2021 Hunting Season.

My bow hunting season started October 22 this year even though opening date was September 3 of 2021. That was the date of my first sit. But as most of you know hunting season goes pretty much year-round. We are either planning our hunts, thinking about our hunts or doing our hunts. As soon as bow season is over I am thinking about the next season. Throughout the summer I am setting up trail cams and checking pictures weekly. I cannot get enough of bow hunting.

I only had three trail cams set up this year. They were all within a mile and a half of each other. I knew there were big deers in the area and I didn't need to go any further. Sometime in July I started getting some nice pictures of bucks and they got me all giggity, again.

Another thing I do to keep myself occupied between hunting seasons is applying for other tags or buying points in North Dakota or other states. When applying for North Dakota rifle tag this year I was about to put in for my home unit 2B. I hunted unit 4C last year with good friends Enslow and Don B, but never pulled the trigger. (For the 4C hunting story click here.) But this year just about when I was going to hit enter to apply for my home unit I got a call from Sam who grew up in Medora and he asked if I had applied for my rifle tag yet. I told him I haven't applied yet but was just about to. He said, "Don't hit send, you should hunt out here in 4D. I think I can get you on some prime land to shoot a big muley!" How could I say no to that?

So I applied for that unit and surprisingly got lucky. After I received notification that I drew the tag I immediately made reservations in a motel in Medora because I knew the town gets pretty packed during rifle season. The dates of the hunt were going to be November 10 through the 14th. This is what worked with Sam's schedule and being the second week of rifle season makes the hunting even better. These dates also worked for Taylor who volunteered to be our pack boy. I couldn't wait to hunt some new territory, especially in the Badlands.

I don't like hunting early bow season because of the mosquitoes and heat. My favorite time to hunt with my crossbow is late October and November. To me it feels more like hunting season when the leaves are changing and the bugs are dead. Mosquitoes suck… Get it?

I hunted a handful of times in October with not much luck. For some reason not much was moving. I would see some skinheads but the only buckaroos I ever saw were pretty small and I knew there were bigger ones in the area. The last week of October I wasn't feeling the greatest but I went hunting a couple times. On November 1st, I made an appointment to get checked out and she told me I had pneumonia. Good times. I got some antibiotics, a steroid shot and a nebulizer to do four times a day. Two days later on November 3 I was riding in an ambulance to the hospital. You can read more about it here, Pneumonia Sucks.

What are the odds? What are the odds that I would get sick and my hunting trip I was looking forward to all year was going to be canceled? I was in the hospital until November 8 and I was supposed to take off for Medora on November 10. I didn't want to but I called Sam and canceled the hunt. That sucked. There was no way I would have the endurance to do a hunt in the condition my condition was in.

Anyway, back to hunting. November 16 was the first day I was back in the blind. I still wasn't feeling the greatest but I would rather feel like crap in the blind than feel like crap in the house. I hunted a handful more times in November with no luck.

When I woke up on December 19 I believe it was 9 ° and I could hear the wind blowing. The wind was out of the south, with that it was going to warm up to around 30°. But it still sounded gross out as I laid in my warm bed. Around noon I decided I was going to go hunting for the 14th time of bow season. Even though I shouldn't hunt this spot with any wind out of the south I was going to press my luck hopefully just one more time. If the deer come from the east or straight north they will bust me in this spot. If the wind is out of the southeast this spot is a no go. But with the wind out of the south or southwest I was hoping they would come from the northwest. That was my only chance.

I got in the chair around 3 PM and started putting on the layers of clothing to keep out the North Dakota suck. Once I was bundled up, dad grabbed my crossbow and attached it to the wheelchair. Then he grabbed the hand crank cocker to pull back the string on the crossbow. With that, mom said, "Good luck," as I went out the door.

A couple weeks before dad cleared a path to my blind with the Bobcat. He didn't have the Bobcat plugged in so after dinner he had to shovel some of the snow that had blown in from the southwest. That was only a couple hours earlier and my path was already getting blown in again. So I had to put my wheelchair in third gear and hit it hard. I made it with a little help from dad pushing on back. Once we got to my pop-up blind camouflaged in Mossy Oak, dad lifted the front of the blind and I backed in. Then I get close to the front of the blind so he can reach in and place the arrow on my crossbow. This is the same process no matter who is helping me get ready which is usually mom, dad or Don B. Then dad reaches in and takes the crossbow off of safety. He then said good luck and was on his way.

As soon as he is walking away I make sure everything is lined up and I also make sure what my shooting zone is, left to right. Once that is done I settle back and let everything else settle down around me.

Pretty soon the birds, rabbits and squirrels are running around like I am not there. This is my me time. My happy place. Anything I do is up to me and only me. I can just enjoy nature or pull the trigger. Or both. Totally up to me.

I believe I watched dad walk away right at 3:30 PM, perfect. That day legal shooting time was until 5:14 PM. Usually the deers in this spot don't show up until at least 45 minutes before dark if they show at all. Most of the time it's the last ten minutes when they make an appearance. As I was looking around the snow covered ground there weren't too many deer tracks. There were a lot of rabbit and bird tracks. Then I remembered my cousin Jason called me the day before and said he saw herd of deer in their wintering grounds not too far from where I was. I wasn't sure if these deers had left or not. I started to think maybe this was going to be a very slow evening.

I really don't mind sitting in the blind and not seen anything. Maybe because I am used to it or maybe it is just because I enjoy being out there, just me and nature. But I have been lucky in this spot even though it is very hit or miss. Mostly a lot of misses, meaning not seeing any big game. But I knew I had slayed four buckaroos in this very same spot. Three of which have been in the last three years.

I knew the time was coming up, that golden time when if something was going to show up they were going to show up. I looked down at my phone to see the time and it said 4:24 PM. Right at that exact same time I heard crunching of snow. I have spent enough time in the woods to know that this could mean many different things. Things like a field mouse or a goofy squirrel can sound like a deer when things are quiet. But as soon as I looked up I knew different. Through the little shelter belt in front of me I could see a deer making its way through the rows of trees. I was kind of taken back because I do not expect it that early. Then I looked up to see an antler and I got excited. Once he made his way into the clearing I recognized the buck from numerous encounters throughout that season. It was the 3 x 0. During the second week in November one side of his rack got busted off. He walked right in. Inside of 10 yards and just stood there. He stared right into the blind and I wondered if he would see me. But he did not. When they are that close even though it is dark in the blind you cannot make any movement or you will get busted. I wondered if he would smell me with the wind pretty much at my back. But he did not. He stood there foraging for ten minutes while I was enjoying the show. It is awesome being that close and knowing they have no clue that you are there.

I was trying to make up in my mind if I was going to take a shot if he gave me a shot. He was aimed right at me so I knew I would have to wait until he was broadside. That may never happen. I also knew that the forecast sucked. The wind the next several days was going to be from the south or southeast which is a no go for this spot. Then it was Christmas Eve and Christmas and after that the negative North Dakota suck was coming in until the end of season which is January 2 this year. I also knew that my freezer was getting low of deer meat. A couple rings of country style ring sausage and a couple logs of summer sausage were about it. Gosh I love meat in tube form. But I digress…

I was thinking about all these things while he was still munching on some golden nuggets. I looked down at my phone and it said 4:42 PM. He had been in front of me for almost 20 minutes just eating but every once in a while he would look back to the north. I thought maybe there was something else coming in but there was no other movement. All of a sudden his backend started to drift a little bit to the south. He was just about broadside when he reached back with his head to lick or itch something on his left side. I knew this was my opportunity, so I lined up the crosshairs of my scope on the Carbon Express Intercept crossbow behind his right shoulder and a little below the middle mass of his body and pulled the trigger. The next thing I knew is his back legs kicked up as I heard a big crack. He took off straight to the east and was out of sight within a second. I started shaking as normal and I looked at my phone and it said 4:45 PM. I listened to hear him crash but in the snow I knew this would be futile. I then looked out of the blind at the snow and saw some blood on the fresh snow. I knew it was a good hit but you never want to be confident. It is impossible to follow the arrow when you are shooting 365 feet per second at a target that is 8 yards away. But I was confident I was aiming in the giggity spot.

I collected myself and dialed home at 4:47 PM. Mom answered and said, "Hello. What's up?" I was holding back tears when I replied, "I shot a buck!" She replied, "A big one!" I responded, "Nope. Not this time. I shot the 3 x 0." I could hear in her voice she was excited and she said, "Awesome. I will be out shortly."

After that I sent a SnapChat video to the BS group I am in that said a lot of expletives with I shot a buck. This group is made of 20 or so guys from North Dakota who enjoy hunting, laughing, joking, drinking and a lot of other stuff and things that shouldn't be said here.

I then began to look for more blood out the windows of the blind. I thought I could see some more towards the direction he ran. I then dialed Don B at 4:54 PM. He answered the phone with, "What the hell do you want?" I giggled because I knew what he meant. He knew I would only call this time of day for him to come help track and gut the deer. I replied, "I shot a buck and I think it's a good hit." "Good job. I will be on my way shortly," he explained. I then asked him, "Is T-rav home? Could you give a jingle?" He said, "He didn't know but he would call him right away." If you have read my other stories T-rav is my other tracker and gut man.

By that time I could hear mom's footsteps through the snow. I had her lift the front of the blind and I drove out. I asked her to look for some blood and she followed the deer's tracks a little bit and saw some spatterings here and there. But there sure wasn't a lot. I was kind of nervous as I said we should just head in and wait for the boys. At this point it had only been about 15 minutes since the shot and you should wait at least a half-hour to start tracking, preferably an hour.

Once inside I had mom take the crossbow off of my tray on my wheelchair so I could tilt back and give my derrière some relief. I was just about to recline when there was a call on my phone from Sam. He is in the BS group. He answered the phone, "Good job killer!" He asked about the shot and we went over it. I told him about the buck. He gave me the confidence that I was going to find the buck dead. About that time I saw headlights coming down the driveway so I got off the phone. I told Sam I would for sure keep him and boys informed on what happens.

I thought it was Don B and T-rav but then I saw the clearance lights and I knew it was dad. He was there to help get me out of the blind when I was done hunting. He had no clue that I had shot anything yet. I told him the story and what was happening. After story time I saw more headlights coming down the driveway. Dad said he was going to plug-in the Bobcat and the guys came in the house. I told them the quick story and the three of us went out to the scene of the crime. The snow had blown in my path on the way back out so I had to give it the onion to get through the North Dakota suck.

When we got to the crime scene, I told them where the buck was standing and which way he was looking when I took the shot. I explained the direction he took off and they started looking for blood. Don B asked if I had found the arrow and I explained that I heard a big crack after I shot him I figured my arrow hit a tree and ricocheted off somewhere in the snow. As like mom found, there was little bit of blood where the arrow went through the buck but not a whole lot. Don B said he would look for the arrow as T-rav shined his flashlight in the snow for more blood. Surprisingly Don B found the arrow laying on the snow not far away from the impact site. It was lathered in blood from tip to knock. It's a good thing to see. My confidence went up a little. He placed the arrow on my tray and they both took off to the east.

This is always a nerve-racking time for me. Thinking to myself, "Are they going to find it? Was it a good shot? Am I going to eat deer heart or deer liver tomorrow?" These are the things I think about when they are tracking. As they were following the track I could hear one of them say, "Here is some blood." "More blood over here," was repeated until I could hear them talking to each other. The next thing I could hear was them dragging something through the snow. Don B yelled, "Next time shoot one with both antlers! It would be a lot easier to drag!" We all laughed as I could see them pulling him into view with Don B pulling on the antler and T-rav pulling on a front leg. They brought him in front of me and I asked how far he went. T-rav responded, "Maybe 50 yards." He then explained, "By the look of the tracks, it looked like he was running and didn't know he was dead. It looked like he piled up into a ball mid jump." T-rav then grabbed the tag off of my tray and started cutting the dates out and applied it to the antler. As we were doing this Don B was pulling out his knife and saw to get the field dressing underway. Don B then said, "Look at this weird coloring of hair on his chest in between his front legs." He then said, "I think his mother was a skunk!" I shook my head and laughed. Good grief. There was white striping in between the legs. It was neat. T-rav also pointed out how the buck broke off his antler directly from the skull. It wasn't snapped or cracked anywhere. Completely gone and there was still some redness around the area. Maybe he shed the other one off and this one is just awnery. Anyway, weird scenario.

I then said I needed to head back of the house to get mom to take some pictures. On the way back to the house I passed my dad in the Bobcat. That is a lot easier than dragging it the 60 yards or so to the shop where the pickups were. By the time I got mom and back to the crime scene, the buck was already gutted and in the bucket of the Bobcat. I explained that we needed to take some pictures and T-rav drug it to the snow pile to take our annual pictures. Mom and dad both snapped pictures.

Then they put it back in the bucket of the Bobcat and we followed my dad back to the shop. We then decided we were going to bring it to MapleValley Meats, the meat locker in town to get the carcass washed out nicely instead of hanging it in the shop overnight. They put it in the back of my dad's pickup as I burned back to the house to tell mom what was up. T-rav helped me in the house so I could tell mom the plan and all I had to say was, "Can I have you…" I couldn't finish my sentence and she replied with, "Yes Clint. I can make you a cocktail!" T-rav and I giggled.

It didn't take long at the locker for them to get it washed out nicely. I thanked the guys and said I would buy them a beer. They said you better call James to see if the Spare Time is open. I gave him a jingle and explained the situation. He said I saw your buck on snap and yep sure come on over but use the back door. I burned over there in my wheelchair and bought the boys a beer. I believe there was only one round and they decided they had better go home because it was a school night. I of course had one more while James cleaned up and got ready to close the bar. As I got outside I realized mom and dad went to the Friendly. So I burned down the middle of Center Street and was cheered on by a couple local idiots as I was in fifth gear making little time of the block distance. My pickup was running and mom was coming out of the bar as soon as I was ready to back in to the lift.

As soon as I got home I had something to eat and was in bed by 9 PM. I watched some of the Sunday night football game and was sleeping by 9:30 PM. It was a good night.

This hunting season was a different one for sure. It wasn't the hardest and it for sure wasn't the easiest. But I know one thing for sure, it was for sure worth it. Even if I hadn't shot a deer this year, it would have been a success. I am always learning something new about hunting and the outdoors every season, along with learning new things about myself.

I want to thank mom and dad for always helping me hunt whenever I want to. Even though I know sometimes it is the last thing they want to do. I want to thank the landowners who always offer up a place for me to hunt every season. I want to thank my good friends who are always there to help whenever I call, Don B and T-rav just to name a couple. I want to thank Leslie at the probe shack for the samples. You all don't suck. I can't wait to do it next year. Bow season starts in 254 days…

I am very lucky. I truly am the lucky boy in the wheelchair…

Thanks for reading, Clint.

Pneumonia and stuff.

 

I started feeling a little off on October 26. My head was a little clogged up but I didn't think too much of it. Wednesday I felt pretty good but then Thursday started feeling poorly. Tried to make an appointment the next day either in Enderlin or Lisbon but they were full. Over the weekend it kept getting worse and worse. I could tell the congestion was getting bad. There was a lot of rattling in my lungs every time I breathed. I have a video of me trying to breathe and it is not good.

I was able to get an appointment November 1 in Lisbon at the Sanford clinic at 3 PM. Before they would let me in, I had to do a Covid test. So I had to get there an hour early to make sure I was clear of that stuff. When I was cleared I went in and didn't wait long to get called back to room. The NP was in quickly and she could tell right away that I was sick. She looked in my ears, down my throat and said everything looks good there. Then she give a listen to my lungs. She put the stethoscope in one spot and that was enough. She said you have pneumonia. She then said she was going to give me a shot of steroids to help open up my lungs and she would put me on some antibiotics right away. She also told me to put a humidifier in my room. I cranked it on high, it felt like a rain forest in my room. Like a sauna…

We stopped at the drug store on the way home and picked up the prescriptions and nebulizer. I was parked right in front of the Cattleman's. It was tempting but I knew better. Good grief. Anyway when I got home I popped a pill and it felt pretty good for a while. When I woke up the next morning I took another pill and could breathe a little bit better. Had some soup for lunch and pretty much slept the afternoon away.

Wednesday, November 3 when I woke up I knew things were not good. I was very short of breath. I could not breathe in deeply at all. It was almost like hyperventilating. About 11 AM that morning I decided maybe I should get up to see if that would help my breathing at all. About noon I realized being in the wheelchair wasn't helping. It is not fun not being able to breathe. I think it was around 12:30 PM when I decided I either had to go to the ER or call 911. I realized that I wasn't going to be able to get to Fargo without the help of some medical assistance. So we decided to call 911. An ambulance was going to come from Casselton and in the meantime first responders came from Enderlin. LaTeasa and Don B showed up. Then came a Cass County Deputy. He was going to direct the ambulance to the right location. LaTeasa hooked me up with oxygen which seemed to help a little bit. It kept me from hyperventilating. But I was still very short of breath.

The ambulance got there around 1:30 PM. I was in my wheelchair in the living room so mom had to throw me on the stretcher. Once they got me all strapped in I was out the door, down the ramp and in the back of the ambulance. When I was inside Don B was shutting the doors, as he was shutting the second door I voiced to him, "Make sure Sarah knows!" He nodded as he shut the door. At that point I had no clue what was going to happen. You never know.

As soon as the door was shut the driver turned west and then we went north on county line, turned east towards Alice and north to I 94. It wasn't too long and we were at the new Sanford Medical Center. On the way there I learned that the paramedic has been doing this for 36 years I believe he said. He was good. We were bouncing up and down in the back while he put a needle in my vein to get everything ready for when I got to the ER. I was impressed. Some can't find a vein while I am sitting still in a room let alone going 85+ mph down a bumpy interstate.

Once we got to the hospital I was brought into my own room and the doctor was there in no time. He listened to my lungs and within a couple minutes there was a respiratory therapist there to see what he could do. The first thing he said he was going to do was a quad push. For those of you who do not know this is designed to help quadriplegics cough. It is like getting punched in the stomach with an upward motion to make you expel the air out of your lungs. It is not a pleasant experience. I guess I had to do this quite a bit when I was first injured but I do not remember it. Thank goodness. He tried this two or three times and nothing worked. I was too clogged up.

So next up was the NT tube. This is when they stick a tube up your nose, down your throat and into your lungs. This is fun. Good times. The tube is hooked to a vacuum and it sucks out everything it can. He did this down one nostril and got quite a bit of sludge up. Then he did the other nostril. He did each side four times. After that I told him no more. My nose was getting to sore and it was starting to bleed, internally. It was helping but there's only so much you can take. NT suctioning sucks, literally and figuratively.

Next up was throat suctioning. This is when they shove a tube down your throat and into your lungs. This was like heaven compared to the NT tube going down the nose. He did this quite a few times with different angles trying to suck up as much as he could. After numerous times of getting stuff up with suction he decided that he had gotten everything up that was going to come up, so he let me rest for a while.

I did not realize it but all of that fun stuff lasted quite a while because I didn't get into my room until about 8 PM that first day. I think I was in the ER from 3:30 PM until the room was open around eight. During my stay I learned there was 67 tiles on my ceiling and 34 are whole tiles, not cut. This is in room 816 if you ever want to check my math.

When I got to my room a nurse and nurse assistant got me into my bed and soon after there was a respiratory therapist ready to make a plan for the week. They did not have a cough assist machine on hand but she guaranteed she would bring one in the morning. That night she could tell I was clogged up so she did the NT tube again. This time only three times down each nostril. Man that sucks. But it did help. She also tried doing a couple quad pushes. That didn't seem to help. By the time she was ready to leave I asked the nurse if I could eat anything. Of course the kitchen was closed but she brought me some dry whole-wheat toast with no butter that I could put some peanut butter and jelly on. I am not a fan but man that did taste good after eating nothing all day. During the night I had to call the nurse to have respiratory therapist come to help me breathe two different times.

The next morning after like getting no sleep, literally no sleep, one of the respiratory therapists was there around 7 AM. The cough assist machine still wasn't there but she put a tube down my throat numerous times and got quite a bit of sludge up again. She also tried quad push with no luck. Then she told me what the plan was for the next couple days. A respiratory therapist would come around 7 AM, 11 AM, 5 PM and 10 PM every day. They would also be available throughout the night whenever they were needed. She also said during their visits they would start with a nebulizer with two different potions before using the cough assist machine. One potion is to loosen up the sludge in my lungs and the other is to open up the airways. Sidebar: She didn't use the term potion, but I can't remember what was in the two different nebulizer solutions. At 11 AM when the therapist came the next time she brought the cough assist machine. This was the first time I have ever used one.

A cough assist machine does this… "As the patient breathes in, the cough assist machine gives extra air which expands the lungs called “positive pressure,” then as the person exhales the machine then uses suction to withdraw the extra air from the lungs called “negative pressure.” This action forces the patient to cough deeply enabling them to shift mucus from their lungs." It will literally knock the wind out of you. It is kind of designed to do that. It is kind of spooky the first time you use it. But when you realize it is helping you, it becomes almost natural.

There was a couple times when there was stuff coming up but it got stuck halfway. One time my eyes got really big when she was suctioning through my throat and something got stuck in my airway and the respiratory therapist said, "Don't worry, I won't let you choke!" Evidently she could tell I was worried by the look in my eyes. She raced around the bed and grabbed the cough assist machine and smashed it on my face. She turned it on and it blew air down my lungs and sucked it back out. Whatever was in there was dislodged and I could finally breathe. There were a couple moments like that during the week. That sucked, literally.

In fact, before they would let me go home they said I had to have a cough assist machine. I wasn't going to argue because I knew how well these machines worked over the last couple days. They are seriously lifesavers. Every respiratory therapist I had wrote in their notes to the doctor that I needed a prescription for a cough assist machine. The caseworker got the doctor to sign the prescription and before I left two therapists brought down a new machine and showed us how to run it. It is pretty simple, which is nice.

Everything about the new hospital is nice and shiny except for the menu. This is the same exact menu they have had for at least 15 years. Over my past stays I have learned what to eat and not to. Thankfully I usually have visitors who will bring me food but that is usually just for supper. For dinner I usually order an everything omelette with hashbrowns on the side. They seem to never screw that up and it actually doesn't taste bad, not good either but not bad. The other go to meal if you're ever there is chicken strips, potato wedges and a plate of raw veggies. Another good one is turkey breast with a side of scalloped potatoes. I would suggest never getting any cooked vegetables. Always get a plate of raw veggies. It is not on the menu but they have it. You can also get individual pizza or a sandwich made with anything you want. Everything else sucks. Trust me. You're welcome.

This was my menu for the week:

First Day - whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and jelly.

Second Day - everything omelette with hashbrowns for lunch. Meatballs and noodles from Brutus Brickhouse. Thanks mom and Randi.

Third Day - chicken strips, potato wedges, raw veggies for lunch. Buffalo wings, onion rings and coleslaw from Wings and Rings. Thanks mom.

Fourth Day - everything omelette with hashbrowns for lunch. House Special Pizza from Duane's House of Pizza. Thanks mom.

Fifth Day - chicken strips, potato wedges, raw veggies for lunch. Chinese food from Nine Dragons. Thanks mom.

Don't worry, I tipped her well for the week of food. She's the best. By the way, mom had a little vacation herself. She stayed at a really nice hotel next door with a hot tub and some Angry Orchard beer.

I also learned while going through notes from my stay that I have had 27 surgeries since 2004. For some reason that is as far back as it went. I know I had more before that. Most of those surgeries are for kidney and bladder stones. A couple flap surgeries. At least one skin graph. A couple surgeries were to clean out infected areas of stuff and things. One of these days I'll have to add up my total tally. I'm way over 30. That doesn't seem real but it is. Crazy.

I got a total of 12 hours of sleep during my six day, five night stay at the all-inclusive Scamford Inn & Suites. I guess the old saying is true, you don't go to the hospital for rest. Too much beeping and interruptions for any sack time. The worst part was that I found out when I am just about to fall asleep my heart rate drops below 50 beats per second and that is when the alarm goes off on the monitor. Evidently the monitor thinks that is too low for a person to be alive or something. Jerks. One of the nurses even said, "Man, you sure know how to relax when you relax." They always ask when they see my heart rate and blood pressure, "Do you feel all right? Are you going to pass out on me?" I assure them that I am fine and this is just the normal me. I don't get too excited.

I learned quite a few things during my stay. I have learned that I have been quite lucky with my quadriplegia. Most in my position have had many bouts with pneumonia or some other type of lung problem. The doctors and especially the respiratory therapists could not believe that I had never used a cough assist machine before.

FYI: Sanford has a strict policy of only two visitors per day. They take a picture of your ID at the door.

As I write this I have only been home for about a day. I have used the cough assist machine five times so far. And it is working well. I have gotten stuff up the last couple times. It is simple to use. I was prescribed to use the cough assist machine four times a day after doing a nebulizer session. The nebulizer takes about ten minutes and I do five reps with the cough machine. If nothing comes up I quit if something does come up I do another five reps. It doesn't take too long. One thing that I find is weird is that I never had a temperature or anything else that made me feel sick. Just the congestion in my lungs. I feel totally normal except for the rattling in my lungs. Not sure how long that is going to last but I need to keep doing the nebulizer and cough assist machine until it is gone. All I know is community acquired pneumonia sucks.

I have to say everyone that I dealt with during my stay was top-notch. The nurses, the nurse assistants, caseworkers, respiratory therapists and the doctors were great. I had no problems at all with anyone I encountered. Until next time Sanford…

Thanks for reading, Clint.

Fred Bear's 10 Commandments of Hunting:

 

1. Don't step on anything you can step over.

2. Don't look for deer; look for movement (and remember, it's what they're looking for, too).

3. Always approach downwind. In the cool of the day, move uphill; in the heat of the day, move downhill.

4. The best camouflage pattern is called, "Sit down and be quiet!" Your grandpa hunted deer in a red plaid coat. Think about that for a second.

5. Take only the gear to the field that allows you to hunt longer, harder, and smarter.

6. A rainstorm isn't a reason to quit the hunt. It's a reason to stay.

7. Camouflage your appearance, your sound and your scent.

8. Be sure of your shot. Nothing is more expensive than regret.

9. Hunt where the deer actually are, not where you'd imagine them to be.

10. Next year's hunt begins the minute this season's hunt ends.

Going places close.

There are a lot of neat places to see close to home that most people don't ever think about going or maybe even have never heard of. They might not be the most exciting or interesting to some folks but they are worth the trip. There are hundreds of places like that in every area including the great state of North Dakota. If you like history and scenic views, the options are endless for places to visit. I visited a couple of these places in a day trip a couple weeks ago.

I have wanted to go to the Whitestone Hill historical site for quite a while. This summer I made it happen. It is the site of a battle between Indians and Soldiers. You can read more about the conflict in these two links here and here.

I was a little leery about traveling the gravel roads in that area but coming from the northeast towards the historical site the roads were perfect. We did not meet another vehicle traveling from Edgeley all the way there. It is pretty desolate. The historical site it is well-maintained. There are a couple different shelters, a campground and bathroom.

When doing some research on this place it didn't seem like the hill was very steep. Let me tell you the hill is very steep. When we first pulled up I was kind of bummed because I didn't think I would be able to make it up to the monument. The north side of the hill is very steep but there are steps with a railing. As we went around to the southwest side of the hill I figured I would be able to at least try it. It was sketchy but with mom on the back pushing, making sure I did not flip over backwards, it worked. It didn't take too long to get to the top. I would not try it with a manual wheelchair. I was glad I was able to make it up there. The view is amazing. You can see to the east it seems forever.

As soon as you get there you realize where you are and the history that happened there. You can picture the history unfolding in front of you. You also see that the monument for the soldiers is huge and the monument for the Indians is not so big. Going down the hill was sketchy also. But we made it.

On the way home we decided to stop at the Standing Rock Historical Site. I have been here many times but the view is always worth it. Doesn't matter what time of year but in the Fall the view is spectacular. For more info on Standing Rock, click here.

I can't believe that I have never been to this place before. It is only a couple hours from home. Next summer I hope to knock off quite a few more sites on my list of places to go. For more of historical places associated with the Sibley & Sully Expeditions, click here.

Thanks for reading, Clint.

Thankful and stuff.

I have been very lucky to be able to do what I have did. I don't notice too many at least in our area, people in wheelchairs, quads out and about enjoying life. Most of them I think are locked up and the key is thrown away. Out of sight out of mind, so to speak. But with my support system around me, letting me do the stuff I do, it makes life not suck.

I was thinking about this Sunday while I was sitting outside enjoying the sunshine and beautiful weather waiting to go to the range to help with the High School Trap Team. I also just got done eating dinner that consisted of a deer roast from a buckaroo I shot last fall with my crossbow. That would be a mouthful for a lot of people in a wheelchair to say. Just that sentence alone, most have not did. But I'm a lucky boy in the wheelchair. Lucky because of my support system and the life you all let me live. 

Thanks for reading, Clint.

2014 Rifle Buck and stuff.

The 2014 hunting season was a challenging season. I had not seen many deer while sitting. The deers were there, just not when I was there. My game cameras were full of pictures since August and had been out since June. That year I sat in four different locations with my crossbow but never once had a shot at a buck. Frustration was setting in.

I was lucky enough to draw a rifle tag that year in my home unit. It had been three years since I had drawn one. The first week of rifle season I sat with my crossbow because I like getting up close and personal with them. But I had no luck and I was sick of sitting in the cold. The temperatures were in the 20s and there always seemed to be a stiff wind full of suck. So I decided to bring out the rifle. I like to call it cheating.

I also decided to call up my friend Tito a.k.a. Lawrence. He doesn't have all of his fingers but he is pretty neat. We did some scouting during his four days off from work and we found a honey hole of antlers. We were driving by some CRP when we saw some pheasants fly into a slough. As soon as the pheasants landed, the slough exploded with deer. Six bucks and a handful of does were in the bunch. The bucks started sizing each other up. It was crazy. Second time I have seen anything like it. The bucks were fighting each other, hard-core. The rut was on. The other bucks were watching and taking their turns when the loser would quit. We watched them for about fifteen minutes, just to watch them in their glory. They didn't care that we were only about 40 yards away in the shaggin wagon. There was one Hartford buck that was the king of the CRP. Later that afternoon we watched him chase a doe over a mile. Most hunters would be proud to have him on their wall. But we only saw him one more time in the next two days and he never gave me a shot. I told Tito I was going to shoot anything with antlers and he said, "Bull, we are going for a big buck, not a sausage stuffer."

Where all of these deer were was right on the edge of the farmstead. So we went into the yard to ask the landowner if I could hunt. As we were pulling into the driveway Tito said, "You could get set up right in their yard and shoot any of those bucks right now!" I knew exactly what he meant and I was getting excited. We pulled up to the house, Tito and I got out, went up to the door and knocked. The landowner came out and he knew what we were going to ask. I imagine he saw our hunter orange and knew what was up. We told him the scenario and asked for permission. He declined us though because the deer were too close to his house. We explained that we would shoot away from the buildings but he still denied us, which is his right and we were fine with it. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

We decided we would head over east back towards my place and sit a couple hundred yards away from a shelter belt that I have been seeing a lot of bucks on one of my trail cams. We opened up the back driver’s side door of the shaggin wagon and we got the rifle mount on my chair. It was a cool brisk day that afternoon so I decided to sit in the vehicle with the heater blowing with the door wide open. It worked pretty slick. (At that time I had a permit to shoot out of vehicle.) We didn't see anything while sitting but we made a plan for the next day. The shaggin wagon was full of cigert smoke and disappointment.

The next afternoon Tito and I picked up his dad Lowell. He was going to be our pusher, little did he know. On our way to the honey hole where we saw all of the deer the day before we saw a lone deer. It was a buck and we were only 2 miles from the house when we found him around 3 PM. He was all by himself, in the middle of nowhere. Tito quickly hopped out of his seat, put the rifle on my chair mount and I was within 10 seconds of taking the shot. Just when I was getting him in the scope he took off. Right at that time a vehicle passed us and we realized why that buck took off in such a hurry. We were parked in the middle of the gravel road. Geesh. Always check your mirrors kids.

Little did we know about two hours later we would see that buck again. But in between the encounters with him we found at least 15 more deer including five bucks, a couple shooters. We did a lot of glassing. But nothing would align correctly for me to get a shot. We even had Lowell push a little bit of CRP towards us but to no avail.

With about a half-hour left of shooting time we were making our way home. Tito was looking out one window while driving and Lowell was in the passenger seat looking out the other window. I was of course in the back scanning every direction for movement. We were just a mile east of where we saw all of the bucks the day earlier. It was getting pretty dark and Tito said, "Do you guys see anything? Because I haven't seen squat." Lowell said he wasn't seen anything. That's when I said, "Why don't I shoot that buck standing in front of us in the middle of the road?" They were both shocked. It was funnier than heck because they didn't notice him. They were too busy looking out their windows. This buck had no care in the world. He was twitterpated. His nose was to the gravel and he didn't even notice us. I bet we were not 30 yards away from him.

It was the first buck we saw earlier in the afternoon. On the left side of us was a CRP field that was also PLOTS land (Public Land Open to Sportsmen). He walked into the CRP with his nose on the ground. Tito stopped the vehicle and opened the back driver's-side door. We got my rifle mount on as quickly as we could and Tito jacked a bullet into the chamber. The buck was a little over 250 yards away when I tried to find him in my scope. I tried getting my chair lined up so that my rifle was aiming in the right direction. When that is done then I need to move my shoulder around to find them in my scope. For some reason something wasn't set up right with the mount. I was struggling and I didn't know why. Tito asked me what he should do and I didn't have a clue. All of a sudden Lowell pushed the butt of the rifle towards the middle of my shoulder. As soon as he did that it felt comfortable and I found Mr. Buckaroo standing there broadside.

I got on the buck through the scope as quick as I could, I took the shot and missed. He didn't even move. I didn't know where the shot went. Tito and Lowell didn't know where I shot either. I took another shot and down he went like a pile of bricks. I was excited. But I think Tito and Lowell were more excited than I. It was good times. We quickly talked about what just happened. We decided that I would call home and have mom bring Tito's pickup over.

We were only 2 1/2 miles from our farmstead, so it did not take her long to get there. But by the time she did get there it was dark. Tito said he would walk out there, tag the buck and then Lowell would go help him gut it and drag back to the road. But first Tito would have to find it in the dark. Lowell and I stayed by the shaggin wagon to direct Tito to where the deer was laying. It took a little bit of yelling and using the flashlight to steer him in the right direction but it didn't take long for him to find it. I decided I was going to get back in the shaggin wagon to warm up and I figured I would see Lowell making his way out to Tito by foot. But nope, he decided to drive Tito's vehicle out into the PLOTS, which is not so good unless you have permission from the landowner. I just laughed to myself. I know what Lowell was thinking, "Why in the hell would I walk when I could drive?"

As soon as Lowell got out there in Tito's pickup, Tito said, "You know you can't drive out here?" Lowell replied back, "Well, I just did!" Tito just shook his head and started gutting my buck. I still laugh at that scenario. That is good stuff. It didn't take him long to get him gutted, then we brought him to the locker and the celebration began with a few libations.

This hunt ranks up there with one of my most memorable. There are some more stories to the story but I don't think I should tell them on this platform. Ask me about them over a cocktail. I am pretty sure the statute of limitations has run out on most of the stuff and things. Good grief.

November 20, 2014 was the 18th day I was in the field that year with either my crossbow or rifle. That day I shot him with my Remington .243 model 7400 around 270 yards. Give or take. He ended up not being the biggest or oldest buck we were chasing, but that never really seems to matter. It's about the stories and the memories made that make for a great hunt. Tito and I still giggle about this hunt.

Thanks for reading, Clint.

 

 

Earning it and stuff.

 

I have gotten a second chance. I have tried to earn it. I know I have failed in doing that sometimes but every day I want to try and earn it. I have made mistakes. But I try to minimize them. I try not to suck but sometimes the suck just happens. Earning it is hard. Sometimes it is easy earning it but when I think of the second chance that I have gotten, that second chance makes me want to do more.

Every day and every week and every month and every year I hope to earn it a little more. More than the day before. Waking up saying to yourself that you are going to earn it makes that day go a lot better. Of course there are days that you just don't give a crap but I try to limit days like those.

By earning it every day I don't mean doing big things, I mean the little everyday things. It could be as simple as telling someone thanks or that you appreciate them. Even if it is just putting a smile on someone's face. To me that is earning that day. It is worth it.

The other side of earning it is the regrets of life. The stuff and things you should have done. The stuff and things you should not have done. I have had some big regrets. Those types of regrets when you wish you could take back a certain day or even a certain conversation. Those really suck. But by earning that day or moment back, hopefully you can reverse that regret. Hopefully by the end of the day, week, month and year you have less regret and feel like you have earned it.

You need to do it for yourself. Sometimes it is good to be selfish. It's good to be selfish when you are earning it. The best way you can earn it is by helping others. But once you take care of you, you can take care of others. You need to earn it for yourself.

Thanks for reading, Clint.