PLANS CHANGED

Actually, the fact that we came to the farm today constitutes a big change of plans. Last week Mike called a friend in Boise and arranged to hunt with him this weekend. He would stay with our son in Boise and they planned activities with the grandkids. He would have been gone Thursday through Monday, so naturally I planned accordingly – cleaning house, reading, and a start on Christmas sewing. However, Mike's friend became ill, so he didn't go. We were disappointed and so was our Boise family. But, I believe things have a way of working out for the best, and we just have to trust that and not let disappointment spoil our good. From our perspective, time at the farm is always wonderful, and we had a few unfinished projects to take care of anyway – like the continuing deer season.

When we were here last Monday, we saw two hunters in our north field. They went the other way when they saw us. We thought the season had closed, so Mike called a neighbor who works at the sheriff's office, and he affirmed that the white tail season is open through Dec. 1. We were baffled because we both saw the Nov. 3 date, but we had been reading the hunting regulations online and I found it difficult to navigate that site. I wanted to know why we got it wrong, so while I was at Wal-Mart yesterday, I stopped at the sporting goods department and talked with Bill, who is both knowledgeable and helpful, an asset to Wal-Mart. He explained that if a hunter holds a general tag for mule deer and white tail, the season did indeed close Nov. 3. However, the season is open for white tail until Dec. 1. Since Mike holds a white tail tag, he now has two more weeks to hunt.

It's cold now -- the high about 42 today. It will likely freeze overnight. KW