TOBP:A Trip To B.P.S.

 Today was a fun day. I got my hair cut (thanks Ana), picked up a birthday present for my gorgeous wife, and went to Bass Pro for some shopping. It was time to update my camouflage. Everything I have is old, faded, and worn out. I got a new set of camouflage overalls, a small ground blind, scent blocker, a really cool camouflage backpack (my fanny pack is outdated) and some other odds and ends. Things are coming together for the hunt August 18. Next weekend I will take another scouting trip. I am thinking about going further north into D-4 and D-3. There is less public land to hunt on, but the land that is available is lower in elevation. I found out on the last scouting trip that I don’t move as well at 7000 foot elevation as I used to.

Dad used to say "Do something, even if it is wrong." I am almost at that point, but not quite. With about three week, till opening day I have much work to do. I am learning how to hunt Northern California; it is much different than the river bottom of the South Eastern Mojave Desert. From what I am hearing there is a mixture of Black Tail and Mule deer in the areas I have drawn. The above picture is of a big mule deer, I doubt if it is a California deer. I don’t know for sure I just grabbed it off of the internet. So any way I will keep posting as things come to mind.



Cliff

TOBP: Fletchin’

I started the old bow project as a way to remember my dad and his influence in my life. He enjoyed archery and passed the sport along to me. My dad liked to do things his way, and was not in most cases, a follower. This character trait can be seen in the naming of his children. His name was Abbott, and as providence would have it, he married a woman name Beverly. To most people that would not be anything of importance, but to my dad it was a challenge. He suggested to my mom that they name their first son using the letter C. My mom accepted the challenge, and the legacy was established. I was Named Clifford, Danny flowed me and then Ernie. Nine and a half years later the fourth boy was born, and of course his name was Fletcher, after the sport he enjoyed. There are other tail stories surrounding the naming of the fourth child, suffice it to say my dad liked archery and that is how my brother got his name. Here is a picture of us all grown up. Right to left C,D,E,and F.

My dad told a story of a boy who lived across the street with a very unique personality. As I remember it, he wore very thick glasses and could not whistle so he always said “whoop whoop” to get your attention at a distance. He used to call my brother Fletchin, so that kind of stuck with me. I don’t think Fletcher particularly likes the name, but I guess that is just one of the privileges’ of being the older brother. I did not get to annoy him much growing up because I was already out of the house by the time he was of age to be irritated, so I get to do the irritating now. This picture ought to really irritate him. It shows the age difference pretty good. Thats fletchin peeking into the package and me on the left with Ernie looking on.

Anyway, I did some needed fletchin’ this weekend. I dug into some stuff I had bought a few years back from a frustrated archer who wanted to unload much of his stuff, and found three fletching jigs. The two Bitzenburger jigs are very nice jigs and do a good job of fletching. They do one vane at a time so they are a little slow. I also found a three vane jig made by Cabelas that I am going to sell. My favorite jig is the Arizona EZ fletch. I turned out 10 arrows with the EZ flectch to three arrows with both Bitzenburgers.

I shot all of the arrows at the same time and could not tell the difference in flight. I had three arrows sail way out of group, but after retrieving them and re shooting, they flew perfect. They sailed off because of my release. I am a little behind the curve in shooting so I need to step it up.

Opening day is one month away. Shooting is one of several important tasks I need to continue doing. The most important task is still not accomplished, and that is finding a place to hunt. I have some work cut out for me over the next few weeks. I am on call this weekend so I will not be able to go scouting until the last weekend in July. I will take some pictures and post after the next scouting trip. Hopefully the pictures will contain good fresh tracks and maybe even a shootable animal. So until the next post I will say good bye for now. Thanks to Danita for the old Pics.



Cliff

Freedom

It’s the day after our country celebrated its independence from Great Britain. The key word that describes the Fourth of July is Freedom. Freedom is why this country is great. The basic idea behind freedom is having room to live as you choose. Freedom in America has become something that most of us are very sensitive about. We squawk at the slightest infringement of our liberty. This is because we have been made aware that other less than noble characteristics have disguised themselves as tenets of liberty. As a child growing up in Middle America in the 60’s and 70’s, I remember seeing great men speak out against glaring inconsistencies in our nation. They made us face the fact that freedom in America carried a double standard where only certain people were truly free. We struggled through the years of the civil rights movement and came through it with a better idea of what Freedom looks like. It is still not perfect, but it is better.

I believe so strongly in the right to live a free life that I joined the military and was willing to give my life for my country. I have a brother in harm’s way in the military as I write this. The point is that freedom is not free. It cost something in this life to stand against tyranny. So, as Americans we understand the concept of Freedom, the ability to live our lives as we choose. The sad fact is, the majority of American’s today are not free. Millions of Americans are living in bondage to an enemy greater than any foreign dictator our country has ever faced. This enemy lies within each of us. Millions have gained independence from this evil, but many millions are still in bondage. The enemy is sin.

Sin has brought with it a death sentence that no one can escape. The bible tells us clearly that we have all sinned and that the wages of our sin is death. But the good news is that the battle has been won and someone has paid the penalty for your sin. All that is required is to believe on the pesron of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Jesus, God’s only son, left his throne in heaven and took on human flesh. He lived a sinless life, died on a Roman cross, and was raised from death in three days. He paid the price, he was the perfect sacrifice. You must realize that you cannot earn your salvation. Nothing you can do will bridge that chasm that separates you from God. God is perfect and holy, man is imperfect and sinful.

The bible says that your good works are as filthy rags before God. You cannot earn your way to heaven. Jesus says “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me” (John 14:6). As you sit quietly reading this, stop and think honestly about your life and the things that have happened throughout your life. How many events in your life would you like to change? How many of them do you feel like you had no control over, it was as if you were compelled to make wrong decisions’? It was as if something pushed you towards these destructive actions. In the 70’s Flip Wilson coined the phrase “The devil made me do it”. It became popular and many used it as a tounge in cheek excuse for actions that caused hurt. It is a fact that you have a personal enemy who hates you and wants to destroy your livfe. But a greater fact is that you are responsible for every action that you have ever done or not done. The only thing that made you do anything that was hurtful or destructive was the sin that warred inside of you.

You are not reading this article by accident. You are at a cross road in your life. If you know me personally do not look at my life, because I have struggled with sin and am just like you. The only difference is that I have forgiveness through my faith in Jesus Christ. I said earlier that freedom is not free. In this case Jesus paid the price that you owe. Today is the day you can experience true liberty, free from the bondage of sin.

Here is a sample prayer. Say it if you want to believe in Jesus and be saved from your sin. “Dear Jesus I know that I am a sinner. I know that I have sinned and am separated from God. I believe that you are the savior sent from God to save me from my sin. I now ask you to come into my life and cleanse me from my sin. By faith I thank you and believe that I am saved.” It is that simple. In the upper left hand corner of this blog is a link that is entitled “Gods Simple Plan”. When you follow this link you will find more scripture on the subject of salvation.

The bible is the word of God, and salvation comes through hearing the word of God. The stirring that you sense in your life right now is the Holy Spirit. He is the third person of the Trinity sent to earth to guide us into the path of eternal life. Trust the still small voice you hear. You may also hear a confusing, loud condemning voice. That tells you it is all hog wash and that you are not good enough to seek God. That is the voice of the personal enemy. The bible tells us to draw near to God and He will draw near to you, resist the devil and he will flee you.

Today is the day trust Him with your life here on earth, and for all eternity. You are on this earth for a short period of time between eighty and ninety years, and then you are gone. After this life waits eternity, that is forever. There are two places to go. The first is Heaven, and you get there by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, or Hell and you get there by not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Choose to day! It is your responsibility and it is your choice. No one can force you. There is much to be written on how a person can live their entire life and never face the fact that they are making a decision for eternity. Ignoring the subject is the same as saying no I do nto accept Jesus as my savior!   God loves you! Thanks for stopping by. I am praying for you!

Cliff.