HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween.

I myself am sitting home alone while my wife is at work (not her usual schedule). She agreed to switch shifts with a coworker so she could take her daughter Trick 'r Treating. Isn't she sweet?

About a week ago, Crystal brought home a rather large pumpkin and cleaned it out. For some reason that evening I decided to get a little creative...with the help of the internet of course. So I downloaded some patterns and started carving away. The pumpkin was so big that I put 3 different "scenes" on it.

The first is a witch riding towards the moon.



Then a spooky tree...



And finally, a ghost with a jack-o-lantern. (This pic isn't so great)



For some reason I got the bright idea that it would look better if I tied all the scenes 'together'. So I cut out the two columns of pumpkin that are on either side of the tree. And in my defense, I thought it looked pretty dang good. However.... :)

I failed to take into account the size and therefor weight of the pumpkin itself which, in turn, after one night began collapsing on itself! :(

Which leads me to what I did this evening. Crystal got another pumpkin, although this time, a much smaller one. She cleaned it today and I carved it this evening. This time I was lazy though. Plus I wanted to get it done just in case we had any trick or treaters come by. We haven't! But I really didn't expect any since we live on a 'private road' surrounded by only the Casey family, which has grown by one as of yesterday. Anthony and Brittany welcomed into the world yesterday a healthy baby boy. Congrat's to them.

Again, Happy Halloween, and we'll be seeing ya later!

Happy Birthday

My oldest nephew celebrated his 11th birthday today. Man, where do the years go? Happy birthday Bubba...love ya buddy.

Sorry for the recent lack of posts. It seems I am at a loss for quality material to relay thoughts about. I have moved the game camera to the "hunting club" that I joined this year. I placed the camera last Wednesday and checked it on Saturday only to find that it had only taken 3 pics! Apparently I'm gonna have to find a better spot to hunt!

Anywho, we're doing fine up here in Traphill. We just passed 11 weeks of pregnancy! Crystal continues to be nauseated at certain foods at all times of the day. Hopefully after passing this first trimester her stomach will settle down some.

Here are some pretty cool baby development stages that were achieved in week 11:

* Nearly all structures and organs are formed and beginning to function.
* Fingers and toes have separated

* Hair and nails begin to grow
* The genitals begin to take on the proper gender characteristics - It will be just a few more weeks before your ultrasound can show if you are having a boy or a girl!

And here a few of the processes happening this week!

Week Twelve

* Vocal cords begin to form
* Those precious eyes begin to move closer together
* Ears shift to their normal place on the side of the head
* Intestines move farther in to your child's body
* His or her liver begins to function
* The pancreas begins to produce insulin
* Your baby's average size is now at a whopping length: 2.13 inch

Simply amazing really.....

That time of year

It's actually been here for a few weeks now...hunting season. I have been only about 3 times so far. This time of year it is bow season, so you have to be extra good because you have to be so much closer to the animal to get a successful shot. Anywho, my lovely wife allowed me to get a "game camera" this past weekend. For those that are unfamiliar, it is a simple digital camera mounted inside a waterproof casing that has an infared motion sensor and flash that will snap pictures any time something activates the motion sensor.

Just from hunting the few times I've been out this year, I know that the deer are moving thru this area (on our property) because the corn and apples that I have put out are disappearing rather quickly. I have also seen a doe with what looks like a yearling (born last year) with her...as seen here: (mom in the foreground)



I put the camera out on Sunday (1 Oct.), consequently, that was also our first wedding anniversary! I retrieved the camera this afternoon (Wed. 4 Oct.) as soon as I got home from work. It had taken 36 pictures! As with the previous picture, all but one of the photos were taken after dark...just what I had suspected and was afraid of. Deer are very smart creatures and very tough to hunt. I suppose that's alot of the appeal for most people. It wouldn't be very much fun if you could open your window and shoot them huh?

I had already guessed that they were using the area mostly at night and pics like this really confirmed that.



This is the same two does from above with mom being the in the foreground again and only the eyes of the younger doe can be seen.

Most of the pics are very similar to these. However the one exception I mentioned, the only one that was not after dark, captured another deer altogether!



Notice the light starting to filter thru the trees in the background. I haven't been able to determine if this the break of day or just before dusk. I need a camera that has the time and date imprinted on it! Obviously this is a small buck, without a doubt just a lil over a year old (fawns are typically born in June and July). This is what is called a spike because he has two antlers with no points branching off. It is however pretty good length for the antlers. Some would refer to this as a "cow-horn spike".

Now, the camera snapped some pictures of what may be another small buck. From the angles I've seen, I can't determine if the pic of the spike above could possibly this small "4 pointer".



Same deer? Possibly. Could've had his head turned just enough that the other points just didn't show up in the first photo. Who knows? We need more proof! :)

This is already proving to be more fun for me than I had anticipated. Maybe it's a part of the scientist in me that wants to know what's going on...especially when it's right here in our backyard.

Stayed tuned.....I'm sure I'll have more to come!