When Vine Maple Turns Crimson…
Posted by todblog on October 22, 2011
October 18, 2011
This is one of my favorite times of the year. The sun struggles to climb the sky with each passing day, skies are clear and temperatures are crisp and cool. The hardwoods wear their yellow leaves that eventually give way to a flaming crimson, a color that contrasts the sea of evergreens in the mountains. It’s harvest time and it’s fast and furious. Here are some of the harvest activities we did this fall.
Apple Cider Press
The cutting crew, worms are just protein right?
Loading the apple cider press
Operating the hydraulic ram that squeezes the apple chunks (man my arm was sore ;o )
Cider flowing out of the press into the container
Filtering and pouring cider into 1 gallon milk jugs
Jessica serving popcorn and cookies to be washed down with cider of course!
In an afternoon, we made about 30 gallons of cider. Good Team Work!!
Okay, which deer tree stand do we dump the apple mash under?
Goose hunting
September marks the opening of goose season and it’s one of the hardest hunts to pull off. First, I have to wake up early, rub the sleep from my eyes and get to the sweet hunting spot all the way across the street to my neighbor’s property. Then the waiting game… the fog dances in and out of the decoys and birds eventually rise off the river and make their way to the grain field. Within an hour the hunt is over. Hands down, one of the roughest hunting conditions yet…NOT!
Geese arriving for their morning breakfast
Flapper decoy adds great realism to the decoy spread (looks more like a bat!)
Only one sad is Chinook, hunt is over and no more birds to retrieve 
Cascade Elk Season
Each October, we hit the road and seek out elk hunters to talk to and find out how they’re doing, what they’re seeing and collecting samples from elk they might have taken. It’s a beautiful time to be out in the Cascades.
Vine maple “on fire” in the Cascades
Tracking down those wiley elk hunters is not an easy job
When you find them, they’re often eager to share hunting stories with you and speak of the good ole days. Many years of experience roaming in them hills yonder. “Hey Zeb, tell him about the time..and pull up a chair, stay and have some coffee with us?” Would love to guys, but I got a lot of country to cover. Good luck!
A beautiful Sharps rifle with lots of history proudly displayed in elk camp.
A happy elk hunter with his prize. It was his first elk and he was in a hurry to get off the mountain to catch a University of Oregon Ducks football game… huh? I think he felt uncomfortable in the woods as there were a lot of Beavers around (go OSU!)
Why does fall seem so short compared to the other seasons? Seems like it just gets here and bamm we’re facing the gray wet skies of winter.
Rick said
Again, great to hear of the exploits of the Lum clan.
Aloha
Rick
Tamara Peyton said
Again, awesome stories.
pete & gale swiderek said
Tod, I’m not going after elk or geese, but have been in woods with my brother chasing deer on Ft. Benning. We’re planning to go my land in Athens this weekend. I got Gale a deer stand and a bow . She shoots very well. She will be ready soon to start hunting. We both like the outdoors and go on a trip once a month and usually spend some time on each trip in the woods. Recently we were in Cades Cove in the Smokies and saw 8 black bear. I sure miss you, Jeanine, and the kids. Maybe we can come visit some time. Take care, Pete and Gale.