| Created 10/17/05 |
| PreSeason 2005 Setting it up |
| Made it down, waiting just three weeks before the start of the season. I used to get the feeder going 2 months before, but it seems the pigs will make a home out of the place and it takes a month of blasting to get them out of there. The heat is always a killer that time of year also. This time, temperature was 65 at night and 90 during the day, still not near cool enough for the kind of work that has to be done. Got down there 1 hour before sun rise. Macheted my way to my stand using the Jeep lights. Managed to hit myself in the shin, didn't think too much about it. Feeder was still running. I think it is better to keep it going year round, no corn. Just like any thing mechanical let it set, it usually quits working. Added new batteries and filled her up, this is the easy stuff. Got the weed wacker out with a cutting blade attached and cleared out all the brush around the feeder and 30yd beyond. I like to see all the "little" piggies too...... Off to put a new floor in the tower. Design flaw: built so water would not drain out and the wood was just the regular stuff. This took hours as the 2X4s that sit in the angle iron frame were rotted too. Basically I had to remove the box from the metal frame, let it rest there, while rebuilding all the base of the box.............while 20 ft off the ground. Bringing it down is not a good option. Half way through, I noticed the steps on the latter attached to the stand were blood soaked. First thing I thought was, someone had been hunting my stand............ Then I noticed the latter I brought down was blood soaked too.............. 4 inches below my knee and down, was completely soaked in blood, so bad, it was squishing out of my shoe.............. I thought the squishing was sweat like in my other shoe. It took some nerve to lift my pants leg. Just a 3/8' cut on my shin, but all the way to the bone. Cut up a towel and tightly taped, but still leaking out pretty good. Too much work left to stop................. Finished the stand. If the floor ever needs replaced again, it will be just a matter of a few screws, old one out, new one in. Getting real hot. Fire up the weed wacker and chopped all the brush out of the 300yd sendera from the stand to the end with out stopping. When I got to the end, found some shade and hit the ground. I was so tired and breathing real heavy, sweat filled up my eye sockets as I lay there................. Made it back to the jeep, put everything up, cleaned up, retaped the still bleeding leg. Only one thing left to do, mark the walking trail to the stand. I learned my lesson one year, when I got lost opening day. It was grown up pretty good, but not too much chopping. 1:40pm, I'm out of there, that's about 7 1/2 hours of serious labor. I wasn't right the rest of the day............... |