Dec. 7 - Reflecting on the past days

Cannot post any new pictures until I upgrade my Google account.....or delete some of what I have posted to date it appears.

These first few days of December cause me to reflect on all that has happened recently. We had a great Thanksgiving week with all our family here. Frank, Crystal, Frankie, Lily.......Tyler, Emily, Connor. And niece Kristin and her two children.

After the holiday, I wrote this entry on Sunday evening but never posted it.

"The Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone. We've said goodbye to all our family and we spent a sad, quiet Sunday with a suddenly empty house. Just Brenda, me and Trapper. And we're not sure how much longer Trapper will be here. Since his overnight stay under the veterinarian's care Friday night, he has been better but will not eat. The end is near for him."

Trapper did not eat anything until the afternoon of November 27. Later, he could not make it back up the steps into the house when we let him out. He just laid down on the sidewalk. I had to carry him back inside at dusck and laid him down on his blanket.

Well, he never did get back to his feet. Trapper died late on the evening of November 27. Brenda and I stroked his still beautiful coat as he struggled through the evening to hang on to life. We cried and consoled him all the way to the end about 11:25.

Damn these dogs. All pet owners know the feelings we have for these members of our families. Trapper was a pain in the behind. I always hated it when he incessantly pestered our house guests. He just wouldn't back off and leave them alone causing the bad side of me to show up. But he just wanted to be loved and to play with anyone. It was always about his ball and play. He could care less about other dogs. His happiness came from interacting with humans. Always hoping someone would pay attention to his needs. A little selfish on his part I always thought. Shame on me for feeling that way. But he was a great dog and we both loved him dearly. Dogs teach us a lot of lessons about ourselves.

The next morning I sobbed as I dug a grave for him below the house. He has a great spot facing the lake below our bedroom. Several stones will mark his spot. When we find Tori's ashes somewhere in all these boxes we will place them in the ground with Trap.

I got to do a lot of deer hunting over the past weekend. Bender, Tyler and I hunted on Saturday near Mt. Pleasant, IA as we've done for many years. Two deer were tagged on Saturday. Bender and I hunted on Sunday in a fog. But by noon, we had tagged and field dressed two more deer, having a nip of TR and a cigar. We were done for the weekend. Most of the meat has already been processed and is in our new freezer. It took only one day for them to process 4 deer!

I had one more antlerless tag to fill for Appanoose County so I hunted alone late Tuesday afternoon near Sundown on some private property (where I shot my wild turkey this past spring). I saw some deer that afternoon but they were too far away from my setup. Wednesday morning, I was back before dawn in the same area but in a different spot watching a wooded ravine. Before 8 am I had bagged a nice doe to fill my last tag. 5 tags filled.

Talk about timing. Brenda and I had shopped in Centerville for a new freezer on Monday night. On Tuesday morning we decided to purchase the only in stock unit that was big enough for our needs. After all, we would have a lot of venison to pick up soon. When I took the deer in on Monday morning, they said they would be ready about December 11th.

By noon, the new freezer was delivered and powered up in our lower level. One half hour after the delivery truck left, the locker called to advise that our venison could be picked up. Boy am I glad we found one in the store!

While Brenda was in Ankeny the past couple of days I've been working hard to get the boxes out of the garage and make room to park vehicles inside before it snows. Last night was the first night that the Flex spent the night in the garage. Two days of opening boxes and moving them into the house where they can be opened and the contents put in their rightful place. I put many boxes into the Gator and shuttled them around to the back door and into the storage room. I assembled three sets of very sturdy shelves in the storage room in recent days and began to fill them up. All the Christmas decorations were placed in the great room. We'll decide how much of them we will use and store the rest in the basement.

We are getting used to the fact that this is now our home. Every day when we rise, the first thing that you see is the lake. It's pretty cool. A year-round front row seat admiring nature's beauty. Deer in the yard in the morning and evening. Geese noisily flying by. Always something to see.

Once I decide how to handle my Google account, I'll get some more pictures posted. To all of you that have been following our project....thanks! It's been a good way to track the progress and log it like a piece of history and stay in touch with you all. I've saved the contents of the blog for my future reference and may decide to end my writings sometime in the near future. Or, maybe not. We'll see.

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!

2012 has been quite a year for Brenda and me. I mean QUITE A YEAR. Here's wishing that 2013 will be a year full of promise and great experiences for all our family and friends. Especially, here at Lake Sundown! We built this house to enjoy our retirement years near nature and to share it with you all!