A Saturday Outdoors


A Saturday Outdoors

By Allan Olson
Alivia enjoyed putting some
screws in the board on the
deer stand stairs. Ultimately
she was able to do it twice
because later my brother
decided that he wanted the
stairs on the other side of
the stand.
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It was a great Saturday to be enjoying the outdoors in northern Minnesota with the late afternoon temperatures touching the early 60’s making it nice and comfortable under the autumn sun.
Friday evening we left to go north – the plan for the next day was to work on deer stands, the weather looked about perfect so we knew it was past time to get it done. We arrived at my parents’ home about 9 p.m. and spent the next hour or so visiting before hitting the sack for an early start the next morning.
On Saturday we started the morning after breakfast with loading some more supplies for the new deer stand that needed to be built and herded kids outside away from the electronics. Some of us set off on ATV’s and some us set off on foot – for me it was a nice morning and perfect for a walk so I set off on foot for the woods. It was great having the kids to do the hard stuff – like using the post hole diggers to chew threw the grass and dirt to set four new posts. I ended up making a couple trips back to the house for some other supplies, cleared some brush down the trail and I took a few photos prior to actually lending a hand in the construction process. Alivia wanted to put some screws in the stand so I assisted her in the process of getting the steps fastened securely and a little while later I was putting on some support braces and was literally on the last nail on the board when the blow struck.
I was underneath the stand and my oldest brother (who I thought loved me) was moving a board for a windbreak to the outside of the stand right above me and lost his grip on the large sheet of plywood. The board didn’t have a problem finding me, connecting with the back of my head sending me tumbling to the ground. I laid on the ground for a minute or two collecting my bearings and making sure I could still remember where I was and what I was doing. I got up and was offered a ride back to the house – I decided to walk and was escorted out of the woods by Alivia and a niece. I’m not sure if they were afraid I was going to get lost, but Alivia said she wasn’t going to leave my side until I was safely at the house. The entire walk home – approximately a ½ mile I did a self-mental exam –making sure I wasn’t more dinged up then usual and decided that I didn’t appear to lose any of my faculties that weren’t already missing. At the house I sat on the bench on the deck until I felt like I was going to function properly. I thought perhaps the day was a bust for me – I didn’t think I was going to be of much help the rest of the day and was nearly ready to go home at that point, but I didn’t. The rest of the crews came back, my dad made cream salmon for lunch and we started planning for the next stand to build. Since I had to leave early I decided to drive to the other hunting grounds separately. A mile down the road I found my niece stranded with a 3-wheeler that wouldn’t run. I got out of the vehicle and got it running again, took it for a spin and let her take off again, this happened twice more in the next two miles before I decided enough is enough and it was time to take the machine home – of course the 3-wheeler broke down again on the way home so this time, I told her to get in my vehicle and I will drive it home. I made it almost home before it died one more time, I got it running again and then made it home safely and thankfully my niece made it home with my vehicle safely as well.
We eventually got over to the other hunting grounds; however by that time I had only about an hour before I needed to get on the road for home – which included going to get my wife who was helping her mom and loading up the trailer with a table and chairs to bring home.
That evening I cleaned up my head wound in the shower, took some ibuprofen and headed to bed with an ice pack – hoping to reduce the lump a little more.
Sunday – my photo session didn’t pan out so I started going through the winter clothing and getting stuff washed for the upcoming cold and snow. I also managed to sneak in a nap until my niece called, I went to town and picked her up and we enjoyed a cup of coffee and she helped us do some cleaning at home and stayed for supper enjoying some non-college food.
This weekend we have lunch guests planned for Saturday and a trip to Bagley on Sunday to see the ponies.
Please remember to watch out for the buses that are carrying our most precious cargo. Remember to take pictures to preserve a lifetime of memories. And thanks for reading, and have a great week! Feel free to drop me a line at cltimes1@arvig.net or stop by the office for a visit.



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