The Maverick camper is leaking. Laura found the pillow and top of the mattress wet when we woke this morning. My duct tape and gorilla tape patch wasn’t wide enough. I’d planned to fill the hole with silicone putty today but now I can’t with the rain. When it lets up I’ll do so and reduce the flow of water into the camper. We worry about mould. After hunting season I’ll get it in for a proper repair. I don’t know how the front got bashed. A bird hitting it seems the best explanation. It was old and second hand.
The rain on the roof is really heavy. It was cold up in the high country on the KTM 690 this morning. Dark clouds. Sinister. I was blessed to shoot a rabbit. It stopped on the side of the road. I was too far away but blasted it with two barrels of 20 gauge 4 shot. Then I crawled unceremoniously off my too tall motorcycle, my ballet splits getting better by the day. I missed Gilbert the cockapoo. I figured the rabbit was wounded and that it had crawled under a wood pile in the ditch. Gilbert would have found or flushed it. As it was I went over the side and there sitting still a little ways away was the rabbit. I blasted it, glad to have reloaded the shot gun. It was smaller like the grouse yesterday was smaller. The grouse was a good meal.
When I gutted the rabbit I saw that my shot had taken out the centre like a single shot, I was that close. There were pellets in one leg from I figure the first shot. Three legs and 2 shoulders and 2 thighs were in tact still.. . Not bad. I thought. A 22 would have been better but the 20 gauge is best for grouse. The year I’d shot a lot of rabbits, a couple of years back, I’d made head shots with the Ruger Mini 14 223. That turned out to be a perfect rifle for the rabbits that sat on the grass roads way up ahead. If I got any closer they’d spook so the 20 gauge and 22 were not nearly as appropriate.
I was up late and only on the back roads at 830. A downpour had struck at dawn so I went back to sleep. I was out riding around the back woods for three hours. It’s incredibly tiring holding oneself upright off road trying not to slip on the wet and bumping along up and down. I almost lost it twice with riding over wet logs. The back end of the bike slid out but I recovered. I was tired and wet and figured I was pretty exhausted so stopped for a Starbucks cold coffee and a can of sardines. The drizzle had begun and I rode back doing the greasy gravelly downhill in first gear with back and forward breaks at times. 15 km. My arms are shaking a bit still.
Yesterday’s barbecue grouse with Canadian back bacon barbecued on aluminum foil and a 6 egg scrambled made on the inside propane stove with barbecued whole wheat buns was delicious. I gave Gilbert and George tiny pieces of barbecued grouse and they were both in heaven. Gilbert is accommodating well to being blind, a little over zealous in his new job as guard dog but not too disappointed when I go off alone. He sure lights up when I return and takes an active tail wagging part in my cleaning and cooking game. He knows he’s still part of the hunt. He also knows Laura and George couldn’t defend themselves against zombie attacks without him.
Now I’m loving the heater and Irish Breakfast tea with honey. Life is good.
It’s Sunday and I found myself thinking a lot about God out riding in the beautiful wilderness. God the creator. Jesus is such a personal and perhaps community God with the churches. Jesus helped the fishermen with their catch. He would help hunters and fishermen. I prayed for his help and safety. Mostly I was thankful I didn’t crash the motorcycle or go over one of the cliffs.. I wasn’t doing anything silly. Just putting along watching either side of the road for game and keeping down around 15 km/hr though returning I was doing 25 km/hr. I feel I’m in God’s creation. Like a dreamer inside a dream.
The rabbit was surely a gift.
Thank you Lord.
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