Grouse Hollow Journal for August 25, 2016 by Greg Koelker

Grouse Hollow Journal for August 25, 2016 by Greg Koelker

Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime, (or he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.)

This last week mountain man Ben was here with his girlfriend, Christine and their dog, Scout of the West.  It was great to have them here for most of a week to hang out and catch up and break bread together even if it was hot and humid and stormy.  Coming from the Rockies, these two and their pup were not used to the humidity for sure.  Ben did go for some long runs up the ridge though.   Christine and Ellen hosted a birthday party for Ben on Wednesday night; he was 37!  It is always good to see some of his La Crosse buddies, and to reacquaint ourselves with some of his college friends who still live around La Crosse, as well as having our nephews Jason and Chet and his wife Kim here.  We actually had 3 Bens here that night as well as 2 Scouts.  We had some fun with one of the Ben’s children.  Soon to be a new first grader, Dillon, is missing his front teeth and when I asked him what happened to them, he told me without missing a beat, “My dad and I box!”  Ellen asked him if he wanted to see Ben’s Scout eat some broccoli (Scout loves it).  Dillon was pretty skeptical asking her, “Is this some kind of knock knock joke?” He was amazed as Scout caught a few tid bits of greenery tossed as treats.  Anyway, we sent Ben and Chris and Scout north in a shower on Saturday morning; they were heading to upper Michigan to visit her folks.  Ben called around noon to tell us he had just waved to Lambeau Field.  He texted later that they were off the road by 5:30 in Harbor Springs.

Ben had brought along his Bowtech compound bow so he could practice this week.  He is going into the mountains to hunt elk as soon as they return.  I was showing him my crossbow and had him shoot it.  Christine and Ellen came up to the shop to see what we were up to;  Chris said she had never shot a bow before and always wanted to try.  She added that she hadn’t even watched Ben shoot.  When I asked if she wanted to try shooting the crossbow, she was game.  After showing her how to aim and telling her not to worry about “kick” like from a gun and not to let her thumb get too high on the stock under the cables and bow string, she was ready.  I cocked the bow and loaded up a target bolt for her.  She held the bow up and steadied it.  When she found the target in the sight, she was able to focus it and squeeze the trigger.  She hit the target first time.  She fired it again and loved it.  She was hooked.  I had an old youth sized fiberglass recurve bow, so I suggested they get a bow string for it and some target arrows when they went to town and she could try that.   When they came home later, they had a new Bear takedown recurve and some target arrows.  (My fiberglass bow turned out to have a crack in it.)  Chris shot and shot and got better as she practiced.  Later Ben got a sight and arrow rest and a few more arrows.  Chris won’t be hunting, but she is really up for more archery.  So hand a man or woman a bow and they may love shooting it.  Teach that person to shoot it and get them a decent target bow and they may be hooked for life.

Ellen’s cousin Cindy and El’s Uncle Jerome Hauk came to visit on Sunday.  Jerome said Cindy didn’t tell him where they were going when they left home; it was to be a surprise.  We were the surprise!  Jerome is pretty incredible.  He was 99 in July, but had never been to Grouse Hollow.  He said he was figuring out the surprise as they headed north along the Mississippi.  They both remarked on how high the river is.  Anyway, after an initial tour of the house, we had a great visit out on the porch, sharing fishing stories and stories about growing up on the farm near Cassville and of serving in WWII.  Jerome loves fishing.  He said he got his boat all ready this spring, but due to the high water on the Wisconsin, he never got his boat on the river this summer.  They were delighted when I fried up some Canadian walleye filets.  El prepared garlic mashies, her special cashew, craisin and vinaigrette salad, sliced tomatoes, green beans, and peach crisp with ice cream for dinner.  Yeah, I know - it don’t git no better.  We will see Cindy and Jerome next at Squirrel Picnic in October.

Until next time, get out - Wisco Scout has been growing webbed toes this last week, me too.  We had almost three more inches of rain over three days.  I am ready for the grass to quit growing so fast.  Still the garden is amazing.  I am not even close to being tired of fresh tomatoes; Ellen has been harvesting them by the five gallon bucketfuls. We had 50 degrees on Monday morning, having the effect of making me want to go squirrel hunting.  Enjoy.