This past weekend we baptized Aaron & Jessie's son, Lucas Christopher Wood. It was quite a weekend as Aaron commissioned at an Lt. in the Air Force on Saturday (pictures later). Here's a video of the baptism:
Baptism - May 8, 2011 from St. Andrew's Church on Vimeo.
09 May 2011
04 January 2011
a new year's buck
It was the last father/son hunt of the year.
I was sitting a gorgeous piece of property. I was 3/4's of the way back (the south eastern end) of a 5 acre field - sitting just inside the tree line. The woods to my right had 6 different shooting lanes, every other one with corn. All but about 1/5 of the 5 acre field to my left had recently been harvested for corn. From my stand the far side of the field was 220 yards.
We were 0 for the season and I was getting pretty depressed because by 5.30 pm I'd seen nothing - though in the thicket behind me - maybe 30 yards away - we heard a little racket and some blowing. And as I turned to look back over my right shoulder (on the woods side) I caught a glimpse of a doe bounding away, tail raised. I thought we'd been busted as she was downwind of me. Very depressed, figuring I'd see nothing, I slowly looked back around to my left and way across the field I saw two does eating some of the cobs left behind by the harvester at about 180 yards. When I got my glasses up I noticed that behind the one tree that stood between me and anything in the field was a third deer's behind. When I stretched way around to look I saw the rack and lasered him at 190 yards - he was close to the does and eating corn. I'm always amazed at how they just materialize out of nowhere - and quickly. I'm guessing he came out of the uncut corn field as he was only about 20 yards away from it. That buck kept that one tree between me and him for about 10 minutes. Finally, he turned and started very slowly eating his way back into the uncut corn. Something spooked the does (I heard/saw nothing) and they bounded away. The buck stood straight up, now completely broadside, and looked into the uncut corn, now about 10 yards away - and I shot. He reared and tore around far side of the uncut corn.
Before I could do much of anything, Sammy and I heard a MAJOR buck battle, even closer behind us now, from the same area we'd heard a few minutes earlier. The snorting and antler cracking was loud. Almost simultaneous to the battle two big doe came bounding out of that thicket, woods side of the stand, just where we'd seen the earlier doe bust and run - and worked their way counter-clockwise until they were in the lane directly in front of us and the battle directly behind us. One doe was at 90 yards the other at 110. They started intently right past the stand and into the thicket behind us. The racket behind continued for a few more minutes and then we heard a bunch of stomping and blowing. That buck sounded like he was just a few feet away from us, but he never showed himself. After another minute or so he went completely quiet. The far doe in front of us dropped her head and started grazing something. The near doe still stood transfixed staring into the thicket. It was 5.50 pm. I needed to take the shot or it'd be too dark, or she may leave. I shot but lost her in the muzzle flash. I saw the far deer take off to the right. I could hear the hit doe for a bit - sounded like she was directly in front of us - but couldn't see her.
It was getting very late, and I've never tracked solo at night, so we got out of the stand and took a quick look for the doe but didn't see anything. I wanted to get on that buck before we lost all day light so across the field we went. We turned the corner of the uncut corn and almost immediately my light caught the reflection of an eye. The way the buck way laying I couldn't tell if he was dead or hurt. I chambered a bullet and Sammy kept his light on the animal and within a few steps I realized he was dead. It was a double lung/heart shot. Honestly, it felt pretty good. I'd hit exactly where I'd aimed. He was a big 8 point (just about a 10 point - the two nubs not quite long enough to qualify). I'd have loved to seen him pre-rut as he still weighed in at 165 pounds - pretty good for a lowcountry SC deer. Not only was he my first big buck, but it was also the longest shot I'd ever taken.
We went back and looked for the doe. In the middle of the lane where she was standing was a corn pile. We used that as a reference and circled around counter-clockwise about 10 yards from each other. Pretty quickly we found her in some brush. She'd run directly away from me (I'd lost her in the muzzle flash and Sammy didn't know which deer I'd shot and he watched the other one bound away, marking her trail). I'd hit her square through the shoulder and I was very surprised she didn't just drop when I saw where I'd hit her. As we back-trailed the blood trail it was pretty clear she'd fallen two times before she dropped and bled out. All-in-all, she probably ran 25 yards (just about to the spot where the other doe was) before going down for good. When we checked her we noticed she was in heat.
So, our year ended well. And now we wait 8 long months before we sit another stand.
16 December 2010
christmas 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
Merry Christmas!
2010 was a typically busy year for our family, and, many of our highlights have been pictorially portrayed on this blog. Here’s a bit of a written summary of our lives this past year:
Jacqui completed her nursing studies and is now one of many the unemployed looking for work. She did very well in nursing school graduating with honors and passing her boards on her first try. As you might imagine, all of her “boys” are very proud of her and what she has accomplished – all of which comes on top of being a mom and wife, and "first lady" of the parish. She handles all with her characteristic grace and laughter (we’re particularly thankful for her laughter).
2010 has been a big year for Aaron (24 years old). He was married this past October (10.10.10) to a wonderful young woman, Jessica (Jessie). Jessie’s family is from Naples, Florida. They met their freshman year at USC before both transferred back to their homes to attend local colleges. Following in the steps of his Mom and Dad, they wasted no time starting a family and they are expecting a little boy (what else?) next spring/summer (we’re going to be grandparents!). Aaron completed his Air Force Officer Training School this past summer and he will graduate from the College of Charleston this week. He is expecting to commission as an officer in May and has been assigned to the Space and Missile Command which will see him move to Great Falls, Montana. In the meantime, he will go full-time with Bluetowne Consulting, a computer networking company he’s worked for through college, in January.
After two years of college Tim (20 years old) remained undecided about his major and unsure of what he wants to do. So he accepted an offer to help with a church plant in London, England. At the end of August he packed up and moved to Beaconsfield, England in Buckinhamshire. It has been a great experience for him. The couple he works for, Frog and Amy Orr-Ewing, are wonderful. Frog is ordained in the Church of England and Amy is the director of the Oxford Center for Apologetics at Oxford University. It has been good for Tim to be on his own and overseas. We’ve missed having him around, though, thankfully, Skype keeps us connected (for Thanksgiving we put my laptop in his place at the dinner table and Skyped him in for Thanksgiving dinner). I’m not sure he’s any closer to deciding what he wants to do, however, he’s learned that anything he wants to do will require a college degree. And, he’s also discovered that he never wants to leave Charleston again (for school or to live). He should be home sometime in the spring.
Nick is in 11th grade at Wando High School. Nick has now passed Tim as the tallest boy in the family – checking in just a hair over 6’1” – way beyond Dad who seems to be shrinking these days. This past summer Nick joined Jacqui, Sammy and me in Boston for vacation. We stayed with good, old friends (Paul & Cheryl Minor – Nick’s godparents) and had a nice visit the historical sights as well as the Cape Ann area (pics on the blog). The highlight, though, was attending a Red Sox – Indians game at Fenway (the Indians won). Very cool. Nick remains a somewhat intense, but fun-loving kid.
Sammy, now 13 yrs. old and in 7th grade, really never changes. He is still a very sweet and delightful boy. Skateboarding, soccer and hunting are his joys. We hunted several times together this past fall and saw several nice deer but they were either too far away or too small to shoot. We love the times in the woods together – Sammy says it makes him feel like we're kings of a kingdom; and we are, of course, just not in this world. As you might imagine with 3 older brothers, he's a pretty rugged kid. And when not in school, on his skateboard or on the soccer pitch, you can find him in the neighborhood or throwing a cast net in the creek.
I’ve had an interesting year. In January I had an episode with Atrial Fibrillation which landed me in the hospital emergency room where I (my heart) was cardioverted (shocked) back into a normal heart rhythm. A side effect of the IV drugs they gave me was a blood clot in my right arm which, ironically, was more of a threat than the A-Fib. Too much drama for me. Thankfully, with the meds I am on no more episodes have occurred. This summer I spent 10 days participating in a Christian Leader’s Forum at Oxford University. It was quite a bit of fun.
Our biggest wish for the New Year is that we get to see more you in it!! Please know that we always have a place for you at the beach in SC!
Anyway, this year closes with us healthy, content and grateful for the many mercies we have experienced at the hand of a loving Heavenly Father.
With Christmas joy and prayers, on behalf of us all,
Steve
28 November 2010
thanksgiving 2010
With Tim in London and Aaron & Jessie in NYC for the Macys' Thanksgiving Day Parade, it was a very quiet Thanksgiving. We were able, though, to Skype Tim in for dinner. I put my laptop at his place at the dinner table and he was able to join us. Here's our family photo - with Tim via Skype:
26 September 2010
wedding shower
Jessie and Jacqui spent the afternoon at a wedding shower hosted by our LifeGroup. Such good friends:
old friends
Ran across this as I was updating the blog. It's from the very beginning of the Summer. I met up with three of my best - and now, oldest - friends from high school for a few days of golf at Pinehurst. It's the first time this configuration has been together in a very, very long time. The pic, sadly, is a bit blurry, though I think the blur hides the accumulated ugly.
capt'n jack
We never spend as much time on the water as we'd like, but boy, we love the time we do. We took advantage of one fine day to get the boat wet. Jack took her turn captaining:
jimmy stewart
A dear friend of mine, Jeff Smead (the guy who led me to faith), was ordained this summer. He asked me to preach at the ordination service, quite an honor. Jeff and his wife, Lee, live in Indiana, PA, which happens to be the boyhood home of Jimmy Stewart; hence the house: 
good huntin'
Spent the day with a friend in the Francis Marion Forest hunting Wild Hogs. We did pretty good, 3 sows and 1 boar - we each shot two. Gave the boar away and butchered the sows.
26 July 2010
aaron leaves for officer field training
Aaron and Jessie at the Charleston airport, seeing him off for a summer of training.
13 April 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)