On the very last day of the season, I was lucky enough to shoot a buck! I don't have any pictures right now, but my friend has some I'll put on as soon as I can.
After skinning and butchering the deer, I was stuck with what to do with the antlers, and I decided to make my own European mount. It didn't look that hard, so in about 2 days I did it. Here are some pictures of the process. Here's the head right before the process...
Just starting to boil.
After about an hour and a half.
Sarah was excited for some brain stew!!!
At about 5 hours the skin started to kind of fall off.

After that it was a matter of scraping off skin, cleaning out brains
and other tissue, and then boiling for another couple hours.


These three were before I soaked it in Hydrogen Peroxide,
to make it whiter and clean off any last tag alongs.
And here is the finished product!
Now I will mount it on a plaque and post pics of that later:)

Ahhh!!!! It always happens, I go to gun shows and leave disappointed never having the money to buy all the cool things I see. Well not today! After church I ran down to the fairgrounds just to check it out, and a nifty little .45 followed me home! "Honest mom, it just looked so lonely, I couldn't just send it away!" Anyways its a Star Firestorm M45, which is modeled like a 1911, though a little smaller. I shot one before, but it was in .40SW, and I love 1911s so I had to buy it! And at $295, it was a darn good deal. I got my mom to sign all the legal stuff promising her she could shoot it sometimes... It came with a standard 6 round clip and two 8 round extended clips. With a nickle finish, this heavy little gun is real pretty.

My entire upper body is sore, very sore. Especially my forearms. Ouch... But its all worth it. I have a new favorite sport, a sport that gives me exercise, fun and a huge rush. Snake chucking! Just kidding, rock climbing. It is amazing. Today I spent all afternoon climbing indoors at Crux Climbing Walls, an amazing indoor climbing place in downtown Eugene. My friends Dylan, Daniel and my sister Grace and I had alot of fun. Then, Dylan, Grace and I were walking up towards Skinner Butte, when my friends Dustin and Lisa Smith drove by on their way to the Skinner Butte Columns. So, I went for my first outdoor climb, and all I can say is, I'm still shaking from the excitement! I climbed a fairly hard one, it was about 60 feet. I cannot wait to buy some gear so I can do it more often, like every week. I learned how to belay, next I'll try lead climbing...
I didn't have my camera, but I found these pictures of the Columns online...

Maybe it's because I can relate to them, but I have always had a place in my heart for drifters, homeless and less fortunate peoples of the world. They really are nice people, and I get extremely frustrated with people who treat them less than they really are...
All that being said, tonight my parents hit a homeless kid. He was in his early 20's, heading for California, and he ran out in the road to get his puppy. Unfortunately, it was dark and my dad was going 55, and the kid Frankie's head went through our windshield. Miraculously he lived, and the dog was OK too. He had for friends with him, all heading to Modesto California on the next train they could hop onto. After everything was cleaned up, mom and I took his friends over to the hospital to check on his friend. A lot of people probably thought we were crazy, picking up some drifters late at night in a dark parking lot, but they were the most thankful group I have ever seen. They were very worried about there friend, and I feel like we were doing what Jesus would have done. He wouldn't have cared that they were dirty, possibly had been drinking(or doing drugs), and didn't have the cleanest language. He still would have done all He could to help them.
It just makes me so mad when people, especially people professing to be Christians, have no sympathy for them. I have had very good friends who are homeless, and they are no different than you and me, but have run into hard times.
But to make a long story short, Frankie will be OK. He got busted up pretty bad, both legs broken, but he is alive and that is pretty incredible. Tomorrow, we'll go try to get him some new Carhartt overalls, because the paramedics cut off his very worn pair he was very fond of.
Anyways I am so thankful God allowed me into the lives of these young drifters, and hopefully will show Himself to them through our actions.

I just got back from a weekend of looking for the big buck of the Southern Oregon woods, but he is safe for now. Tyler and I left on Friday and hunted all day Saturday and some of Sunday. It was fun, and we saw near around 40 does, but not a single male deer... besides the scads of fawns we saw. We stayed at Tyler's friend Mitch's ranch, a sprawling 2,000 acre land of magical wonder for a guy who likes guns, machinery and wide open space. When we got there on Friday night we were informed by Mitch we were going to try to catch some poachers who cut the locks on his gates and shot some deer. We waited till all hours of the night armed and ready, but to no avail... they didn't show. We saw several herds of elk every day, so that might be a fine place to go come elk season. For now we'll just hunt around here, but maybe later we will go back. I am very jealous of his ranch, and his gun collection which includes several very nice pieces, such as an M1 Garand, M14, FN Fal paratrooper model, 1895 Winchester in 30-40 Krag, a Krag, and a whole bunch more... I could have spent weeks there shooting all his guns. Maybe next time I'll get pictures.

Oh man.... My calves are so sore. I started running seriously again today, hopefully keeping that up for a while. It was hard for me for a while, with the hospital and after effects, but now I am doing good. I am going to a food allergists to see exactly what foods I am allergic to. I already know I'm lactose intolerant, but it is suspected I am also gluten intolerant. That would mean I have to stay away from all wheat products, and most other processed foods. But the good news is, by eating like that, I will be eating better than most other people in America. Lots of meat, fruits, vegetables and lots of rice:) Which is good, cause I love rice.
On another note, I'm going to sight in my rifle tomorrow for deer hunting:) Yeah!!! So much fun. Hopefully I'll go on a bear hunt or two before that, maybe even getting one with my handgun. That would be sweet...

I just got back from the Shakespeare festival in Ashland, it was amazing!!! I went last year as well, and considering its considered the best Shakespeare plays in the country, it was very well done. This year we saw All's Well that Ends Well, Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth. I have to say Macbeth was my least favorite, it was too dark, depressing and hard to follow. The other two were hilarious. It is an amazing thing to go to, so if you haven't ever been, I highly recommend it. Ashland is centered around this festival, and people all over the world attend it. I even met two girls from Italy there!!! I went with our English class, so my friends and I also wandered around Ashland checking out shops, listening to live music of all types and playing football and Frisbee in the parks. I didn't get any pictures, but my friend did, so I may get some to put on the post...