Hunting Season, Part 2-----Success!

As mentioned, I slept in on Wednesday with the intent of doing some work around the yard with the slash left by the crew cleaning the powerline right-of-way. I was going to use the ATV BUT those plans changed when the darn thing wouldn't start. All I got was a click, click, click--like a buzz from a bunch of angry bees--from the solenoid. The starter didn't even try to turn over. I went to call the Glider City Powersports in Elmira, NY that I've used for repairs on the Yamaha ProHauler before BUT they are closed on Wednesdays. I plugged the battery charger up to the ATV just in case it was just a low charge, BUT the charger gave me an error message saying there was a short in one of the cells and it couldn't be charged.

So, I spent a couple of hours using the chainsaw close to the house and cleaned up one pile of debris and produced a small stack of firewood. Then I got the tractor out to haul the utility trailer out from under the deck so I could load the ATV for delivery to the repair shop--when I could eventually call them. Then I had to reinflate one of the tractor's tires--one that has a history of a slow leak. AND run down to the store to get a new connector for the trailer's wiring which was frayed right near the connector.

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Thursday I managed to contact Glider City and hauled the ATV over for them to do their thing. They will contact me when it's ready. This was the first opportunity to use the new Tundra to trailer anything. Like its predecessor, it did just fine. The trailer tracked perfectly and I had no difficulties.

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Friday I slept in once again and went to work on a second slash pile near the house. And once again, I managed to clean that heap up and harvest a small amount of firewood.

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Saturday--being the first day I could shoot does as well as bucks--I got up early and went out to the woods. I was just hoping to see something with fur as Monday and Tuesday were less than productive. I was at my stand by 6:30 and waited for daylight. Unlike Monday and Tuesday, there was no breeze so the dried leaves on the beech trees weren't rattling all that much. That allowed me to use my ears as well as my eyes.

Shortly after 7 AM I heard something to my right and spotted a deer stepping out from some hemlocks. A buck! BUT I could only see fork horns and to be legal a buck must have at least three on one side. So I watched as it walked down the hill. (And, no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn't make out a third tine on either side!) A the base of the hill, the buck spooked and jumped once or twice back then trotted across the cove to the spruce trees. Then I saw a second deer--sex unknown--follow. All I can figure is that the cooler air sinking down the hillside carried my scent(?) down to the small buck and that's what spooked him. Hey! At least I got to see some deer!

About an hour later, I heard a snap of a twig behind me on the powerline. A turned around and saw two doe, with tails up, bounding across the powerline into the woods on the far side--where they stopped and looked back at me. I raised my rifle and saw through the scope that I had a clear shot, albeit nearly head on, between two trees just a foot or two apart. Flick off the safety. Breath. Squeeze. And the fun part is over. She dropped where she stood. The second doe jumped twice and stopped. And I quickly calculated how much work I really want to do this morning--and let her go.

I collected my gear and walked toward the downed doe. The tail flicked once and I chambered another round--just in case. By the time I got to her, she was dead. The shot had entered and exited the base of her neck damaging the spine and taking out the arteries. As I started filling out the tag, the second doe stuck came back into view and stood for a few seconds--broadside--30 yards away. I still let her go.

Field dressed (messily) and then dragged her down the hill. Gravity is your friend! I hung the deer behind the house and then cleaned, sliced and packaged the heart and liver.

Aerie Report, August 24, 2011: Hither and yon.

Terry and I spent a long morning at the orthopedist's and running a few errands.

Our first stop was the Guthrie Clinic in Corning where they took more x-rays of my knees since the ones taken at St. Luke's in Utica were not to their liking. (At St. Luke's, all the x-rays were while I was laying down--no weight on the joint. The folks here in Corning wanted a more realistic picture of what was happening in the joint and, therefore, had me standing up to have the x-rays taken.)

First, the good news:
The MRI I had taken last week and the x-rays indicated NO tears of any ligaments or tendons. Anti-inflammatory medications, rest and PT should help reduce the pain caused by the injury I sustained.

Now the bad:
The x-rays clearly show developing arthritis in both knees. Spurs and a thinning of the cushioning cartilage are to blame for the chronic pain I've been feeling in the knees. Again, anti-inflammatory meds should help. If not, there are cortisone shots as well as others that can relieve the more or less constant ache. Should that not bring relief or should my condition worsen, there is a possible need for knee joint replacement--but that's years from now; after other options are tried.

And now the worse news:
That pocket of calcified tissue the x-rays found an inch or so above my right knee needs to come out. It is a small globule of calcified crud imbedded in the right quad and is (probably) benign but
is definitely hampering movement and causing some pain in that area. (Lab tests will be done on this tissue to determine its true nature. They have no idea what may have caused it.) Surgery is scheduled for September 15th.

Meanwhile, I am to start some meds for the knee joints and continue going to PT for as long as the insurance company will allow.

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After the clinic visit, Terry and I headed east to Horseheads to Michael's so she could get some findings for a beaded pin project she is doing.

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Then it was back to Mainesburg so I could buy a new chainsaw (Husqvarna Rancher with a 20" blade) so as to be ready for whatever Irene decides to do. Right now (Wednesday at 3:30 PM) it looks like the strom will swing a bit to the east and hit the east end of Long Island before moving on to Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. (Shoot wasn't having to host the Presidential entourage enough for the folks on the Vineyard?)

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Then to the drugstore for the meds, but the prescription hadn't been called in yet. (Called he clinic when we finally got home and asked them to please call the CVS in Mansfield. That was 1-1/2 hours ago. No call from the pharmacy yet.)

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Lunch at Yorkholo in Mansfield where I enjoyed an excellent burger/beef melt and a nice lager with a very high ABV (alcohol by volume) rating of 6.5% that was named after Pine Creek. Terry had a chicken breast sandwich and lemonade.

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After lunch, we went over to Wally World--just in case the clinic sent the prescription there instead. They didn't. So we did the next best thing and purchased two cartons of ice cream: Butter Pecan and Mint Chocolate Chip. Good for what ails ya! Especially with Hershey's chocolate sauce on top.