The New "Club House" That Was Purchased In July Of 2004.
The "Church"
The summer of 2004 proved to be the most important off season in Highbanks Hunting Club history. In July, the Mudbrook boys purchased the Highbanks Church Of Christ and turned it into their very own hunting cabin. This acquisition was HUGE because the boys had been talking for years about how nice it would be to have a cabin somewhere in Mudbrook. The Church turned out to be the perfect place because it sits directly in the heart of Mudbrook which allows for easy access to all the land the club can hunt on. Once purchased, the boys immediately went to work on transforming it from a Church into a Cabin. Many projects took flight including...renovating the outhouse, cleaning the basement and making it into a bunkhouse, re-routing heat vents, upgrading the electrical system and installing outlets, tearing out the stage and fixing the floor, building a bar in the great room, building a wall in the basement, as well as many other smaller tasks. In no time at all the Church had become "home" for the Highbanks Hunting Club and the Mudbrook boys couldn't have been more proud.
Lefty And Barnacle Worked Hard To Take Out The Stage And Replace The Flooring But...
This Is A More Realistic Picture Of How Most Of The Work Day Went.
Friday, September 17th
As tradition has scripted, the four original members of the Highbanks Hunting Club made the Friday before opening day a "play day". In years past this meant a friendly golf match and 2004 was no different. So, after unpacking the hunting gear it was time for Barnacle, Lefty, Paco, & Pedro to laod their clubs in the truck and head for the local golf course for an afternoon of great cameraderie, lot's of trash talking, and some hilarious golf. When the golfing was done it was back to the Clubhouse for a good dinner and an evening around the campfire. Poison, Jimmy and Tybone would be arriving later that night and Barnacle's son Odie would be making his first appearance in camp the next day before the opening night hunt. Odie is 12 and would be experiencing his first season with the Mudbrook boys.
Saturday, September 18th...Opening Morning
After getting to bed at a reasonable hour the night before (for a change), everyone in camp was up way before dawn getting ready for the first hunt of a new season. Although opening morning hunts are generally unevnentful there is still an unmistakable buzz in the air over the beginning of another season and how it will unfold. This particular hunt included Barnacle, Lefty, Paco, Tybone, Poison, Jimmy, and Pedro. Here is what happened...
Paco - Doe Alley - None
Jimmy - Boatlanding - None
Barnacle - Skyscraper - None
Pedro - Little Buck Run - None
Tybone - Gulley - Doe & Fawn. Didn't shoot the doe because, in his words,"the fawn was sucking tit". Hilarious...
Lefty - Triangle Ridge - 6 Turkeys
Poison - Turkey Ridge - 2 Doe's out of shooting range.
Paco (Left) And Jimmy (Right) Welcomed The New Season With A Few Cold Beverages Around A Hot Fire
Barnacle And Lefty Kicking Back The Night Before Opening Day 2004.
Saturday, September 18th...Opening Night
As expected, Barnacle's son Odie showed up in the afternoon ready for his first bowhunt where he could actually shoot at something. The rest of the gang had spent the afternoon relaxing and taking practice shots with their bows. Tybone was shooting well and made sure to let Pedro (his uncle) know about it. He kept telling Pedro that "anything within 30 yards is going down...I'm automatic"! Pedro knew that Tybone was, indeed, shooting very well and hoped that his trash talking young nephew would back it up that evening by dropping his first ever Mudbrook deer...but if he didn't back it up there would be some major back lash. Finally, it was time to hunt so all the boys headed out to their stands. Here is what they saw...
Barnacle & Odie - Taint - Saw a doe and then a small buck at dusk. Odie shot at, and missed, the doe. He then tried to send an arrow towards the buck but couldn't find it in his peep sight and decided not to shoot.
Paco - Highbanks Ridge - Spike buck.
Jimmy - Saddle - None
Poison - Edge - 2 small doe/fawns.
Lefty - Ravine - Turkey's
Tybone - Birch Tree - Saw 7 deer including an 8 point buck and Spike buck. He shot at, and missed, a doe standing in a bean field. Ironically enough, he and Pedro had stepped off 30 yards into the bean field before the hunt and determined that it was row 7. Guess which row that doe was standing in....man, did Tybone ever take a ribbing over his cockiness! Gotta love those teenagers!
Pedro - Lucky's Corner - Saw 16 deer and one coyote. Shot at a doe that was walking through some saplings but the arrow clipped a small branch, then spun into some others, and finally broke into at least three pieces before it ever made it to the doe. The deer lived.
