Weekend at the Deer Lease

This past weekend Philip, Papa, the boys and I headed out to the deer lease. We stayed in my Dad's small cabin and Allen stayed in the trailer he and Philip use during hunting season. They had to move camp recently, and although it was a pain, it sure is nice to have running water in camp, and a working toilet and shower in the trailer! The weather was great (and even a little chilly on Saturday morning) and we all enjoyed our time in the out doors. The ranch where the lease is located is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It is always relaxing to be far away from society, surrounded by nature. You can't even spend much time using technology because you can hardly get reception out there. It's always a bit refreshing to be unplugged and is also a reminder of how overly techno-dependent I've become!

drivin' around...spotting animals & filling feeders

Joel and Penny are sweet friends

give Joel some dirt and a dinosaur and he's happy for hours ;)

playing dinos in the cabin!

singing and digging in the dirt

Levi climbed many a mesquite :)

happy boys with the antlers they found

Penny is so good and easy to love out here!

My birthday was on Saturday and Philip and the boys didn't forget. They bought me a very pretty silver bangle bracelet for a gift, and snuck a cake in for an after dinner surprise. There's not much that makes me happier than spending time in God's beautiful creation with my family. It was a good birthday :) Philip had a great first weekend hunting, he got a 10 point buck and a medium sized hog. He loves bow season, and I can see why. There are much less hunters than during gun season, you have to be closer to the animals and use a little more skill and effort. It just seems more natural and the weather is usually nice as well.

When the men returned from their morning hunt on Saturday we were greeted by a lost little bird dog. She was so skinny (you could see every bone and sinew) and exhausted! We all had a soft spot for her were so glad she lucked upon our camp. I'm not sure she would have made it much longer! She was covered in fleas and cactus spines. Philip gave her a nice long flea bath and cleaned her up nicely. We gave her a little water and food, but since it had been so long since she'd had much in her stomach she ended up throwing it all up. We gave her a few more smaller portions of food and water and eventually she held it down. You could she was starving and dehydrated because she didn't use the restroom until the next day. She stayed curled up on a blanket sleeping most of the time. The next day she perked up a bit and we got to see a little of her personality. She also showed off her grasshopper catching skills (she was like the grasshopper ninja!) and we think that she survived by eating lots of those little guys are her long trip to our camp. Luckily, she had her collar on that had a permanent tag with her owners phone number. Once we got a hold of him we learned that she had been lost while hunting over a week ago and had come about 10-15 miles from a different ranch in the area. Turns out her name is Lizzie and she is a champion bird dog who won puppy of the year last year. Her owner was very glad to have her back and appreciative of all we did to care for her after finding her. She rode home with us curled up in the floor boards and then the owners met Allen at his home the next morning. They lived all the way out in Winnsboro and I'm sure thought they had lost her for good.

pointing a grasshopper

All in all it was another great trip to the lease! Lots of fun playing in the dirt, going on walks, finding bugs, spotting little critters and driving around enjoying the beautiful wildflowers and sweeping views. I guess God knew what he was doing giving this girl a house full of stinky boys! :)

the cactus were everywhere and covered in bright red to purple fruit! We collected a bunch and I'm going to try and make jelly...hope it turns out! I'd love to see them when they are all in bloom.