Nov 15 is opening day of Mi gun deer . Opener is about the same every year except this year ! I had just finished Mondays shift at work and got home around 11:50 pm.Upon walking in the door I was greeted by the smell of bakeing cookies. Jen,my wife was baking some to take to the blind in the AM. I headed to the gun room to pull the rifles from the safe and case them for the morning. Double checked gear and finally hit the pillow around 2:00 AM,having just set my alarm for 5:15 AM. Dead to the world, I was awakin by a dog jumping on my head and my wife yelling ! I see my wife standing in the door way yelling and holding something black. What's going on ?I yelled. There's a possum in the house !! I jumped up half awake to see a possum run and hide in our pile of shoes and boots. I went into action and grabbed it by the tail and took it to the porch.With a couple wacks from a 4cell maglite ,I took care of the problem.lol

I asked how it got in and Jen said she let one of the dogs out for a potty break . When the dog returned it ran to it's cage, but had dropped something. With no lights on or wearing her glasses she saw the other 2 dogs peering at the object on the floor. She flipped on the lights and saw a "dead" possum ! So she grabbed a trash bag from the kitchen to pick it up and it jumped up and hissed at her ! That's when I got involved. After hearing the tale I tried to get back to bed.
Not long and it was time to get up.grrr...


Got dressed and we headed out to my Grandfathers farm to meet him and my dad. I've been hunting with grandpa for 29 ish years.I'd go opening day with him even before I was old enough to hunt myself. Grandpa is 89 this past Sept and gets around pretty good. We all went to our blinds and awaited daylight. Not long after daylight a small buck showed in my field. I looked him over and decided what the heck,he'll eat good. Besides I had my .223 AI which wanted a go at a deer.(grin) One squeeze of the trigger and BANG FLOP ! WOW ! Not hardly as much as a kick. Sweet, I giggled inside.





After sitting awhile I took pics and gutted my deer .I walked up front to the ditch to clean up and wonder over to see the wife. She had seen a couple does and a small half rack buck, that she passed on. After a brief chat I headed back to my stand.

Here is her little ,but cozy shack...




After a little while, my 2way radio spoke . " You guys ready for a sandwich ?" Yep ! Be over shortly gramps. Soon I headed over to grandpa's blind and home base. My dad traded me spots and he took Jen a fresh cooked burger.Mmmmm.... I ate and talked about the morning and my deer. We swapped some old tales and after a bit I thanked g-pa for everything and headed back out.

G-pa's blind and him cooking lunch !!

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I took my deer up to hang in the shade and returned to my stand for the evening hunt. The day turned very warm and the night hunt was deerless. After dark we gathered at the farm for stories and chilli and grandma's fresh apple pie !!
What a great opening day once again. The farm isn't big ,nor the deer, but the times we have are the BEST EVER ! It's a family tradition.
Thanks for reading and see you next year .....
Tim

Yeah, but the memories will be huge, I wish I had the opportunity to know my Dad's father he passed away before I was born. I love your grandpas hunting shack put some ski's on it and you have a hell of a ice shanty. Congrats on the deer. I hope the rest in your party fill their tags

Sounds like a great time Tim. It's cool when you do the family thing. Thanks for sharing.

Really enjoyed the pictures.

Very, very cool.

Looks to me like Gramps has grown smart over the years, I see mirrors hanging around the stove. Assumming he uses those to "see" behind him when hunting, and not just to check his eggs! Good story, family stuff is the best, thanks and good luck!

It was goog to hear about your hunting time man enjoy the family while you can

Really, really nice!
I wish there were more hunting families like yours. Long live your tradition.
V

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

Yes, those mirrors are for lookin over his shoulder.lol

I shed a tear once in awhile thinking about gramps. I don't ask for much from above, but when his time is up I hope it's quick!

Tim

Congrats on deer but mostly for the family huntin y'all got. That's great!

Very cool! Thanks for posting!

You know , Thank you for your pics and post. Now that's deer hunting for me, family and friends, and even a nice deer. I get so tired of the super serious competitive attitude that trophy hunting, fishing etc has brought to outdoor sports. To each his own but it nice to see a good relaxing story every now and then.

Oh yeah I almost forgot. That possum is a dink.

Tim,

Great story! Congrats on a successful hunt! That country looks strangely familar... What county are you hunting in?

GH

S. Midland Co.

Great day along with pics and story. God Bless your Grandpa at 89 out there hunting and cooking lunch for all. Don't get better than that.

i would give every penny i have, and every material possession i own if i could hunt with my grandpa, and he could meet my son.

great stuff all the way around...

Sounds like a great and exciting opening day congrats, I love the pics, have a great season...................Hb

Great post. Thanks for sharing!

Dang when I was a youngun I always dreamed of a hunt and a family place like that! keep those stories coming.

Anytime you get to hunt with Grandpa, it's a great hunt. Congrats on the buck.

dand right....miss mine and my Dad immensely!

Gr8 story...I had one grandfather go when I was 3 and the other when I was 9...consider yourself very lucky! As for a "small" farm...ya, right!

awesome

Great story and pics! Congrats on your buck!

I married a Michigan girl while at law school in Virginia. I like the mid-Michigan countryside. I've driven from Lansing to Luddington a few times.

God bless your fine family!

My friend you have it made.

A loving wife that bakes you fresh cookies.


A beautiful place to deer hunt and a fantastic family to share it with.


And a dog that is thoughtful enough to catch you a fresh possum for breakfast.

It just doesn't get any better than this.

Great story and pictures. Enjoy it while you can and milk every moment for the memories.

Thanks for reading and taking the time to coment fellers .