Today I thought I would give a bit of advice to my goofy googlers.  You’re not all goofy and actually were searching legitimate inquiries…

My husband wants to spend all his vacation time hunting and fishing alone with his friends - I’m perfectly fine with my husband spending some of his vacation time hunting or fishing with friends but not all of it.  See if he can split his time up between you and his friends.  If he disagrees, plan a nice long fun trip with friends and enjoy yourself.  He might change his mind knowing you had a great time without him.

Cancun is always a great spot for you and your friends…

What if someone said I wish I was a hunter and you were a deer in the woods - I hope this person isn’t your friend and if he/she is, they probably aren’t anymore.   That just isn’t a very nice thing to say. 

When a man hunts is he looking for a wife - My hunting friends can help you out with their own opinions but my opinion would be no.  My hunter is a very serious hunter (just look at his face in his pictures) and it has nothing to do with looking for a wife.  I really don’t think there are many women hanging out in the woods waiting for a hunter to come and rescue them.   Now that I think about it, maybe that would make a good lifetime movie.

My husband said he was going hunting but I don’t believe him - I think this might have been an old fishing joke. Husband says he’s going on a fishing trip with friends and his wife packs his clothes. Husband comes back and says she forgot to pack his underwear and she said, “I did they were in your tackle box”. Maybe next time you could pack his underwear in his gun case.

I want to be a hunters wife - For the love of deer, you came to the right place.  Be careful what you wish for or I should say be prepared.  Next week I’ll be posting - “Ten Things To Know Before Marrying A Hunter” - this may help. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

My niece had a cheer competition in Kansas and myself, my sister, my mom and nephew, Jake, drove down separate from the cheer group.   It was about a 9 hour drive in which I drove 8.  We had no problems on our way down.  We had our map and directions and we arrived safely to our destination.   If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s reading a map.  Stick me in the middle of the country (except in the woods) and give me a map and I will get myself home.  However, that isn’t the case for my sister and my Mom. 

After a long day Saturday of competitions we headed to the lounge for relaxation and a few drinks.  My younger sister and I decided we would be the entertainment and came up with a few cheers of our own.  We had a tough time getting our junk in our trunks off the ground but we sure tried.  Our cheers were a success and we now are on our own cheer team and have our own set of pom poms.

We got up early Sunday morning for the drive home after about 4 hours sleep.  After a few hours, I asked my Mom and sister to look at the map and find a different route to avoid construction that was going on near home.  After 2o minutes of no talking and them studying the map, I asked what route we can take.  They both said they weren’t sure.  There are plenty of expressways to get us home even if it’s a bit out of our way it’s better then sitting in traffic.  They are both silent.  I head for an exit and quickly pull in a Dairy Queen and grabbed the map.  I was not happy.

I take a look at the map and find many ways to get home.  So I start pointing out the different expressways. Here is our conversation:

Me:  “Do either of you know how to read a map?” 

Lost travelers:  “Yes”

Me:  “Well I don’t understand why you didn’t say take this road or that road which will get us home and about the same amount of time.”

Lost travelers:  “?”

Me:  “What if I wasn’t here and you had to get yourself home, you going to sit in 2 hour traffic because you can’t read a map?”

Lost travelers:  “?”

Me:  &*^&%^$&@

I get back on the expressway and head my own way with map in hand.  After an hour of silence I start talking and my sister wouldn’t answer.  My Mom says, “Girls, please don’t fight.”  My sister says “I’m not saying a word.” Pause and then she says, “And I quit the cheer team.”

I am in the mood for music today. If you haven’t seen any of David Cook’s music you are missing out. I didn’t watch this season of American Idol. Apparently I missed out on a few great performances. He has now become one of my favorites.

I love this one…

Have a great day everyone!

“Hi, is Mark home?” It’s neighbor lady #1 wondering whose car is in our cul de sac.

“Hi, is Mark around?” It’s neighbor lady #2 needing Mark to come over cause the kid’s hamster is having babies.

“Hi Jody, is Mark busy?” It’s neighbor lady #3 who made Mark zucchini bread.

Knock at the door, its neighbor lady #1’s daughter. They made cookies for Mark for fixing their outdoor lighting and cutting their grass.

“Hi Jody, is Mark around?” “Ohhhh Markkkk…it’s one of your DH’s.” - Its neighbor lady #1 calling to ask if Mark saw the kids hanging out on the corner. Then they talked about the other neighbor and how they need to cut their grass. Then they talked about how the other neighbor had an unknown car in their drive all night. Then they talked about how the neighbor down the street got a new roof. I told them both, “For the love of deer, I’m glad I’m not single and your neighbor”.

Anytime Mark is outside, the desperate housewives will walk over to discuss who knows what or whom. I never really ask. I just look out the window and smile and blow him a kiss and tell him how his little DH’s love him.

The other day I decided Mark can have all his little Desperate Housewife friends. I’ll find my own Desperate Househusband. I tried befriending new guy neighbor #4 but his wife tripped over her lawn furniture trying to get to us before I had a chance to say a word.

There are many blogs that I enjoy reading everyday and thought I would highlight a few today:

Blessed wrote an interesting post about why she doesn’t own a T.V.

I love this post at Jakes Outdoors about taking his kids fishing.

For those who are missing deer hunting and need your fix, you can see some big bucks Jeff posted at LowCountry Hunting.

About a month ago Arthur wrote about his Shiloh Visit. I have to say this is one of my favorites.

Have a great and safe weekend everyone! 

I have a really tough time remembering some of the hunting terms.  I really try to use the appropriate word but it just doesn’t happen.  In one ear and out the other, that’s me.  When my hunter talks about hunting, I really try and pay attention but sometimes my mind wonders off to more important things like I need to paint my toenails because everything isn’t always about hunting. 

If you’ve ever seen the Sex in the City episode where Carrie goes to Aidan’s rustic cabin and a squirrel scares the ^%&* out of her she said, ”You can’t be friends with a squirrel!  A squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit.”  Thats me.  That would be something I would say.

I’ve asked my hunter to translate my meanings to the correct hunter’s meanings and this is what we came up with. 

THW’s term:  Bambi   Hunting term:  Big buck   Rex’s term: Thunderhoof

THW’s term:  Baby Bambi   Hunting term:  Button Buck

THW’s term:  Caught a deer  Hunting term:  Harvasted a deer, doe down

THW’s term:  Grunt thingymajigger  Hunting term:  Grunt call

THW’s term:  Rattler thingymajigger  Hunting term:  Rattling horns

THW’s term:  For the love of deer   Hunting term:  For the love of god (I’m sure you’ve said that in the woods.)

THW’s term:  Gifted    Hunting term:  Big Rack

THW’s term:  Woman with a Weapon  Hunting term:  Huntress

THW’s term:   The Frying of Foxy   Hunting term:  Cooking Squirrel

If in the future I use my word, you will understand the meaning.

Have a great day everyone!

The Outdoor Bloggers Summit has challenged bloggers to answer the following 2 questions:

“What Can We Do” as individual hunters/anglers and bloggers do to support and promote the activities that we love?

Blogging has now opened the door for those who support these acitivities to write about their experiences and what it means to them to carry on these traditions. I think it is important to join other online communities and not just those of the outdoor nature.

“What Should We Do” addresses the bigger issue of what the community as a whole, and the community organizations that ask for our money, should do to promote and protect hunting and fishing and all outdoor sports?

It’s important to learn all of the facts about those organizations that you are wanting to support. If there is an issue you feel strongly about, we as bloggers have an opportunity to spread the word. Again, not just within the outdoor community but reaching other readers even those who may not have an opinion.

Hunting is a very political topic. There are those who are supporters, those who are opposed, and those who are undecided. In my opinion those who are opposed believe hunting promotes violence. Those who are undecided believe their opinion will be a heated topic and avoid swaying one way or the other. For those of us that support hunting, blogging is a great way to provide facts over fiction. 

Before meeting my husband I did consider hunting to be violent and it wasn’t an issue that was important to me.  However, that has since changed for many reasons.  I see the passion my husband has for hunting.  I see my husband and his three brothers that grew up enjoying the outdoors and enjoy hunting together after almost 40 years. I read other blogs like Holly’s as to why she hunts and a statement she made that is so true - ”The more hunted meat I eat, the less hormones, antibiotics and farm-animal cruelty I ingest.” I read blogs like Othmar’s who is so passionate and proud of his hunting heritage.

If you have an outdoor blog and ask yourself does my opinion really matter? I am proof that it really does matter and what you have to say is truly heard.

Those who read my blog are very familiar with the fact that I never get to drive the boat. Whether it’s the fishing boat or the pontoon you will not see me in the driver’s seat.  My husband loves to be the driver and seems to always ignore my begging and whining.  It isn’t that he doesn’t trust my driving because I’m usually the driver around town.  I think it’s the manly man thing.  It’s a boat and guys drive boats. 

After the first couple of days of fishing, I hadn’t given much thought about driving.  We were catching a lot of fish and that was keeping me occupied.  Our fishing goal was to find the crappie.  To find crappie we were hitting brush piles near the shore.  Now, to do this with ease you need to have a trolley motor that you guide with your foot that makes your boat move slowly along the shore.  Ours was having a bit of a problem and Mark was tired of messing with it.  He was getting quite a few bites and needed to fish.   

Mark: Jody, get in the drivers seat. 

Jody:  Me?  (Pause) Why? (Pause) What did you say? 

Mark:  I need you to drive the boat and when I say go back, go back, when I say go forward you need to go forward.  Slower, a bit faster, etc.  Hurry up sit down.

Jody’s thoughts as she starts to sweat and slowly make her way to the driver’s seat:  WT?!  Is this like driving a car?  How do I make it go faster, slower, turn, stop, grrr.  Could he have at least taken the time to show me how to drive in open water?  Now is not the time to have your wife learn how to drive the boat while your husband is in serious fishing mode. Is this a test?  If something breaks it will be my fault.  Where the hell is his helmet cause if he flies out of this boat I am going to be in big trouble. 

Jody:  We can fish somewhere else if you’d like - I’m really not in the mood to drive.

Mark: Would you sit down.  You’re fine.  Drive.

Jody: Fine but after all this pressure I’m driving in open water.

While Mark fished and gave instructions, I made my way back and forth along the shoreline without incident. Mark said a few “STOP STOP STOP GO BACK” “GO FORWARD” “NO GO BACK” and I said a few “FOR THE LOVE OF DEER MAKE UP YOUR MIND”.

This is serious fishing mode:

This is a girl who gets to drive a boat:

Having your own vegetable garden isn’t as hard as you might think. All you need is a sunny area for planting, lots of dirt and you can use plants or seeds.  And with the cost of living rapidly increasing, having your own vegetable garden can be a great savings to your grocery bill. 

Here is our garden before planting:

Our garden is about 18′ x 20′ .  During the fall and winter months, when the garden is empty, Mark will put leaves and grass clippings into the garden.  He then will turn the garden over a couple of times during the fall and spring prior to planting.  All of our plants were started except for the green beans.  We use seeds.  The packaging should state how far apart to plant.

We planted:

Once your garden is in, give it a good soaking.  About once a week or every other week you will need to watch for weeds. 

We use no sprays and never seem to have a problem with insects or critters. 

If you are thinking about starting a garden and have never done one before, start out small.  Maybe try a few tomato plants.

All of those who read my blog probably consider my husband to be the shy quiet type who does everything for me.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.  He is actually very talkative.  When others are around and they aren’t looking I sometimes have to motion for him to hush.  Like the hand across the neck or the finger to the lips or just the dirty look.  If he is near me I will maybe pinch him.  Depending on my mood will depend on the signal.  This was not the case while fishing.  Mark was focused and in his own little world trying to enjoy the peace and quiet.   I, on the other hand, was very talkative and determined to find out all I could about his years of fishing.

Me:  Have you ever fallen out of a boat?

Mark:  No.

Me:  Has a snake ever crawled in your boat?

Mark:  No.

Me:  Has anyone ever hit you in the head with their rod like I did?

Mark:  No.

Me:  Has anyone ever threw their line out and hooked you in the face?

Mark:  No.

Me:  Have you hooked someone?

Mark: No. 

Me:  Have you ever drove the boat too fast and hit a sandbar, rock, or tree and threw someone from your boat?

Mark:  No.

Me:  Why is that guy wearing a helmet driving his boat?

Mark:  In case he flys out of his boat.

Me:  Have you ever taken a girl fishing?

Mark:  No.

Me:  Did they bait their own hook like me?  

Mark:  I said no.

Me:  Please tell me they didn’t take their own fish off the hook!

Mark:  Would you stop.

Me: Did you let them drive the boat? 

Mark:  I will let you drive if you please stop talking.

Next week on The Hunter’s Wife:  The Hunter’s Wife Gets To Drive The Fishing Boat