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We have developed something of a routine on weekends at our house. The grandsons, Trevor and Zane, come over Saturday afternoon, spend the night, and go home sometime Sunday morning. It has worked out to be an enjoyable time for the kids and grandparents, and a break for their parents. The boys spend much of their free time doing some type of outdoors activity, so coming to Grandpa and Nanna's house fits right into what they enjoy.

Sunday morning, I got up early, took the new boxer puppy for a walk and sat down on the porch to savor a cup of coffee on an unusually warm spring morning. I was listening to the sounds of the timber coming to life around the house when the door opened. First Trevor, then Zane, came out to join me with their cups of coffee. I think neither of them enjoys coffee since they mix about half milk, a quarter sugar, with a bit of coffee. It is more the social thing. If Grandpa is having coffee, it must be the thing to do. The pup scampered back and forth while we spoke in hushed tones, listening. First an owl would hoot which would send a nearby turkey into fits of gobbles. His gobbling would in turn cause other Toms to gobble down the valley. The echoes would die off and the owl would hoot again, starting the whole process over. The boys and I enjoyed nature's music and we tried to guess where each turkey was as he called.[[In-content Ad]]

As daylight started to break, geese started honking and flying about. Some apparently spent the night on the lake and were heading out to find food at first light. Others were flying in to spend the day on the water. I am not sure what they had been doing all night. When it became light enough to see, I knew the question that was coming. "Grandpa, want to go fishing?" What can a person say? It would be easier to drink coffee and listen to the turkeys gobble from the porch, but not nearly as much fun. Off to the lake we went. It will be a few weeks before the crappie and bass start to spawn, but a person never can tell which hungry fish might be the first to bite. In spite of our best efforts, we did not get any bites or even nibbles. Some people might become discouraged by their lack of success but both boys agreed; the fish will probably be biting the next time. A big breakfast was well underway when we got back to the house. Nanna cooked up a storm while the guys discussed where to find shed deer antlers.

Nanna stayed behind with the puppy while we three guys took the big dogs for a run and shed hunt. We would have it made if we could teach the dogs to hunt for shed antlers while we are shed hunting. Duke, the Mastiff, and Coty, the Lab, spend the entire time hunting while we are out. Neither of them has a clue what they should be looking for, but they have a great time hunting nonetheless. Duke finds large sticks and logs, of which he is ever so proud as he shows them to us. Coty finds where every animal has left a track in the past day or two. He does better with tracks than actually finding the animal that made the track. He would rather avoid any possible confrontation.

We walked timber, fence lines and ditches. We drove hayfields and pastures with no luck. The boys decided after a few hours with nothing to show for our efforts, it was time to head back, check on Nanna and the puppy, and wait for their dad to show up. There is always another day when they can come over and spend some time with us in the outdoors. Next weekend though, they are going to take Nanna with them when they go shed hunting. She at least can find some.

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