Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Birth of a deer camp

oh man, the false morels. I've seen em before, they are definately different. more like a folded umbrella. stem goes all the way up & the top hangs on the stem like a skirt, the stem has a cotton like inside... they are different for sure. real morels are hollow & smooth on the inside.

Tell ya what, I have a huge bowl of these in the fridge & we're gonna get some domestic cow slabs & toss em on the grill this weekend & cook up a bunch of these shrooms. You guys come on up & we'll eat & drink like pigs & try to find something fun to do.

On May 11th. I posted that this thread had over 11,00 views.Wow!Now it's over 13,000.Just proves what an interesting thread this is.

Stan

I guess it's lengthy if nothing else.

Maybe lacking interesting content as of late, as far as the cabin/deer camp project goes anyways. But that's mostly due to the winter to summer transition.

The whole scope of the project originally was with this grand purpose of creating a special place of belonging for our family. To bring my late cousin's family closer to ours, to initiate what will hopefully be a life long hunting partnership with my nephew and my uncle, both of which are about the best hunting partners you could hope for.

I guess the thread captures a lot of that bonding that I hoped for from the very beginning of the project. It captures my daughter's first deer... the construction of the cabin, all of the collective campfire advice that was offered up & taken into consideration which ultimately impacted the direction of the project, construction decisions etc...

It's been a bits & pieces story I guess and that's why it's probably so difficult for me to understand why the story has over 13,000 views. It's like concentrating on a lone tree within the forest, I have to back away & try to take in the whole picture to understand.

The thread started out as sort of a .... I guess I don't know what I would call it... It was so many things, but maybe on it's first day it was a bit of a crutch for me, and it has been that crutch for me off & on when I need it. I was in a state of shock & grieving, I had lost my best friend. I had a need to create & strengthen a bond with certain members of my friends family & mine. My friend (cousin) and I were like brothers, we were what brothers would hope to be, so close.

The deer camp became a stage for a lot of necessary healing. My first post in this thread put my heart out on my sleeve, once it was out there it just stayed that way. It's out of character for me but I guess it just kind of happened that way.

I stated something to the effect that I was at the beginning looking forward & was asking advice from those ahead of me looking back. Well that's what I got, and it just keeps on coming. For that I'm very thankful.

And, the thread became a diary for the project, I guess as long as someone is interested I'll keep it going.

There is plenty of work to do ahead of us, a little more construction on the cabin itself. There is to be an attached sauna, and now we are talking about adding sort of a "BS room" alongside the sauna area, possibly a bar & some stools, a place to belly up have a few drinks & visit into the night if you like without being too loud & disturbing the sleep of the serious/responsible hunters

More trails need to be cut, stands need to be built, maybe a food plot or 2.... There is always work to do at deer camp.

Would love to take ya up on that offer but wife has a kidney walk fundraiser to do for one of Colby's little buddies. I guess us men folk will ride along in the RV for "moral support"
One of these weekend though for sure!

RV support team. that sounds like trouble to me

have fun.

Dave,
I know exactly what the deer camp means to you.When I built my place up in the mountains of north Georgia in 1985/1986 a lot of weekend assistance came from my old college room mate Tom.From college days starting in the fall of 1959 when by chance we were cast together as roomies,Tom and I were like brothers.We raised families together,went thru divorces(both of us),met new fine ladies and re-settled down.This past February Tom quite unexpectedly passed away from a sudden heart attack.
My point is that to REALLY live you gotta share yourself with others.Put your heart out on your sleeve as you phrased it.A stranger is simply a friend you haven't met yet.
13,000.Go for 20,00 and beyond.

your friend,
Stan

Isn't it funny?

Life. Love. The pursuit of happiness. Friendship. A good doG (that's God spelled backwords). The smell of your first kiss. The friend that introduced you to that girl. Grandma's cookies. The sound of a fly reel in full drag. Smell of woodsmoke. A fair breeze. The smell of that doG wet. The fit of good pair of boots. Those same boots repaired. A triple on the wing. The guy that witnessed the triple. Your Anniversary. Every year. Children that need you. Your Dad. Your Mom. Your best friends Mom! He's got a little 'captain in 'em! Strip, strip, long strip, FISH ON! A baby on your belly. Baby spit-up. Fine shooting iron. Cheap iron that works. Sunshine. Sunshine and deep snow. The sound of snow melting. Life. Love. The pursuit of happiness.

And Deer Camp.

Craig

You guys got it thats why Deer Camp means just as much to me and many others. Deer Camp or any hunting camp is another scent of Life being breathed right into our hearts and souls.

Scents like the first frosted mornings in the fall and as was said above of the woodstoves with a warm fire, those scents are the same to me as many others. Life scents in the air of perfumes on a woman, to scents of sweaty men, to that of a smelly diaper. Its all Good Dave and friends, keep the hits coming and maybe Dave will someday be inclined to write his book, or we'll all keep being inspired to breathe life into eachother by sharing on this thread of Northn Daves Deer Camp...

Heavy white fog this morning as I walked from the house to the garage. new leaves are opening up on all trees & brush. slight breeze was carrying all these new green smells from the woods that surround my house. That sweet spring time smell. I had to pause for a moment & just take it in. Nature was presenting a masterpiece to who ever would take notice.

life is good.

This is the attraction of the thread something reality tv strives for and yet cannnot reach. It is called life.

Funny how through words on a screen, you can take in the smells, the sounds, the sights, the feelings of what bonds people from across this great country with one single shared passion....the outdoors.
Putting people like us in a big city would be like putting a wolf in 6 x 6 kennel. It would be a lowly and miserable existence for those that know better...

I feel for the people that never get to "pause and take it all in"

Rooster,

You got that right too! This thread as well as many others on the forums but especially daves camp here has kept me alive and somewhat sane. Over the last 3 years I've had to transition from owning my own construction buisness and being my own boss making decent money, to working in a warehouse for the man just making ends meet to now a cube in an office making ok money.

I used to be able to set my own hours working and playing outside 24/7 and these days I find myself reading the threads on the campfire during breaks, lunch and more often then I should. I can't post from there but it has helped keep the caged wolf feeling away and the free animal alive in me and Thankful for the home in the country I can still live in.

Each morning at dawn I'm sitting alone on my front porch catching the last breath of freedom and the scents of the coountry for the day, until later that evening when I finally arrive home.

All of these changes have been for the benefit for my growing family and wife but it takes its toll on me. I'm patiently awaiting the day I can go back to the country life for good after the kids are full grown about another 10 years or so.

Yet for now Daves Camp on the campfire keeps me going and makes me think about the scents of life I get to go home to eachday and the days I do get to enjoy. Like the smell of fresh turned soil from the trees I will plant over 75 pin oaks in the morning with the kids, the freshcut grass I will cut as well, the gunpowder during alittle target plinking for some fun, finally the smoker going full bore with meat and the grilled kabobs for supper tomorrow. But for now I'm going to sitback and watch a western with my wife and catch some bourbon in the glass, hopefully the glass won't endup in my eye like Daves... Thanks guys for helping remind me eachday of Life, of Family, of Fun in the woods and country!!!!

All the things 4 es ter said on the previous page.That's life.And the older you get the more your assured mortality is evident to you.But....right now we are in a good place.
I had a heart catheterization done yesterday in hopes that some of the problems of shortness of breath and lack of stamina which I've been experiencing could be corrected by either stints or baloons.Such was not the case.I have 5 blockages that can only be corrected by a multiple bypass.I go to the heart surgeon on Tuesday to sort out the details of when.The sooner the better is my feeling.


Stan

I probably entered the last half of my life a few years a go. That's hopefully a long time to go. But does cause me to think about death. Some friends have died younger than me. The older crowd gets thinner every month.

But I think death is really just part of the whole thing. Deer camp is a teacher there for sure. I really don't fear death. But I certainly don't intend to poke it in the eye either.

If I fear anything, it'd be dieing "badly". So I choose to live life pretty full. Maintain integrity, honesty, and a relationship with whatever one chooses to call the force that knits this all together.

It sounds like some rough road ahead Stan. I've got a feeling it'll be fine. Be strong! Please, keep us posted.

Craig

Stan,

You are a hunter a provider and a strong one I'm sure but just the same incase you need alittle extra.. I'll be keeping you in my prayers Good Luck.. Keep us posted on how its going.

Thank you wabo.I will do so.

Stan

Holy smokes Stan, best of luck, you are in my thoughts & prayers.

Please do keep us posted.

Dave

Prayers sent Stan.

The deer are REALLY hitting the mineral and salt licks right now. This is the time to have them out. I swear that I can see their horns growing. I usually just put out a "red block" with a salt block, to force them to eat the mineral block. You guys have got me thinkin' now! I really don't know what the mineral mix in the blocks is for; cow/doe-fetus health? Probably not horn growth, as the livestock industry doesn't need horn growth. It looks like I have another project to research. Anyone know the composition of the commercial "deer' mineral recipes out there? And I suppose the commercial elk and deer breeders know this stuff. I'll have to call a couple of them.

A picture of a stump that I put a salt block on last fall. The stump will be gone by next spring.

That looks about right. The stump I had the block on was not nearly as tall as the one yours was on. but the results were the same.

What is the peice leanin' on the stump. it sure has a purtty mouth.