Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Naseby Camping Trip (Continued)


Easter Sunday morning. I was awakened by the the most glorious sunrise you ever saw, set to the soundtrack of the warbling sing-song call and response of several local magpies. After everyone had been equally roused from their slumber, David gave us the skinny on the best rabbit hunting area on his land and a complete gun-safety lecture. Having a bee bee stuck in my nose for the past 19 years from when my friend shot me in the face with his bee bee gun, gun safety is something I take very seriously, so his lecture was most appreciated. Having been thoroughly briefed on the workings of the safety switch and what not, we were off to shoot some bunnies. I mean, could there be a better Easter morning activity than bunny shooting? As it turns out, the local rabbit population had little to fear from our lot. Dead-eyes we certainly are not. Still, it was fun to pop off a couple of rounds, even if they had little chance of hitting our intended targets. Next time, you silly rabbits! By the time we made it back to camp, David had a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, venison sausage, bacon, toast, and of course, some of that marvelous chutney from the day before, waiting for us. Ummmm, chutney!

Sufficiently sated (read stuffed), we were in no particular hurry to get out and about any time soon, so we spent the next couple of hours just lounging about camp, reading and talking. When our breakfast comas finally subsided--well after lunch time--we went for a nice walk down in the Black Forest. Passed a spectacular-looking swimming hole that we would have been more than keen to strip down to our skivvies and jump in were it only a wee bit warmer than it was. After about three hours trekking through the woods, we were decidedly hungry again (we had forgone any type of lunch, having had such a big breakfast) so we went back to David's house to check on the roast mutton he had put in the oven first thing that morning. Ummmm, mutton! It was fall-off-the-bone tender, and went very well with our roast potatoes, carrots, and Brussels sprouts. Yes, Brussels sprouts. What? They're good. We roasted marshmallows for dessert, and good times were had by all. It was another good day.

Once again, on Monday morning, we were serenaded at the dawning of the day by our magpie friends. After a not so hearty a breakfast as the day before (there was still some chutney to go on our toast though), we went for a little drive through Danesby's Pass and St. Bathans (both old mining towns built during the great gold rush in the 1860s). David owns a little piece of land in St. Bathans where he recently felled a huge pine tree. With winter looming, the gathering of fire wood was of pressing concern, so David asked if we wouldn't mind helping him cut up his downed tree into fireplace-appropriate size chunks. We didn't mind in the least, because it meant learning how to use his chainsaws--following the requisite safety lecture of course. Chainsaws are fun, I have to admit; and I'm happy to report that I still have all my fingers and toes.

With the firewood cut and split, it was getting late, and we Wanakans needed to start heading home, so we said our goodbyes to our dear friend David and set off, back through the Kingdom of Rohan, toward our little berg? burg? burgh? (I still don't know). It was a fantastic weekend filled with good food, great friends, and gorgeous scenery--all well above worry level.

I'm looking forward to my next visit to David's little piece of paradise.

Cheers!

2 comments:

  1. That is a pretty serious looking rifle for just hunting bunny rabbits. Not so much in the "caliber" sense, but more in the "upgrades" sense (scope, bullet clip, what looks like a silencer). So, with all of those aids, you could bag one bunny! You are destroying the Texas stereotype!!!

    Keep up the posts, I'm building my list for a return visit.

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  2. Be vewy vewy quiet I'm hunting wabbits!

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