You may ask what is a wapiti?? I will tell you. First I will show you. It looks like this.
You may say, that is just an elk, but you would be wrong because when you hunt in Wyoming they are called Wapiti. And when you are an amazing mountain man like my husband you refer to them by their Indian name, "Wapiti"! I have no idea if that is there Indian (oops Native American) name I just thought it sounded like it!
Rand went to Wyoming to hunt! Hunting he did, he came home sore, stinky and tired! Rand likes to hunt! He likes to pack food that comes out of a sack that you simply add water to and it turns into the Virgin River Buffet. He loves to buy gear, he loves to grow a beard, he loves camo, he loves the comradeship of his brothers, he loves being a MAN!
So how do I feel when he leaves me for 13 days to go hunting in the wild woods? I may not understand the joy of tracking poop and wearing female elk urine on my boots but I do understand that Rand is a good man and if trailing all over the mountains chasing Wapiti makes him happy, I am happy too! Mostly because the other weeks of the year he is only hunting in his mind and vicariously through a large amount of hunting shows!
I don't know if you will be able to see him because he is so camouflaged but he is there and doesn't he look happy?
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This is Dallin his brother, thanks Dallin for keeping him company all week! |
The Wyoming country is rugged country. Hiking was not for the weary I can assure you of that!
Rand looks as happy as the day we got married! I must add that Rand did shoot at a 6pt Bull Elk with his Bow at 28 yards. However, the daylight was ending and the next morning the Elk had flung himself off a cliff. After a long 8 hrs of hiking the elk was not retrievable and Rand no longer wore the smile you see in this picture. He was a sad, sad hunter!
I pose the question, how do you cheer up a sad, sad hunter? Oh, that's right send him from Elk Camp to Moose Camp. Join him up with his brothers and his dad and throw in a moose tag, even better a dead moose shot by a rifle and the sadness seems to dissipate. (I hope that I don't have any animal lovers that read my blog and are going to write me down as the most evil of all human beings for engaging in a relationship with a man that likes to hunt things)! I must add that some animals were injured in this blog entry and the men involved seemed to be quite happy about it. (Sorry animal activists, I guess when you are from the town I am from you still have a little red neck blood running through your veins.)!
September is over and guess what the hunts are not? Oh man, here we go with round two in October!
6 comments:
Thats a funny post. You always have a very creative was to tell a story. Love'd it.
Oh my gosh! A woman who finally understands my life!!! yeah!
Shem, I am onto round 3! At least I've had a weeks reprieve between my husband being gone each time! Still....I'm nearly 80% sure that the hunting is NEVER going to end! Seriously, we need a vaca!
I am very proud of you for not stating how excited you were when he finally made it home after his 13 days!!!
I think Rand's prey was on to somethin. I think if I got shot, I'd fling myself off a cliff to avoid being made into jerky or having to make the cold ride to the taxidermist in the back of a Gator...just sayin. So, Shem I'm proud of you for getting through your 3 weeks of H*## as a hunter's widow! It was just like the old days when Rand was in school and we had our daily venting sessions =). I'll bet you're glad to have him back, so you can at least have a little breather! And a quick message to Rand: just plan on Shem heading for an annual girl's weekend with her BFF. Glad you had fun, though. Sorry we won't be seeing the head of your buck above your fireplace..maybe next time. Love you all! Shan
Shem, I live less than an hour from you and we haven't seen each since... what!? IFA! Ridiculous. You always say the nicest things. Thank you for that! You will never know how you inspire me and how often I have reflected on your journey to create a family as we traveled our own path.
In response to your question about signing (I posted this in my comments as well):
I didn't read a book. I don't really know sign. I heard it had been done with one of my nieces but that happened before I joined the family. I picked up a few basics signs from observing and the internet. I started when he was eight months old with one sign - more. I would simply use the sign whenever I spoke the word. I was consistent and repetitive. It took him about two weeks but once he caught on, he never looked back. Other signs came in just a few days or hours. He never screams or fusses because he can communicate what he wants. He even tells me when his diaper is dirty. I am so for real on this. Obviously this is not new and I didn't invent it, but it has been an awesome tool in our home. Some people say it means they speak later. And I say that some people are fools. :) Zackary is already filling up with his vocabulary and he still signs. When he gets frustrated or demanding, I simply say, "Use your words" and there is no drama. I love it!
If you have any more questions, let me know. I would HIGHLY recommend it. It took little work and the return on our investment has been HUGE.
I WILL be contacting you next time I drive through Mesquite to get to Vegas and have some time to stop. I would love to hear more about the boys and meet Little Miss L in person.
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