Big Black Bear!

So.... Whadya think?

Think he might be totally enjoying himself!

Oh Yea!

And what do ya know?

A black bear that is... black!!

BULLESEYE!

We have 3 more "official" hunters.

A friend of ours has been teaching hunter safety classes

 in Salt Lake for, like forever!

He said he would teach a class for us up here in the mountains

if we could get a class of at least 5.

We thought that would be pretty easy seeings as we had

3 that were ready to take it.

So.....

we got word out and there were 18 that graduated!

WOO HOO!

My brother hosted the class in his home.

(Thanks Grant and Shannon)

They had 12 hours of class time and...

homework!

WHATS THAT? 

And... a final test! 

Target Shooting Test

They also had a to pass the test of hitting the target.

 The Graduates of 2012

Hunter Ed Safety Class

HUNT ON!!

AND...

BE SAFE!!! 

BEARS... OH MY!

This is a black bear!

However, it is a blonde black bear.

Confusing. I know.

But... it is what it is.

It is a black blonde bear!!

So why am I posting a picture of a bear and a stranger?

(no, it's not Caleb)

Well, funny you should ask....

that's exactly what I wanted to tell you about.

Caleb has the opportunity to work for an outfitter

 in Idaho in the Wilderness of No Return.

(he better return!)

Bear Hunting Season started the day after he got there last week.

He has 3 more weeks of bear hunters.

I think they have gotten 4 so far.

Caleb called me after the first bear kill.

"Mom, I helped gut a bear and then hauled it on my

4-wheeler. I think I have died and gone to heaven."

He will be there for the summer.

He is having an incredible experience.

Loving all that he gets to do!

We miss him!

BUT... very excited for him.

The Hunters

and the Hunt-ed

Jonathon (friend) and Hudson with one of their recent harvests.

(it's a porcupine)

Pheasants, Ph-un, and Ph-amily

Back in December
(yes, I know that was a few months ago)
a big portion of family went to South Dakota
for some pheasant hunting.
It was very cold and very much a
BLAST!!
How could not be with a crew like this?

(Brian, Hudson, Abbi and Weston went from my family)

Brother Paul and his daughters

Dad and Hope

Paul and Elaine

Grant and his son, Josh

Brian and Abbi

Grace + Emilie + Abbi

=

Inseparable

Alli, Hudson, Grant and Lauren

The Young Boy Crew

Calvin, Weston, Mark, Jacob and Josh

The Girl Crew

Alli, Abbi, Lauren, Emilie and Grace

Off They Go!

Bundled up, Orange on and Guns loaded

The rule for the field walkers was to "drop" as soon as a bird flew up and guns were raised.

They did a great job of "dropping" and they did it ALOT!

The Shooters

Paul

Alli

Grant

Brian

 Hudson

and Dad!

A Few of the Birds

(and the retrievers)

Weston

Calvin and Jacob

They spent 4 days of hunting and then drove to Mt. Rushmore

What an amazing sight!

They came home with many stories to tell, lots of pheasants, and great memories.

One of the many Thanksgiving activities was hunting elk.

My dad and older brother Paul both had tags for a cow elk.

So, off they went into the snow covered mountains of Big Canyon.

Bang! Bang!

They both got one.

Now comes the task of getting them off of the mountain.

Everyone had a great time and came home tired and hungry!

Always nice to have a successful (and fun) hunt.

70 Pounds...

of elk meat

in the freezer!!
(no, that's not how much I have gained...
although it does seem like it at times)

Caleb quartered the elk, washed it and cut the meat off

Brian, Hudson, Abbi and Weston cut off the fat and cut into small pieces.

Then the small pieces went over to the girls. 

They ground the meat with my wonderful Bosch.

They weighed and bagged it.

THEN... came the sealer! (that was my job)

I sealed and dated the bags while drinking my yummy Pregnancy Tea.

Packaged with a SMILE!!

 The product line.

What a team!

Even the dogs helped out this year.

They did their part by cleaning the bones completely off.

Phew!

Job done.

And done well.

Let the feasting begin.