The Hunting Mom

Mom has just conveyed to the family that she wants to go hunting. Wa hooo!!!!!


"Sarah Palin's got nothing on me!" --- Mom

Two more bucks for the Bakers

Yesterday my Dad and I hunted together and each shot a deer. Dad shot a 5 point and I shot a 4 point. The freezer is now well stocked.

I hit my deer high and hit the spine which paralized it but did not kill it. So I had to cut its throat.

Shot a big buck!!!

This deer season I have been hunting on some friends land and just harvested the first deer for the season. This was not just any deer it was the biggest five point buck I have ever seen! Everybody that saw it thought that it should have more points for the size body it had.

I do all the gutting and meat processing myself.

Tennessee Trip

Several weeks ago we took a trip to visit our wonderful friends, Mark and Addie Rouse and their three children. They live in the great Smoky Mountains.






Our trip started out great, but took an unfortunate turn in Cherokee Valley. We were loading up on some very expensive gas for the last trek over the mountains when our car decided it didn't want to go anymore. Of course, it was Saturday afternoon and everything had just shut down for the weekend! A highlight to the unexpected venture was a ride in the car while being towed. How cool! Fortunately, Mark and Addie only lived an hour away and they struck out immediately to rescue us.







Mark, Coy, and Zac playing poker with rocks.

Bruce only thought his days with pigs and pancakes were over. Maddie and Suzanna cornered him for story time. He loved it of course.

I think Owen had the best time of all. He loved having the boys play with him and very much understood they were "of the same breed". Yes, snails and puppy dog tails!

Say awww. What a classic.

The Rouse Seniors live next door and have the most relaxing porch I have ever known. What a great place to spend an afternoon.

The Rouse Seniors had a bonfire one night complete with hotdogs, marshmellows, and guitars and praise songs. Some of the ranch kids and faculty joined us for the good time.

Miss Maddie playing house. What a doll she is!

Mimi and Addie at Cade's Cove.

We drove through Cade's Cove one evening in search of a bear. The men folk had seen the biggest black bear earlier in the week. I was so dissappointed to have missed it. We saw horses and deer, but no bear.

As Coy looks on this old mill in the cove, he is thinking how much simpler it is to use electricity to mill the grain. Progress isn't so bad after all.

Bruce and Mimi still romantic after 17 years.

Cade's Cove

Bambi, but no bear.

Horses, but no bear!

Wears Valley Ranch - where broken hearts are mended. It has ours, but for now the door is closed for us to work with this ministry.

Beautiful places and beautiful people - a great time had by all! No bear though.

Blacksmithing

I have been doing blacksmithing for the past year. I specialize in knives. In the picture above I am burning Zac's name into a sheath of his with a red hot piece of metal. Pretty cool huh.

Fire

Now that it is getting cooler we have been having fires in the evening. We have not been able to get Mom or Dad out yet, but we're still having fun