First badger!

I want to make a coonskin cap! Part 1

One of the fondest memories that I have as a little guy was the day my uncle Wolfie walked out of his big black van, handed me a coonskin cap, and told me it was mine. After I had a son of my own I got to thinking that no boys life can possibly be full without owning their very own coonskin cap. Taking a great deal of pride in making things myself I decided I would like to make my son the hat myself instead of buying him one. Also, I thought while I was at it it I might as well make one for myself and my nephew Josh. I began looking at coonskins on line which lead me to trapping and snaring sites. After visiting these sites several times I decided that I might as well trap, skin, flesh, and dry my own hides as well. How cool will that be I thought? My son and nephew will have a hat that they can look at and say "My uncle or dad trapped, killed, skinned, and hand made me this." It has been a very exciting and educational first year. I have fallen in 15 feet of fast moving water with a 50 lb. pack on and had to pull my self up the 8 foot drop on the river bank by tree roots. I lost my glasses when I went under but my hat stayed on and I stayed out and finished setting traps. I have gained a great deal of respect for raccoons and much knowledge regarding their habits during the cold weather months. At the end of the season I had trapped 22 coons, 1 mink, 1 beaver, and two skunks. Yes, I did get sprayed by the first skunk. Sorry about that Luke!! I have taken my coon handling time form 3 hours on that first coon to about 15 minutes (5 to skin and 10 to flesh.) I even sold some of my coons to a local fur buyer.

As far as excitement goes I thought I would share with you the most fun filled story I have to share from my first season. I had set a small line up and I left early in the morning to check it before welding school. I decided to check the trap that was furthest from the road and here is what I found.

As you heard me say in the video I closed down the recording to dispatch the coon. After the dispatch I reset my trap, threw the coon in my bucket, and headed off to check two more sets. As I approached the next two sets I was able to see from about 50 feet away the first one was empty. I had these two traps under a road bridge kitty corner of each other on opposite banks of the river. About the time I noticed the first trap was empty I heard the muffled sound of a coon growling and picked up my pace coming within site of the next trap. I had another coon waiting for me.

About this time I heard another growl and realised that the coon on the trap was too far away to be growling this loud. This lead me to look down at the coon I was carying in the bucket to notice that I had not been successful in dispatching him. In fact, I had not even come close and my efforts had only mildly stunned him and really pissed him off. About the time I put all of this together the coon jumped straight up and out of the bucket in my left hand towards my face. My reflexes kicked in ad I did what I always do when something comes a flying at my face aggressively, right jab. The punch sent the coon flying through the air. He landed on a bush and ran seemingly unharmed up a near by drain pipe. I set there for a couple of minutes with the adrenaline running not believing what had just happened and then, like I always do, I broke out into laughter.

I made my way over to the next coon, dispatched it (made sure this time), and headed back to my car. On the way up to my car I remembered something I had read about raccoons being one of the few animals that is successful at backing away bears and wolves in the wild. I thought about what a shame it was that the nice coon I had caught was sitting up a drain pipe out of my reach. I decided there was really no good reason why I shouldn't grab my catch pole and crawl up the pipe after him. It was a hairy situation to say the least, but it is true when they say victory favors the bold. The video below below was filmed after I exited the pipe.

Does this make me more stupid or more brave than the average bear? I don't know. All I know is I got both of my coons.

I love you Babe.

Hammer Project

What is the hammer project? It is a project to get the Dept of Veterans Affairs to recognize the Thor's Hammer as a religious symbol that may be added to the headstones of our fallen .

There are Asatru followers who are right now in Iraq and Afghanistan and others that will be deployed shortly. They and their families deserve to know that if they should be killed Thor's Hammer will be allowed upon their Dept of Veterans Affairs provided headstone.

Who am I asking to sign this? Everyone, heathen or not. Those of you who know me know that I am Asatru. Although I have not served in the armed forces there is a chance my children may do so in the future. There is a high probability that my children will also be Asatru. This being the case I would like to ask you to sacrifice a small amount of time to sign a petition to help us in this struggle. This will help assure that those who make the greatest sacrifice for our sake will not be forgotten when it comes to there final resting places.

Please visit the following link http://www.hammerproject.org/ and make sure you sign the petition!

Your help is greatly appreciated!

New Baby Girl

I just wanted to take a moment to post some pictures of our brand new little girl. She is the first girl born to carry my sir name, in our clan, in 36 years. She is the first direct blood descendant to carry the name in over 50 years. Hail Michael Rose Adelaide E.! Born on 05/19/09, she was delivered at 39 weeks and weighed 8lbs. 15 oz. She would have hit the 9 and a half mark if she went 40 weeks like her big brother. She was named after my wife's brother who she lost 3 years ago and my grandma Jones who we love dearly and miss terribly. She will go by Michael Rose in memory and honor of you both.

Daddy loves you sweetie!

Finn's Favorite Song

Finn now makes me bounce him on my knee for an hour at a time while we listen to this song. He acts as if he is in a trance. It has been one of my favorites since I was young so I can think he gets this new obsession from dad. When we are listening to the song Finn looks at me as if he needs me to answer some question but can't speak the words to ask. Turn it up and listen.

Where does the time go?

People ask me "why do you care? You'll be dead and gone." Please have a close look.

Do you want my advise? Make sure you don't miss a second with them and know that what you do today can mean the world to them when you are dead and gone.

I love being a father!