Awash in Color

We filled our bellies on fast-food grease and raced towards the big woods.  It was after sun-down when we got there and put the tents up with the use of borrowed headlight until we could unpack and find ours.  The kids ran around like yearling puppies so happy to see more of their litter as the two clans prepared for the mornings hunt.  It was the youth gun hunt so the kids and the woods were decked out in their blaze colors. It was cold and too windy for a fire on the first night so we hunkered into our sleeping bags and headed out earlyish after warming our bellies with hot cocoa, coffee and muffins.  Sophia was carrying a 20 gauge and the four us were able to walk pretty quietly as a group.  We wandered through the newly grown over cut over and Merrick lost his hat and we racked up a couple of wet boots.  There had been record rains over there.  Spent some time at repairing the old river stand and then pussy-footed towards the south spur of the grouse trail before heading back for a post noon lunch.  The weather warmed up and after lunch we hunted again down along the gully so the walk was shorter and with a fully belly of ramen noodles and Joe's brownies it would have been easy to dose off.  With no deer around it was decided that we would walk back to camp, although Sophia wanted to sit longer.  Somehow I think it is a good thing to leave a little before she is ready and have her wanting to go longer rather than not.  By the end of the weekend she was pretty convinced that she would come back out in November for the big hunt.  Once back at camp we managed to throw almost 200 clay pigeons and plink away with .22 and a couple of handguns as well.  It had already been decided that there wasn't any deer to spook so might as well watch the kids giggle at the mule kick to the shoulder when the touch off the 20 gauge. Gracie took a couple of good rocks, but the echo hadn't even started as she began to smile.  I think some day she too will be back for the big hunt in November.  Merrick grabbed a BB gun and headed off by himself for awhile on Sunday to hunt squirrels, it was a great weekend.  The big selling point to get them there was twinkies roasted over the fire.  It was Amy's idea to entice them and it certainly worked to get them out there, so Saturday night was twinkie roasting time and hopefully all the memories whirl together into the idea that they like being out there.  Based on their conversations on the the way home, I think they are hooked.