Another Freeseman Wedding

I have the privilege of being married to a Freeseman, so with that, if there is yet another wedding, I get to attend with the Mrs. This was Colin and Katelyn wedding in Pella, Iowa. It was very interesting to see a lot of familiar faces from high school right from the get go. The church was beautiful and the ceremony was as it should be, absolutely wonderful.

I got to catch up with a few familiar faces, including Drew Pederson and his fiance Jenny Willms. It was great to catch up and hear about their upcoming nuptials as well.

What made this event great for me was my beloved wife. It was great having her next to me throughout the whole thing. Even when, AFTER we got all the way up into the ballroom for the reception she asked me to go back to the car and grab her comfy shoes. It was great to see her with her family.

I have gone out of my way in the past to avoid the whole dance part of weddings, but this wedding I was going to dance with Rachel whenever she wanted. I made a complete fool of myself, but she didn't care and that is what matters most to me.
Now I have no excuses for future weddings.

This women is my world.



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Spring: Finally

Even though I was able to get out and turkey hunt with Michael, it finally feels like spring is in full swing. Trees are full, flowers are blooming and work is insane. I have been able to get out and fish with Nick the few times he is home for any amount of time.

A couple of weeks ago I got out myself as Rachel was on call and I needed out. I brought the pup with and managed a few carp but nothing much.

After the fishing was nothing special, I decided to give a real run at morel mushroom hunting. I have found a grand total of 5 before this season and I knew with the right location I could find plenty.

Last year Nick found an excessive amount and with him gone, I just gave him a call and asked for coordinates. When I found 'the tree' it was double what I had found; ever.
I just kept adding to the bag.

I even managed to find a few in locations Nick didn't know about.

Ended up being exactly 3 pounds in the end. When I sautéed these little magnificent fungi with some onions and garlic, it was nirvana. 

 

Ok, so over a grilled pork chop may or may not have made it that much better.

This last weekend, I got to fish again with Nick, and Lisa came along. 

After fishing, Nick and I took one last shot at mushrooms. Again, a full bag and a couple huge ones.

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Guided by the Protégé

It has now come full circle. The padawan has learned well. The third weekend in April I was able to get back to the woods. Michael had spent all of Friday trying to find birds for me. I had a second season tag and he had a full season bow tag. Friday evening he was even able to put a few birds on the roost for morning at one of the larger tracts of public land in the area. We planned an EARLY morning start as it was the first weekend available in the state for a gun season and we expected company on this expansive public. Michael insisted we be to the spot by the latest of 3:30am....

I should have smothered the kid....

We got to our spot and there was not a vehicle in site! We never actually saw another person out there. It was rather pleasant.

We waited for enough time to pass before we headed for the roost site. We got close and came to a slow crawl. We inched our way into what we thought was a gobbler bedroom before we carefully and quietly set our decoys and got into our positions.


Nothing.

Not.
A.
Peep. 

Michael was beside himself. I have taught him everything I know and he was trying to guide me onto a bird. He was hoping for a better start to the morning. I suggested we move and he knew that birds roost on a prominent cottonwood point on the river.
We walked another 300 yards, keeping ourselves within shooting range of the river's edge, and then set up again. 
Michael and I sat there and soaked in the morning. A few distance gobbles. A couple of other successful hunters momentarily silencing the woods with their gun blasts. The cardinals. The geese. The smells. This was the kind of morning I had been day-dreaming about since November.

Gobble. And exactly where Michael said it would be.

About 100 yards out in the cottonwood finger we heard this magnificent beast sing his spring-time song.
He gobbled a few times more over the course an hour being taunted by a few clucks and purrs from my slate call and each time sounding a little closer.
On his last gobble I readied the gun and told Michael this guy was making his way towards us, intentional or not.
Twenty minutes later I hear Michael, "There's a turkey right in front of us."
 "What!?" is all I could blurt out.
"it's right in front of us... 3 o' clock... It's a longbeard!"
A great big gobbler was making his way straight at us. He was taking his sweet time as any public land gobbler does to survive. He would take a step and pause to look. Step, pause, look. Repeat.
 At 40 yards he stretched his neck and caught sight of our decoys. He went into full strut and then gobbled. This entire time Michael and I are bantering back and forth. We were trying to figure out whom should shoot. We wanted to see him get into the decoys and give us a show, but he was a wary bird that had seen a few set-ups already. He came to a spot that was partially open in the downed branch that was shielding us from his direct view. I merely clicked off the safety on my gun and he caught it. Full alert. For a full two minutes he stood at high alert. Michael was shaking so bad his arrow was bouncing on the end of his bow. I was shaking so bad the end of my barrel was bouncing around as well. I finally craned his neck back and came out of alert. His full head and neck gave me an opening.

BOOM!

Before I could even think I was on top of him. Michael hadn't even gotten upright before I was able to get to him. He didn't even flop. Thank you Hevi-Shot.

 Michael had successfully guided me onto a big beautiful gobbler. We doubled on jakes last year, but we were both looking for a mature bird this year. We had hunted Big Marsh for turkeys for many years and this was the first time we were able to put one on the ground. It turned out to be a spectacularly colored Eastern turkey.

Again, Michael has learned well, and I came out with the greatest turkey photo to date.

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Rustick Wood Shop Show

At the tale end March I took the plunge and made an active approach at promoting my business. It was at  little cost and at this point I had nothing to lose but gas money. I took a spot as a vendor at the Iowa Taxidermy Association Show in Marshalltown, Iowa. A taxidermy neighbor of Nick's suggested I give it a shot and I went for it. I took everything I had and them some. I made a lot of contacts, and got to know a ton of people. I was even able to make some sales. I was informed by my taxidermy friend that many people were talking about my booth.

 Talk is always good!
I sold a few slabs, a few custom orders, and at the last minute of the weekend, I sold one of the end tables. I was asked to attend again next year, and being a complete greenhorn, I plan on upping my game. I went into this without any knowledge of my potential customer base. I was catering my product to a more public crowd. I figured out in short time that most of the customers were taxidermist. I did my best and have splendid ideas for next year.

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