Father's Day

Coffee Jitters blogged about 5 things she learned from Dad. I thought that was very appropriate, and I agree with her on those five things, but I thought I might talk about some of the things I enjoyed doing with my Dad.

1. Hunting
Mama thinks I'm nuts when I get excited about rain or a hard frost, but those are the best times to hunt. I remember climbing mountains, stopping for wheeze breaks about every 10 minutes, hoping we would have an easy pack back down the hill. We were always successful, but only occasionally filling a tag. Dad taught me to walk softly, listen constantly, always scanning, and check your back trail (thats how he got his first moose in 76).

2. Fishing
I was driving the orange boat while Dad was dipnetting. All the sudden he was nearly jerked out of the boat. As he was rolling over the transom, still holding the net, I slammed the throttle into neutral, which threw him forward, and grabbed him by his vest and pulled him into the boat. Then together we tried to hoist the net into the boat. A 40# king salmon with an attitude in a 16' boat is pretty impressive. Dad asked what we should do, our fish bonker looked pretty silly, so I grabbed the fire extinguisher and hit him with it. Dad and I caught lots of fish together, but he never let that get in the way of having a good time.

3. Wrenching
When I was younger I always wanted a new tool. I loved to work on vehicles and he enjoyed the help. Mechanicing was not one of his gifts, but he was usually able to get the job done. Many times it was only because he just kept trying until he got it right. I am amazed at the kids I work with who try something once and if they don't get it the first time they quit. Dad may not have tried the same thing twice, but he didn't quit the first time until it was done.

4. Farming
Dad was a hobby farmer. We very often had chickens or pigs or sheep or goats and we always had a garden. I sometimes wished I didn't have to take care of the animals or weed the garden, but what do I have now? A garden, 16 chickens, and one rabbit. I loved driving the Kubota and maybe someday I'll have a tractor of my own. In the mean time the Troy-Built is still kicking.

5. Canoeing
Boats are fun, but we could never afford one. We went on many canoe camps and we went hunting by canoe also. It is a joy to paddle with someone who not only knows what they are doing but what you are doing too. Some people seem to try to fight you when you share a canoe, but Dad and I were able paddle in a way that was complimentary. When I got to be about 18 he started to let me have the helm (sit in the stern) and I learned to control the canoe. We were able to communicate where we wanted to go and then we both just did what needed to be done to get there.