December 2017 Life goes on... The loss of Missy was heavy on my heart for years, and now, the two new canines in my life continue to offer joy daily. Morocco and Jake are both high energy dogs, and the two of them bring daily opportunity for mischief. Their images are on my Flickr account. Search twinriv under people. Deer trip to Republic county Kansas last week with my dear friend, Jim Thompson, was great. Sure, we had opportunities but the demonstrated wallable-hornage big buck got big by not being fool hearty... not standing in open areas and being silly. In fact, Saturday morning driving in, he jumped from the edge of the tractor road and brushed the left front corner of my Explorer bounding away. Jim was following and also enjoyed the view. Since there are so many juveniles on Joe's farm, seeing them was still a pleasant reminder of the hunting experience. On opening morning, a smallish buck slowly walked across an open field towards me, arriving about 15 yards away to bed down. he had a thin body, possibly about 110 - 120 pounds on the hoof, but a single finger diameter spike antler on the left side of his head. He has somehow lost the right side, so he looked a little bit lop sided. Over all, a remarkable success afield. We saw deer, waterfowl, coyotes, and small game. In the early morning, the roosted turkeys and over-eager coyotes would exchange their loud banter...with multiple remote coyotes joining in occasionally. Barred owls would echo their disapproval of the morning noises. A pair of bald eagles frequented the area, following the waterfowl migration buffet. Their weather has been miserable dry lately so the topsoil was a fine powder dust that penetrates everything. The inside of the Explorer will be dirty for a few more trips to the car wash. Every single day is Thanksgiving, and I was blessed to share a weeks worth of them with Jim.