Four months and counting

Running:

Haven't posted much. A lot of that has to do with starting my new position at work in July. Life was busy before, but now there doesn't seem to be time for anything extra. That combined with my not being able to run. I had started this blog with the idea of posting my running updates as a few of my friends were doing. Then decided to also post about my other past times of gardening and hunting as well.   Obviously with no running there has not been much to post here.

I still haven't been able to run other than a few test miles since June 18th. That's four months and counting.  This past week I saw a different doctor with the hopes of getting a second opinion and seeing if he could use his minimally invasive techniques to try something different. The bad news was, his opinion was the same as the first guy.   If I ever want to run again I will need to have surgery to remove the bone spur that resides behind and up into my achilles tendon. Here is a link to what that surgery will entail. I have a really big decision to make. As of today the pain and swelling has subsided. There is no pain at all doing any regular activity. I can hunt, walk in the woods, climb trees to get in my stand, and was able to drag a deer out of the woods with no problem. I can garden, mow my lawn, and do any outside chores just fine. I can bike, use the elliptical, or my rowing machine for exercise. This makes the decision harder. While both surgeons were confident they could help me, there is no guarantee things will be better. There is a slight risk of infection or improper healing. That is my biggest fear is that something goes wrong and all the activities I can do now will be impacted. Then I'm out a lot more than not being able to run. On the other hand running is such a part of who I am. The other forms of exercise give me little pleasure compared to getting outside for a good run. For now I'm just going to sit on this decision. With hunting season here I am not going to risk anything for a while. I likely wouldn't do anything until late this year or early 2012.

Hunting has gotten off to a decent start. I've had fun putting out a couple trail camera's in different locations to see what is out there. I've had a couple does and fawns regularly coming into the back yard. As of yet I haven't seen a buck out there. I'll likely not hunt there until I see that a buck has shown up. The food plot looks great right now and should help provide some excitement as other nearby food sources run out. I did get a real nice 11 point on camera on a different property back in early October. Right now that is the one I'm after. Last week into the weekend was a four day antlerless season here in SE Wisconsin. On Saturday it was very windy. I was able to get out late on Saturday at about 5:00. The wind died down a bit as the sun started to set and the woods became alive. I could hear deer and other animals moving all around me. At 6:15 three deer came out of the thickest part and stopped only 10 yards away from my stand. I thought for a while about letting them all pass and then changed my mind. I picked the biggest deer and fired. The deer ran off a short distance and I heard it fall. After a short search I found it about where I thought I heard it last. It was a long drag out from where I was, but despite my foot I made it out just fine. The next day I didn't need to go out so I spent the time butchering the deer. I must be getting better at it, as it only took me about 3.5 hours to complete the whole job this time. Today was back to bow hunting. I could have easily taken another doe both in the morning and this afternoon. I saw a total of 5 deer today, but not the big one I'm after. I'll be heading out again both morning and afternoon on Sunday.

Gardening:
2011 was a real good year for the garden. I'm sure part of that has to do with my water line that was put in this spring. Made watering chores so much easier. I had well over 100 pumpkins this year that I either sold, traded, or gave away. I picked about two bushel of pears and five bushel of apples this fall. Still don't have the spraying quite right, but the fruit was pretty clean considering. Biggest problem was with scab or deformities more than bugs or worms. The hot humid August could have had something to do with that too. Lots of squash, carrots, and potato's to get through the winter. Just this week picked the last of the tomato's, peppers, and kohlrabi. I've rototilled the garden already this fall and have begun to dump the chopped leaves I bag up on the garden as I've done the past several years. Got a deal on tulip and daffodil bulbs last week. I've got lots of planting to do before the ground freezes.