Easter 2006 is about over. It's been a great day! We had a wonderful assembly this morning with 427 in attendance. Two couples new to our area placed their membership with us today. Trae and Tori looked beautiful today in their Easter dresses -- and their mom didn't look too bad herself!
But maybe the highlight of the day was listening to Trae pray tonight as I tucked her in bed. Her prayer of thanksgiving for Jesus coming back to life was so innocent. So sincere. It made this daddy's heart flutter with joy knowing, in some small way, my little girl is "getting it." Those little flickers of enlightenment from my daughter give me so much energy to keep going. Something tells me if she is getting it, others are getting it too!
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Thankfully today also saw the resurrection of the Rangers offense. The Rangers' pitching thus far has been stellar but the offense has been out of sync. Today, the Rangers busted out in the 9th with 4 runs off Oakland closer, Huston Street, to win the series over the A's with today's 5-3 win. It's off to Seattle now for a three-game set that commences on Tuesday.
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What an awesome morning on Friday. I was invited out to the Wenmohs Ranch by Lance for my first-ever try at Rio turkey hunting. Call it beginner's luck but the morning and the success of the hunt couldn't have gone any better.
Lance and I set up about 35 yards apart, with Lance to my right. We were set up on the edge of a small field that the turkeys on the ranch had been frequenting. Lance told me, "I'm not going to take a shot unless it is a really good gobbler -- at least a 10 inch beard."
We heard a couple of turkeys gobbling from the roost early and down hill from the elevated field. I told Lance I would call about every 15 minutes in the hopes the birds were making their way toward the field.
On the second series of calls, a tom gobbled back to my call, just out of view of our setup. Within seconds, the Rio tom came into view, in full strut. We had a hen and jake decoy setup nearer to Lance's setup. The tom obviously saw the decoys, but seemed a little skittish. After strutting for a moment, he walked back into the trees and out of view.
I called. He gobbled.
Directly, a hen appeared with the gobbler. The hen, spotting the decoys, came directly toward the decoys. After pecking around for a moment near the decoys, the hen began moving across the field, directly in front of my setup. Fearing his hen leaving him, the gobbler reappeared. He walked toward the decoys and broke into a full strut. It was a perfect, open, easy shot for Lance but he didn't take it. Directly, the gobbler broke strut and began walking briskly across the field, trailing the hen. I had to putt on my mouth call to get him to pause long enough to get a shot.
The shot was at 48 yards, with Winchester Extended Range #4's. He dropped immediately. The bird sported a 10" beard, 7/8" spurs and weighed in at 19 pounds.
