence of the North pasture. It wasn't until my mentor/ neighbor went through his field, that there were any signs of the much hunted animal, at a distance to great for my shotgun to do much good. Several bucks and does were headed for the cornfield north of our North pasture. Monday, day three, I spent some time in the funnel area I worked on this fall. Saw a fawn resting...it would get excited and move just a little further away when I would stand up occasionally to assess the situation. As the chill started to set in from inactivity I went on a search. Looking in a tried and true location it brought an adult sighting, but with a loud exiting snort it wasn't going to stay around to become a target. The story goes if you wait long enough the deer will return to the same spot it left. I didn't wait for it to return. Gun activity in the surrounding countryside drove some does to run across open territory into the safety of the tree line seperating our tilled fields. Very majestic leaping as they swiftly ran for what they perceived as the corridor to safety. Merlin, my mentor, has gotten a doe and button buck so far. Last night, day 3, I heard a couple of shots ring out around 5:00 P.M. pretty close to my house. It was Merlin, he was chasing a deer I had moved along from my yard after my return from scooping our drive in the preparation for another round of weather. He said he had a chance at a 10 point buck and let it walk because he thought the venison would be too tough. I encouraged him to get that guy if the opportunity repeated itself. The technique in cooking older animals is low heat for an extended period from the reading I have done. Today, day 4, we have frozen rain built up on the surfaces with snow changing to blowing snow by the end of the day. If I don't get out today or tomorrow, onto season two from December 13th - 21st. I bought two landowner tags to tempt fate... or the weather. ;)