Daddy's little duck hunter

When we found out we were having a girl, I called it.

The boys will go with the boys, and the girls will stick together.

I wasn't sure how I felt about this, having always been 'one of the boys'.

But here of late, Lance and Easton have been having some fun quality time duck hunting.

And it's rather heart warming to see them work together to get their stuff ready and spend time with each other.

Easton thinks he is THE COOLEST kid on the block when he gets to go hunting with Daddy.

He walks around with confidence as he prepares for the trip.

He layers up, gets his new waders on (that would fit a 10 year old boy, but he HAD TO HAVE THEM for Christmas), he requests face paint, he gets all the snacks into his camo backpack.

They head out the door, boys to the duck blind, girls at home.

It's a nice break for all of us I think.

Easton absolutely worships the ground Lance walks on.

And Lance has the patience of Job when he's got Easton one on one.

He gives him all the details of what to do, where to go, how to call the ducks.

Lets him stand in the water, just because he can.

Lets him help drive the boat.

It's really a beautiful relationship.

I do miss being 'one of the boys' but I know they're building a lifelong friendship & I am so thankful for that.

Halloween & The Pumpkin Patch

Halloween this year was sort of a flop.  Thankfully we did make it to Trunk-or-Treat or else it would have been really lame.  It should never rain when you're supposed to Trick-or-Treat.  But such, is life. 

Easton decided to be a Duck Hunter again this year.  We went back and forth between that and a Tennessee Football Player.  Duck Hunter was fine by me as we already have the necessities.  And adding a little more camo to the closet is better than wasting money on a costume he'll wear once. 

So, duck hunter it was.  He looks ready to get some ducks to me!

 

 

We also made a visit to the pumpkin patch.

The pumpkins were a bit picked over but we got 3 small pumpkins that look pretty cute on our side porch steps.  I think last year I remember thinking we needed to go earlier...maybe next year.

 

 

 

I hope you all have enjoyed your October!

Duck Hunting {she ain't no yuppie girl}

It's Duck Season.  Did you know that?  Well...me neither...till now!

This weekend on a whim Lance and I got a quiet afternoon to ourselves.

So what did we do?  Well.  Duck Hunting of course.

 

I swear, it's all this man thinks about right now.

Last night there might have been a minor case of the sads when he realized there is

only.5.more.weekends.left to hunt.

 

The shame.

 

Either way, last weekend I got to experience part of duck hunting, minus the 4am wake up call and the freezing temps.

I might still be a bit yuppie for that.  Momma likes her sleep.

 

And let me tell you, it's really a lot of work!

We back the Jon boat (named Peter by Easton) into the lake.

I hold the boat by the dock.  Lance parks the truck.

I don't do trucks with trailers.  It's embarassing how bad I am at that. That's a lesson for another day.

We then take a short 10 minuts boat ride to their spot.

At this point, we climb some stairs (on the side of the lake) Lance gets a dolly, removes his motor and gas tank from his boat, to put on Boat B that stays at the lake.

We walk across a small strip of land where Boat B is waiting.

We then load up Boat B, attach the motor and gas tank, and cross the flooded corn field.

 

We boated up and down this stream (channel, canal, river???) Lance showed me a few other blinds on the lake and we tried to find some ducks...

 

Their blind is a nice little set up.

It has a garage of sorts on the back to pull your boat in and camo it so they ducks don't see you.

 

That picture right there on the left is their 'blind'.

And all those ducks in the water are decoys.

Windy days are good for duck hunting...it makes the ducks appear like they're moving.

I learned a lot while on this little trip.  I'm just imparting some of my knowledge upon you.

You're welcome.

 

Then here on the right is the man bag.  It's a camo brief case of sorts.  Full of all sorts of things.

This part tickled me...toilet paper, shotgun shells, beef jerkey, pistichios, a warm hat.

You know.  The necessities. 

I hope this isn't like telling the contents of a womans purse.

Or going through your dads wallet. 

 

Anyways.  We stopped in at a popular location.

Where he'd seen some ducks hanging out before.

He checked.  I stayed in the boat.  He's got waders.  I don't. 

{I do now...he surprised me with some on Tuesday!  Roses?  Jewlery? Chocolates?  Nope.  Camo.}

 

Then we headed to his blind.

To wait and see what we'd find.

You do a lot of waiting in duck hunting.  And eating.  And resting. 

After a few minutes, he decided to see if I could shoot the shotgun.

He went first.  I wanted to watch him to see the kick back.  The force.  The noise.

It's loud!

My turn.  I'm pretty sure I might have just closed my eyes and pulled.

And I missed the coke can he'd thrown in as my target {that we also went and got once we got back in the boat...we didn't litter}.

But now that I know what to expect, I could probably hit a stationary object.

Flying duck?  Probably not. 

 

Hunting time is over at 3pm, and wouldn't you know at 3:10 we saw about 12 ducks.

Lance said they know what time it is.  When it's safe to fly freely.

Mother Nature.  She's a beautiful thing.

 

After this, we began the journey back to the dock. Jon Boat B across the flooded corn field. Remove motor. Remove gas tank. Prop boat up so it doesn't fill with water. Dolly across field. Put motor and tank on Jon Boat Peter. Back to the dock. Lance back the trailer down. I hold the boat. Load 'er up. 

 

Also, a few minor rules I learned on this trip.  Because we all know I'm a sucker for some rules:

Rule #1:  Don't LAY a gun down.  You prop it up.  Barrel Up.  If it misfires, at least it goes into the sky.

Rule #2: Always hold onto the gun in the boat.  At one point we hit something and I let the gun slip out of my hand...big no-no.

Rule #3: The person not responsible for getting the boat back on the trailer, is responsible for unloading the boat.   

 

Hunting Etiquette if you will. 

 

Would it have been my choice for a toddler-free Sunday afternoon?

Not likely.

But.  I'll do whatever it takes when it comes to being with my man.

And you know what?  It was pretty fun!  Relaxing.  So quiet and peaceful.  I kindly enjoyed myself.