Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474

A tale of woe and embarrassment" I and my wife, Bill, (my best friend) and his wife and kids were all up at the cottage we had on a trout lake, with a great deer bush behind us. November deer season, with snow on the ground. Off Bill and I go, before dawn and get into our stands. And Wait And Wait. It starts to snow more heavily and Bill walks into my watch and says: "I don't think they'll be moving in this ****"! Let's head in for lunch and some coffee." We walk into the road into our cottage and we see deer tracks getting covered by snow. Looking at them, we determine at least one of three is a buck. A big one. Not running, just walking towards the water. "Well, isn't that something! Right headed to the lake, right between the cottage and the garage where we store the Skidoos!" We stomp the snow off our boots and brush ourselves off before we enter the cottage, only to be stopped by Eileen,(Bill's wife) and Sherron, (my wife), who remark: "I don't know why you guys get up so early and spend the day out in the cold, when the deer come to us." The kids are giggling like crazy. "Don't bother taking your clothes off. You have work to do. Go look in the garage." And there was Mr. buck, nicely opened and drawn, lying on the floor, on top of some plastic sheeting, because they couldn't find the chain fall hoist or get it hung.by themselves. A shotgun and a slug in the hands of some women is a useful tool.

Most of us up here got studded tires when, they first came out, but had to pull the studs or replace the tires when they were banned, due to the damage they did to the road asphalt or concrete.

My son, Big Red, got T-boned last winter, when a woman ran a red light around 11:30 at night. She tried to claim it was Ian who ran the light, because she didn't see a Dash Cam in the dash of his van. OOPSY! It got knocked to the floor in the collision, but was still running c/w audio and showed he had the right of way as well as catching her tirade and accusations as she continued to rant. We made sure her insurance company got a copy.

Timber cut: Similar to Texas Joker above, but in teams of pistoleer, shotgunner and rifle shooter. Throw in an entry fee to be divided among the top three teams or whatever. Include the use of a Falling or Rolling Block as part of the stage.

My friends in British Columbia, (who are leaving for Alberta) tell me it's almost as bad there. Question: Is there something in the air or water on the West coast?

Try to find clothing with zippers that have LARGE teeth. They last and continue to mesh better. A little wax on them once in a while helps too.

We put "Winter" tires on at this time of year. The winter "rubber" tires work better in cold weather, even on bare pavement, giving better traction. The tread is more aggressive to handle the snow, but in most places, plowing, salting and calcium causes any ice to dissipate, except near curbs, where you can get a build up of slush.

Our cold/winter weather coats have both zippers and buttons. The buttons usually ar on a flap that covers the zipper portion. The zippers normally work both ways.

Look on the bright side. At a very young age, that young girl learned to distrust those placed in authority.

So I expect all the other manufacturers as well as distributors, to raise their prices, following Winchester's lead and once they see Winchester's new price list. In Canada, the Competition Bureau calls this "Price Leadership".

The ones for Trail Boss?

Likely a symbol that would make some clutch their pearl necklaces, if my studies of ancient cultures means anything.

Compared with the second set of pics there doesn't seem to be a lot of space for draught animals and the wagon tongue, but maybe it's just the perspective?

I see people walking on the top 1/3 left side of the picture, but I keep wondering: What's pulling those wagons? I don't see oxen, mules or horses, except for what may be a rider on the right side of the photo.

Like deer, a lot depends on what they are feeding on. Up here for example once forage gets scarce here, deer start eating cedar bough greenery and the tender new growth. It really effects the taste of the meat. They seem to know instinctively, that the cedar oils act as type of internal antifreeze during the winter. Moose, (Swamp Donkeys) prefer aquatic plants and roots, although that is not their sole source of feed. Our season is basically in October, just before or at the start of the transition to winter feeding habits. We were taught a lot of the taste is affected by the way the meat is handled once the animal is dispatched, (Quickly or chased/tracked after a wounding, the rut etc.) then gutted. bled, cooled etc. The meat can vary according to the food they are eating. I find it tasty, but drier than beef because there is little or no marbled fat. I have served it to guests and they didn't know it was anything other than beef. I cook a roast with bed of chopped onions, a sprinkle of garlic powder, salt and fresh ground pepper, often some prepared mustard smeared over it and some red wine, all inside a LOOK Cooking bag to hold the moisture and capture all the juices for gravy. I don't do a lot of steaks, because I find them harder to cook due to their dryness and I make a mess of them.. When we butcher, we turn as much as we can into roasts, a few steaks then stew or hamburg.

Channeling Uncle Alpo are we?

For deer, I carry carried a drag rope and hauled it out to the truck or my car. Later, Dr-Dr Bob introduced me to a vinyl plastic sled that made things easier to skid out. Moose were a VERY different story. Sometimes one of the group would venture into territory they shouldn't and pulled the trigger.' THEN, it was field butchering, cutting into commercial cuts and packing the cuts out on a pack frame. OH WHAT FUN!!