Hunting the Elusive Antlers
Though the terminology is sometimes interchanged, deer do not have horns, they have antlers. Horns continue to grow throughout the animal’s life and are not shed each year. This is why we do not find cow horns scattered about the pasture. Antlers start growing in the spring, mature in the fall, and fall off, also know as shed, in late winter. This is done to provide us outdoors type people something to do when the ponds and lakes are no longer frozen enough for ice fishing, and it is too early to go turkey hunting. We all go wandering about the woods looking for deer sheds. I have yet to determine why we do this, other than it is a reason to go for a walk in the woods and we do not have to call it going for a walk Hunting sheds gives purpose to the walk. Fortunately, on the average walk, or I should say hunt, a person will not usually find too many shed antlers. This is a good thing, since I have yet to
(Outdoors cont’d from pg 1) find something useful to do with them after they are collected. There are a couple of rather large storage containers in the garage full of antlers found on previous excursions. I have had many suggestions as to what to do with them, such as making a knife and using part of the antler for a handle. This is a fine idea, and may work well for some people, but I haven’t a clue how to make a knife.
I know I can buy a knife that works very well for a whole lot less than the medical bills would cost when I finished a handcrafted one. I have seen very attractive lamps and chandeliers made from both deer and elk antlers. This is something within my skill level, but there is limited demand for antler lamps. My wife does not particularly want a deer antler lamp in the living room. I do not need a lamp in the office. A person could lose friends giving antler lamps or chandeliers as wedding presents.
Last Sunday afternoon seemed like a good day to go shed hunting. There was rumor of a basketball game on television, but a person needs a bit of fresh air occasionally. My wife and I loaded up the dog and headed for the timber. The dog is not very good at shed hunting, but he has a good time. The poor animal is never sure what we are hunting, but hunts for all he is worth anyway. My wife drove the fence lines with the Ranger. When deer jump a fence, sometimes the sudden jar will cause a loose antler to fall off. I walked into the woods to places I knew deer bedded down. When deer congregate in an area for extended periods of time, chances are an antler or two will drop off. Over the next few hours, we saw numerous deer. Some of them were still carrying their antlers, and some, being does, never grew any. We found a couple small sheds, but nothing worth bragging about. As the sun began to set, we headed
back toward the house. The last rays of sunlight reflected off the lake and the swans were flying in for the evening. We added the antlers to the antler collection by the garage, hoping someday to find a good use for them.
Until that time, we will probably continue to hunt sheds, just because it gives us a good excuse to be outdoors, run the dog, and get some exercise.
Car Notes
My daughter drove a small Chevy Cobalt during high school. One day, she drove my full-size Ford pickup southbound on Church Street. She felt crowded by a car in the center lane, so naturally, she moved to the right to avoid any contact. Unfortunately, she was not accustomed to driving the larger vehicle and moved a little too far to the right; the mirror of my truck connected with a parked vehicle’s mirror. Since my truck was moving forward, it simply collapsed my mirror, folding it closed. The parked vehicle’s mirror was pushed backward and damaged.
My daughter pulled over, but no one was inside the parked car, so she called me asking what to do. “There’s a pen and a notepad in the center console,” I said. “Write a note explaining what happened, including your name and phone number. Also, write the date and time on the note and put it under the wiper on his windshield.”
Then I suggested she take a picture of the note she left, the damaged mirror, and the license plate. I gave her one more piece of advice; “Don’t break his wiper when putting the note on his windshield.” I laughed about that, but she did not see the humor.
At just sixteen years old, my daughter was very nervous and unsure what would happen. “Will I lose my driver’s license for leaving the scene of an accident?” she asked.
“Not as long as you leave your contact information,” I said. The other vehicle must have sat relatively high for our mirrors to meet. “What kind of car was parked?”
The parked vehicle was a GMC Yukon Denali, an expensive SUV with turning lights and automatic dimmers in the heated power mirrors. “Is this going to cost a lot, Dad,” she asked.
“It’s going to be an expensive mirror,” I said. “But don’t worry, we’ll figure it out when the person calls you.”
After my daughter put the note on the windshield, she entered a beauty salon. “Does anyone know who’s driving the grey GMC Yukon parked out front?” A man waiting for his wife stood up, saying it was his car. He walked outside with my daughter to look at the damage. He was not very happy, but I can’t say I blame him. He took the note from the windshield and read it. “Palen. Are you related to the Palen that has the radio stations?”
“That’s my dad,” my daughter told him. She wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing that he knew who I was.
“I wish you wouldn’t have hit my car; it’s not even two years old,” the man scowled. He gave my daughter his business card and said, “Have your dad call me.”
When I called the man, he was very short, on the edge of rudeness, and threatened to sue for lost value to his vehicle.
“Dean,” I reasoned, “There will be no loss of value for replacing a $900 mirror on a $50,000 SUV.”
Dean eventually cooled
down, “Well, at least she left a note and came to find me. Most kids these days would have just driven off.” He made a valid point, but I’m not sure it would be ‘most,’ and it’s certainly not just ‘kids these days.’
Last January, I went to Home Depot in Florida. Getting out of my van, I noticed fresh damage to the car beside me. It looked like whoever parked in the space before me had turned too sharply and too soon. They hit the other car’s front fender, passenger side doors, and rear quarter panel – these weren’t just scratches but deep gouges! “Man, they must have been drunk,” I said. Then I noticed a note on the car’s window.
“At least they left a note,” I said, turning the note over to read. Wow! They didn’t write anything on the paper; it was a pre-printed Post-It-Note that said, “With God, all things are possible.” I imagined they put the note on the car to show people that they didn’t just drive away. That really bothered me.
I went inside the store and reported the incident to a manager, suggesting they could check the parking lot video. “There’s a camera right there on the corner of the building,” I said. But, the manager honestly didn’t seem too concerned. I bought the couple of items I came for, returned to the parking lot, and waited a while for the driver of the damaged vehicle to come back to their car.
(Just the Other Day cont’d on pg 4)
(Just the Other Day cont’d from pg 3)
Eventually, I had to get going, but first, I left a note on the other car; “I arrived at 12:10 and found your car damaged. There is a security camera on the corner of the building. If you go in and ask, they should be able to see who hit your car.” I left my name and phone number on the note.
Other times, I’ve left a note on a windshield, “I saw this car hit your vehicle, and since they didn’t leave a note, I thought I would.” Then, I write down the make and model of the car that hit theirs, including the license plate number, date, and time. Of course, I always leave my name and number as well.
Not all car notes are about damage; I’ve been known to leave notes on a windshield for other reasons.
On several occasions, I left notes like, “Your right rear tire is flat.” Other times, I’ve asked drivers to consider how they parked. It’s frustrating to see a car taking two spaces, especially when a store is busy and parking spaces are limited. The rude parker always finds two open spaces close to the storefront.
One time, I intentionally parked my truck and trailer across multiple spaces, way out in a lot where no one else was parked.
When I returned to my truck, there was a note on the windshield: ‘Look at the way you’re parked, jerk! You’re a selfish, stupid, inconsiderate, son-ofa….’ “Woah, settle down, partner,” I said after reading the note. “You didn’t have to bring my mom into this.” I had a good laugh about that and then went to load my lumber.
Not long ago, I was driving home and passed a trailhead parking lot for the Superior Hiking Trail. Snow was on the ground, and the parking lot was not plowed. A car in the lot looked like it might be stuck, but I didn’t see anyone around it. At first, I drove by, but then I backed up to see if someone there might need help. I parked on the shoulder of the road and turned on my flashers.
As I started to cross the road, a car stopped, “Do you need help,” they asked. I explained that I was going to check on the car in the parking lot, and they drove away.
No one was in the car, and I couldn’t tell if they were stuck. I felt good when a
second car stopped while I was in the parking lot to see if I needed help. People are still good!
When I got home, I continued wondering if the driver needed help. So, I wrote a note: “I couldn’t tell if you are stuck or not. If you need help, call me, and my neighbor and I will come get you out.” (I generously volunteered my neighbor with a tractor to help.) I left my phone number on the note and explained, “This area has a very sketchy signal for cell phones. If you can’t dial me, I live very close: go out the parking lot, and turn left….” I gave accurate, clear directions to my house and again offered my neighbor’s service to help get the person unstuck.
My trusty canine, Nova Mae, and I walked down to place the note on the car. After I did so, I told Nova, “Of course, they’re not stuck—they’re driving a Subaru; these things will go through anything!” We shared a good laugh about that, then started to walk home. As we left the parking lot, another car stopped to see if we needed help. Man, people are awesome!
When we got home, I made dinner and did some things around the house. That evening, I picked up my iPad. Several messages needed my response, and a few were spam.
I don’t fall for messages like “Look who wrecked their car,” “Check out this old photo of you,” or “Did you forget to call me today?” These are just spam; if you open them, Lord knows what access you give the spammer. That night, there was a new spam message I hadn’t seen before, so I
thought, “Thank you for your thoughtful note. I’m out.” Right. Like, I’m going to reply to that! But the creativity did spark my attention.
“What thoughtful note?”
The message came from area code 612, but that doesn’t mean anything; these fishing spammers will put any area code on the message they think will get your attention. I was getting ready to delete the text message when it occurred to me, “Oh, the car at the trailhead parking lot. I’ll bet this note is from them.” I responded to the message, and it turned out that the person was from Two Harbors. It made me feel good that they acknowledged the note. There sure are a lot of good people on the north shore.
I recently parked my van at Target in Duluth. A moment after I climbed out of my vehicle, I watched a blue sedan pull into a parking space across from me. “Ouch,” I said. The driver clipped the corner of a nearly new grey Toyota pickup in the adjacent parking space! They hit it hard enough to rock the truck!
A man walking by also saw it happen. “Did you see that?” he asked me. “They really nailed that pickup.” I told him I did see it. Then, the man got into his car on the other side of the Toyota and drove away, but not me. I got in my van and sat down. I wanted to see what the driver of the blue car would do.
A young lady got out of the car; I’d guess she was a college student as she had a local college bumper sticker on her back window and a few friends with her sported college
logos. First, she inspected the Toyota’s rear bumper and took a photo of the damage. Next, the girl opened the backdoor of her car, took a spiral notebook from her backpack, and began writing. The girl looked around, maybe looking for the driver, then put the note under the wiper of the Toyota. But I still felt some uneasiness.
I recalled the car at Home Depot in Florida, where someone put a blank Post-It note on a damaged vehicle. I thought I should wait to verify that the girl left her contact information, not just a blank paper, or maybe I should put an additional note on the Toyota. While I contemplated, the Toyota driver returned to his truck while the girl was still there.
“I’m really sorry, sir, I bumped into your truck when I was parking,” she told the driver, “I’ll pay for the damages.”
The driver looked at his bumper, complaining, “You call that a bump? For Pete’s sake! This truck is almost new!” I could understand his frustration, but his reaction seemed a bit harsh. I was immediately reminded of how Dean reacted when my daughter damaged his mirror on Church Street in Ottumwa. My daughter could have driven away, and the driver of the blue sedan could have just as quickly moved her car to a different space. Still, both took responsibility for their actions, and there is something noble to be said for that!
The girl went to the windshield, removed her note, and handed it to the man. “I left you all my contact information, and I will pay for the damages,” she said.
“You’re darn right you will!”
The man kept complaining, finally saying, “Well, at least you left a note and didn’t just drive off.” I felt terrible for questioning whether the young driver would do the right thing.
Eventually, the girl and her friends walked toward the store. I caught up to them, “I’m proud of you,” I told the young driver. “A lot of people would have just moved their car, but you did the right thing.”
“Thanks,” she said in a worried tone. “Do you think it will cost a lot to fix his bumper?”
“It’s hard to say with prices as crazy as they are,” I said. “Your insurance will pay for everything on his truck at no cost to you.” She seemed relieved.
“But you will have to pay a deductible for repairs to your car.”
“My car didn’t get hurt at all,” she said in a cheery voice. “Not even a scratch!”
“Well, see? There you go; the day hasn’t been all bad,” I said. We shared a laugh about that and then went our separate ways.
Finding a note on your car is seldom good, but it’s sometimes good, too, like the note I left on the car at the trailhead. Also, I used to put notes of a specific color and shape on people’s windshields. The back side looked like a parking ticket, but the side that was face down read, “I just want to wish you a good day. Aren’t you glad this isn’t a parking ticket?”
Drive safely, my friends.