Lazarus Time

     Hello! I'm truly sorry to have not posted anything in such a long time, but life happens. Sometimes it's hard to do things when your financially, and timely handicapped. The world, and more importantly my world has been constantly changing and in the shuffle.

     As I have stated in earlier posts, I'm an addict (family,hunting, fishing, farming) who hopes to never recover as long as I live. I unfortunately lost total track of time during the later part of deer season , Christmas holidays, and early Spring. My writing suffered. I truly missed it.

     My Dad's health has been complicated as well. Most times he is as normal as can be expected. At others he gets sicker, which requires more attention and takes a greater toll on my Mother , who is his primary caregiver. Both of my parents are in their 70's, and refuse to admit they are not still 17 and totally healthy. Every time I try to help I hear that I am too busy at my own house and they can handle everything. Just the other day, Less than a week from my Dad being released from his last stay in the hospital for another round of pneumonia, I arrived at their home to find my Dad outside, checking the oil on the lawn mower, so my 74 year old Mother could cut the grass!

     Another issue I have had was access to a computer. I had a laptop, but one of my sons needed it more than I did, so I gave him mine. Funny but when I needed to use it , it was not available most of the time. By the time I remembered to go back and use it , it was not available again. And time marched on. I could make a lot of flimsy excuses, but life just took over and time marched on.

     Now hopefully things have changed. Financially things are more stable and looking up! I have been getting up some supplies necessary for what I need to do. I have acquired my own laptop again, and a new smart phone, now if I can just learn to use them!

     I am in the process of changing careers once again. I have begun taking a 6 month class to become an EMT. The idea of learning about health, and information that could help us with my Father, and others later on , sounds good to me. I have never really enjoyed my work. I think I would like being able to help others. So far I already see I will be doing a lot of studying!!

     So, if anyone's out there listening, life still goes on here in Bullfrog Bottom. The season are a changing, and life goes on. Soon I will be in my garden sweating away for the table. It's time to go start  harvesting my firewood for next fall and winter. Fish are calling to me to be caught and invited to supper. Preseason deer hunting preparations need to be made . Livestock issues, and land development is also on our plate for the upcoming year.

     Please stay with us! Tell your friends. It will be a fun ride!

Jim Cobb Coleman


    

    

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

   Today my oldest son turned another year older. He is 22 now. It seems like just the other day we brought him home from the hospital. All new and tiny and sweet baby smelling. Now he's big as I am and rough and hairy and grown.

   Funny thing is I still feel like I'm 22, instead of the real 48 years I have on me. The time sure flies by. I remember only yesterday I was the one hurring home from work and racing to clean up, change clothes, and hurry out the door on a semi-all night date. Now I'm the one waiting up to make sure he gets home safely.

   I don't mind being at home with my wife and baby boy on weekends, when I'm not hunting, while my older son is out on the town. But what is strange is both of the boys seem to be out growing us. I'm sure this is nothing new. I must have done the same thing when I was that age. But back then I still wanted to do things with my Dad & Mom. My boys hardly stay around us, and when they're home they stay in their rooms, only coming out for meals and restroom breaks.

    I guess this must be what my parents felt like when I started growing up, must be what all parents go through. Time sure goes by quickly.Things happen that can keep you from being able to do everything you would like to do with your kids. Hopefully as they grow up they will understand that you tried to do everything right when they were little.

   All you can do is try to teach them and love them, then back off and hope for the best. Maybe one day they will need you as much as you love them.

Happy Birthday buddy.

Love Mom and Dad.

J.C. Coleman

IT'S BEEN A GOOD HUNTING SEASON!!!

   It's been a great Fall hunting season! This is my favorite time of the year and this season has been very productive. I got lucky and I already have 2 wild hogs and 5 deer. Thanks to a little hard butchering work I have around 800lbs of meat in my freezers and we still have over 2 months left to hunt !

   I also brought out my largest buck this year. A 170lb 9 point buck. He had a 17 & 1/4 inch inside spread. He definitely is going on my wall. I already put his head in the taxidermy shop.Earlier in the season I also got a nice 7 pointer. He was a younger deer but still anice buck and will sure be tasty.

   I hunt in two states and belong to a hunting club. I also hunt public land, and private farms. This allows me to have a chance at several deer to try and fill my freezer so I can feed my family. When I butcher my deer I make hamburger, sausage, jerky, cube steak, & butterfly steaks.A little elbow grease and my freezer gets full.

   The hogs ain't bad either!!!

Jim Cobb Coleman.

ME & GENE AUTRY, BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!

   Saturday was opening day of muzzle loading season for deer. It was great to be back in the woods with my old smoke pole. I built a 50 caliber Hawken from a kit several years ago. I carved out the stock, and made all the parts fit. I drew a deer's head on one side of the butt stock and a jumping bass on the other side. I added a few turkey tracks and put my name on the stock.  I named the gun " Old Iron" and I burned all of this into the stock and stained it. Not a bad job even if I did do it.

   It's fun to try and go back in time and live, even if only for a little while like our ancestors did. I grew up reading about Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett now I can hunt like they did. Well sort of. They didn't have a portable deer stand to climb up a tree with, or a 4x4 four wheeler to haul them deep into the back woods.

   Saturday and Sunday found me in the woods way before daylight trying to get the drop on an unsuspecting deer suitable for my table. You see I love to hunt, but I feel like the mountain men of yesteryear when I go afield. I want the adventure, and a trophy. but I'm primarily trying to put aside enough meat to feed my family through the coming year. This is the only time I can do this, so it's also very serious business. Also I need to obey the game laws and try to trophy manage our deer herd as our hunting club wants us to do. That's alot to think about as a deer is walking or running by you in 3 to 10 seconds time.

   I saw a bunch of hogs and a few deer Saturday but I either couldn't get a shot or they were too little to shoot. On Sunday morning a nice 100 lb. doe walked up the ridge I was sitting on and offered me a good shot. My old 50 caliber barked loud and down she went. I loaded her up on the 4 wheeler and headed back to camp. My old 4 wheeler filled in for the pack mules of yesteryear the mountain men had. I was loaded down pretty good. Me, a 100 lb. deer, my deer stand, hunting gear and gun quite a load for a 24 year old bike to haul. It did a great job! We all got out fine.

   Today the real work of hunting begins. Yesterday I had to drag the deer out of the woods and put it on the 4 wheeler, take it to camp, skin and gut it. Today I must begin the process of butchering all the meat. In the next couple of days my little doe will become sliced tenderloins to wrap aroung jalipenos with bacon strips, butterflyed steaks, hamburger meat, cubed steaks, sausage, and deer jerky. Quite a lot from just one deer. We get the meat and the dogs get to gnaw the bones. Nothing is wasted.

   Soon I get to feast on the healthiest meat God ever made. Venison! Hopefully this will be the first of many deer this year. We need several to feed us till next year . If I can get lucky and get a few wild hogs as well, I believe we will have enough till next hunting season comes around again.

GOOD HUNTING.

Jim Cobb Coleman.


  

  
  

WEEKEND WARRIOR

   Look at all the pretty flowers growing all over my backyard. Their little vines are spreading out and taking over everything. They are almost as bad as kudzu. Soon I will get out there, weed eater in hand and take care of them, but not right now. It was a busy weekend as usual. Deer season is in and my Mom's birthday was Sunday. We stayed pretty busy.

   The local forester is running amuck on our hunting land. They are cutting and removing some 300 acres of woods. It has totally changed the lay of the land. If you had a deer stand on the property you had better marked it with orange flagging tape if you wanted it to not be destroyed by the heavy equipment working on the land. They don't slow down or worry about what they hit as some of our members found out the hard way.


   It was nice to get to the woods again after a week of "civilization". I needed the peace and quiet of the forest. I climbed into my deerstand twice this weekend and saw a few deer. All were in killing range but a good shot never presented itself. No matter, they will come back, and this weekend starts the muzzle loader season. Hopefully one will walk by this Saturday.

  
   Sunday was my Mom's 74th birthday. We came home from the woods and got Mom a ice cream cake, and picked up supper. When we went to put the candles on the cake we discovered we didn't have a number 4. So we wound up with 7 3 1. It stood for 7 & 3+ 1 = 4. After all as long as we're all together and love each other, it really doesn't matter what's on top of your cake or even if you have one or not.

   Happy Birthday Momma!

Jim Cobb Coleman.

COME ON FALL

   Even old Cissy girl is ready for fall. Seems like time we pulled out some decorations and put a couple of bales of hay and pumpkins on the front porch Cissy picked out her spot to enjoy the sunset. I don't blame her at all. There's a spot under my big oak tree that's looking pretty good to me too!

PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE

   Finally! The finished product of my European mount of the 8 pointer I got last hunting season. This was my first time trying this procedure, but it won't be my last. I think it turned out quite well . Total cost was under 25 dollars. I even got a little plaque engraved with the date I harvested the buck.

   This past weekend I got to go bowhunting for the first time this season. It felt good early in the morning, but warmed up quickly. Fall temperatures are still a long way away. It was great to climb a tree again. My shooting lanes I cut looked good, but nothing co-operated and walked by.The forest is still green and bright. I need some cold weather and strong wind to change the color of the leaves and blow them to the ground.

  

  
   I know my time will come, and soon I hope. For now all I can do is be patient and keep on practicing. Soon enough I will wake up one morning to smoke coming out with my breath. That chill that runs down your spine and shakes you to the core. On that magic fall morning the leaves will helicopter down to the forest floor in an autumnal cascade of reds, yellows, and oranges. The old trails and new paths will come alive with the soft footfalls of heavy hooves and hopefully my arrow will find it's mark right behind the shoulderblade in the sweet spot of the heart. Legends will fall to make room for future kings to reign, and meat, fur, and horns will come home to Bullfrog Bottom once again.

   Past, present, and future hunting is a way of life. A legacy that goes back to the time of my ancestors who had to hunt to survive. To myself who lives to hunt and just spend time in the woods, and hopefully to be passed down to my children, and my children's children. It is a way of life.

   It is my life!

Jim Cobb Coleman.