After harvesting my buck, we decided to take the rest of the day off to tend to a few errands. Dropped the buck off at the processor (won't do that there again. Wow, I have never paid so much to have a deer processed). Did a little grocery shopping and generally tried to relax.
That night, Jake and Tessa (jakes wife) brought us some wonderful supper and a little libation.
It was my first time having Bird Dog and Dr.Pep, but it was right smart fuel.
Anyway, we ate and chatted and of course went to bed too late. When the alarm went off at 3:30, my bride said He#% No. your on your own.
So I left out for the hunt property alone. While driving, I noticed that the truck thermometr was indicatine a significant drop in temp. 21 deg for the morning and a forecasted high of 45 with 35 mph winds.
The winds were normal, but with the colder weather, I was expecting a increase in the already great deer activity.
As I drove, my drousy state left me concentrating so hard on the road that I didn't notice the 4 mule deer does just waiting to surprise me from the ditch.
We were all fortunate in that no parties were injured in the brief but very exciting encounter, but how they got away is beyond me. I could have reached out my drivers window and grabbed one by the ears and while slowing down as fast as I could without loosing controll, another continued to disapear below the front of my hood.
I'm sure there was a foul smell in the air, both inside and outside the truck but even my underwear were unscathed.
Unfortunatley, the rest of the morning was uneventful, well at least on my end.
While talking with Jake on the cell, I missed a call from Barbara. As I attempted to return her call, I was interupted by a 911 operator who had informed me that my wife would like me to return to her as soon as possible because the house was on fire!
Now if I hadn't mentioned it, Jake and his family were kind enough to allow us to stay at hhis parents home while we were visiting. Jakes parents had been gone since around May working out of town and the house was vacant.
Barbara had texted me around 10:am to wish me luck and that she had cleaned up and did a little laundry. She was about to shower and then take a nap in our second story bed room. Around Noon, she was awoken to a popping noise she thought was me closing my truck door. She glanced out the window to determine that It was not me and detected the odor of burning wires.
Barbara then walked down to the kitchen and immediately notice smoke billowing in from the garage area and opened the garage door to investigate. Not the best idea. There was nothing she could do.
Now I personally have never been in a fire, but I can't help but feel that I would have acted nearly the same as Barb and that is to say, try to remove as much from the house as possible. Yes, that is not wise, but that is aparently what goes through your mind.
She retrieved many items before the neighbors and police wouldn't allow her to return to the home.
I had informed Jake of the situation and flipped the swith on my Dodge to hover craft and kicked in the turbos. I made good time for having traveled 52 miles of dirt road, but it still seemed as though I was not going fast enough.
Upon arival, the FD had everything under controll except my Wife. I calmed her down and set in to wait. It was a long day for everyone involved but fortunatley no one was hurt and the house that looked worse for wear was not a total loss.
That night, Jake and some relatives and I boarded up the damaged windows and doors and retreated to Perkins for a High calorie well deserved meal.
Jake and I discussed plans for the upcoming days and determined that there wasn't much for anyone to do until his parents could come home late the following day so I decided to go back to the woods on Thursday.
I will post more about BigJim and Barbs always exciting adventures this evening. More fun ahead, without all the drama.
thanks, bigjim
Topic: Big Jim is back from KANSAS! (Read 1151 times)
