Don't even want to go on vacation.....

 WHY??? because I have soooo much to get done before vacation, and I can't finish any of it until I GET MY AXLE BACK. Yep, that's right I still don't have my axle. It is still up at Higbee's...😡 why? Well I called them this week to ascertain that very question. 

We're going to back up a little here, Monday was Moe's Monday so I went to eat at Moe's with a buddy of mine. When we got done he and his kids wanted to do a little kayaking so I took them to a lake that I knew was trolling motor only. While they went kayaking I drove up to Higbee's and saw that my axle was in the same place I had put it 👿. Since it was Memorial day I had to wait.... and stew about why it hasn't moved in 2 WEEKS. When I called on Tuesday I asked if they had gotten to it yet, they replied with, "no we can't find spindles"😠. I held my tongue and told them to give me a couple minutes, 5 minutes after I had talked to them I had spindles on order and shipping out. I will let them know when I pick up the axle how upset I was when they hadn't just called me a week ago. 

With all that being said I still don't have my axle and am not sure when it will be done. So my vacation after my vacation is now in jeopardy because I NEED MY BOAT. Even if I get my axle before I leave, I won't even have 1 shakeout cruise under my belt before I roll North to De Tour village after vacation.

UUUUGGGGGHHHHH dammit.

 

I did go fishing with my buddy, we took his kayak and I borrowed my neighbors, we went to my lake for half a day. We didn't do good but I did get one bass before we had to get off, then I caught 1 more from shore. It was a good day. That was all after we spent the morning at my neighbors cutting a couple small trees down and de-rooting them (I did have to go back Wednesday and finish the job.) Speaking bout Wednesday, after I swung an axe and mattocks for 2 hours, Bill and I went to get his pontoon. Then we launched his pontoon and ran it over to where he slips it for the summer. When we went to put in on the boat lift we realized the water was too high and had to get another slip closer to shore. That entailed floating the boat lift over to the new slip, centering it up and putting the pontoon on it. All in all I had a couple hours short of all day running around and fixing Bill's problems. Which I'm not even mad at, we had a good day and got alot done. I didn't have anything planned anyway. 😁

 

I once again came to the conclusion that I am not 16 anymore. I have the skill just not the strength, or stamina to swing an axe and/or mattocks for hours on end.... and I'm a little sore too. 

I guess since I know what awaits me at home I should be happy I got a preworkout....... 

 

Anyway, I had a pretty busy week, but I feel like I got alot done albeit not for me....  

 

Oh, yeah almost forgot...... look at my Rose bush.

😁

At a standstill

 Yep, 98% of what I needed to get done before the shakeout cruise is done. I am currently waiting on the axle to get done.... without that, the boat is just going to live in the garage.

 

This week I got all the little stools done I wanted to get done and rewired the lights so they work now. 

I got some fiddling to do at the back of the boat but that it unnerves me to think about moving too much in the back with it being suspended with jack stands. So I'll wait till I get the axle and get the tires back under it..... more waiting.

Still in dry dock

 I did however get alot done, I got the battery box fixed, the step fixed, the boat cleaned up and ready to work on the nav lights. I also brought the hubs up to where my axle is awaiting new spindles. I hope that gets done next week so I can put that back together. Nothing else going on. I am hoping to get the boat in the water if not next week the week after.

I GOT ROBBED

 Somehow they got into my garage, and stole my springs, hubs and spindles off my axle, fortunately they left my axle so I can get all new put on. My axle is currently at Higbee welding getting new spindles put on.

Alright I didn't get robbed I just did that to grab your attention. I did get all the new stuff mentioned above. I was only going to get new hubs and springs until I took the hub off and found this on the bottom of my spindle.

Pretty beat up and abused so I did bring it to Higbees, it's a local welding shop that does alot of trailer work.

 

Outside of that I've been pretty busy this week working on the boat... 

 

Let's see I......

Mounted my fish hawk.. 

Put another seat base so I can be back a little more when I'm trolling.

This is where it sits for my passenger on the way in and out.

Then I made some boxes... The first is multi purpose, it serves as a step into the boat, and is my step for when I'm trolling in the "big" chair, and lastly it is for a little extra storage.

Next is my battery box..

I do have to make some tweaks to this bad boy... 

First off in the first pic do you notice that it is off the deck? Well it should sit flat. Also in the above pic, that is all the higher I can open the cover because the battery charger is too far back. So I'll have to reposition the charger more to the front. Then after I get it situated I'll probably screw it to the floor, so it doesn't move. Then next year I'll order some carpet and carpet both boxes. 

 

Well that's all I got done this week. I won't be fishing until I get the axle and accessories back to put together.... maybe next month. 

Fouth day was not the charm

 I started my week on Monday getting up early, driving to the public ground, entering the draw and wondering how long my luck would last. Since I didn't get drawn for a hunt this year I've been putting in for a no show since the open, and so far have been really lucky to be drawn both days last week. Monday did not disappoint, I did end up getting drawn for the third day of my hunt. So as soon as I got my sign in card I sped off to get to "my" spot, which was where I left off last week. I got to within less than 100 yards of where I thought the Tom was. I put out my decoy, set up my chair and blind, and instantly heard a gobble, followed by hens.... which were only roosted 50 yards from where I was. I called softly and sparingly until the Tom flew down, then the hens flew down. I picked up the calling a little more, and tried to get the gang to come over to see me..... They did not. They moved off to the North through the woods. After a couple hours and calling to make sure they were gone, I got up and changed locations to get ready for his return... which is what he did Thurs. I set in that spot the rest of the day and called every half hour or so... and finally had movement in front of me. 2 Jakes came out of the swamp, up over a log, and headed over to check out my decoy. There was one Jake that almost died right there, his beard was about an inch longer than his brother. But then again I knew I had alot of season left and knew I could've filled my tag again, so I let them walk. The tom did not come back.

 Tuesday I got up early and headed out to sign up for the draw... I just kept wondering how long my luck would last. When I got to the sign in I didn't see many other cars, so I felt pretty good. That was until I got in, signed up and realized I had the same number as Monday and I noticed how early it was. Well, by the time it was said and done there were 18 guys for 7 spots... and I wasn't one of them. 

So, plan B was to stop at another public spot with no draw, owl hoot and see if I could hear a gobble. 

I did not...

Plan C spot is anther public spot that I've shot a bird on a couple years ago. So, I got there set up in the same spot and heard... crickets, ok actually it was frogs, but no turkey's.

Since it was kinda late 9am I decided to drive around and see if I could put my eyes on a bird, again I could not.

So as a last ditch effort I stopped at a parking spot with some thick ground in back, grabbed my gear and headed back to a spot I had marked on OnX as "check here". So off I went to "check here", fortunately it had rained and all the leaves were quiet as I walked through the woods on my way to the highest point. When I got there I pulled out my slate, clucked 4 times and yelped twice, and was met with an immediate response.

I looked around and found a spot to put my chair, sat down, shut up and waited for him to stick his head over the hill so I could shoot him in the face. After 35 minutes I realized he wasn't coming so I got up, still being quiet, and clucked a couple more times.... He answered again except further away. So I knew I didn't spook him and he was doing the same thing I was... he was trolling. 

So I pinned his last gobble on OnX and set out to loop in close to where I thought he was. He started gobbling on his own so I could keep tabs on him. That helped alot as I looked for a spot close to where I thought he had gobbled from the first time. When I found a spot, I set up again, this time setting out my decoy. When I was ready I clucked and yelped again, he gobbled, I clucked and yelped, he gobbled, I clucked and purred and he gobbled twords me and headed in. 

I shut up and waited. It was only 5 or 10 minutes before I saw his white head through the underbrush, and within a couple seconds I could see him clearly head and shoulders down like a bull, charging in to find the hen that he was talking to. Unfortunately for him he only found the load of #9's that exploded out of my 410 and met him only 20 yards from where I was sitting.

 When he went down I breathed a sigh of relief and felt a surge of exhilaration. That was one of my favorite hunts, he did it right, I played it right and got to walk out with a nice bird. I took time and got pics, gathered my gear and my bird and walked out. Awesome day.

 

So, the first part of this VIDEO is the Monday hunt with the Jakes and then.... well you'll figure it out. 

 

 

I did try to get video of the tom coming in however I didn't elevate the camera to be able to see over my netting so all you saw was the netting.  

 

I'll do better.