Missing the Opener

As I write this, I can hear Angus in the shower. He was called into work this morning. He would have missed the Opener anyway. Last night was his birthday. He also celebrated 5 years working in a sheet metal shop. I suppose it was good news that he is having to work overtime in times like these. There could be worse things. I talked to Moose the other day. He’s still waiting on his relief check. Little Mooselette has been reading the Rush Revere book I gave her. This will be the first Turkey Opener I’ve missed since ’86.

The weather station at the farm is running. It shows we would be going out to 35F and windy. However, there are a couple of gobs that are coming up close enough to be caught on the house cameras. Those are working well. I had a good laugh this morning watching a distracted driver almost run into the gate in front of the tobacco barn. I should probably put a ROAD ENDS sign up by the dairy barn. The other cameras are showing moderate deer and turkey activity, and so far the best news: no poachers.

Last night’s birthday bash was rather subdued. Angus got a set of poly-pro turkey duds, some calls, and some ammo. I did all my shopping before the quarantine was announced. He’s gotten used to getting turkey hunting gear for his birthday. Fate sort of ordained it, allowing him to be born during Opening Week. It goes all the way back too. I called home one day, and KYHillChick told me he was out in the yard playing with the toy shotgun I’d given him, trying to call in one of my turkey decoys. I don’t have a picture of that, but I do have this:

That was later on that week when his mother drove him to camp. I’d bagged my first bird at the farm that morning, and drove all the way to the Walmart in Cynthiana to buy him that bicycle.

That was a heck of a bird too. He was already in the freezer when I entered his stats in the NWTF website and found out he would have ranked #5 all-time as an atypical. Here’s the story of that hunt:

The story is here, by the way:

Turkey Camp, 2002

Between that and watching my kid on his first 2-wheeler made that one of the best days of my life back then. Just before the kid arrived with his mom, while I was still assembling the bike on the porch, I had a thunderstorm blow through– one of several that week. I ran out back and snapped this:

. . . the photo that ended up becoming the first header photo for this weblog.

I could go on this way all morning. I’d better get going and get on with breakfast.