Red Rocks

Red Rocks

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A few final pictures and words

So South Carolina turned out to be a real adventure. We ate barbecue (mustard/vinegar base - YUM YUM) and seafood and hunted and played at the beach (78 degrees on Sunday) while ND was in the middle of the first big snowstorm of the year.

Luke with his first hog
Luke and Will playing at the beach
 
 
 
 
Getting ready to set out for the evening hunt

Will looking bright and shiny in the morning
 
 
Alan and Will with their first night hogs


Our cozy accommodations. Nothing like a cabin in the woods.
 
 
Or an early morning walk in the woods

Sunday, November 18, 2012

The South Carolina Adventure

I haven't had time to really sit down and come up with a comprehensive yet brief description of our recent trip. A good friend of Luke and Will's named Alan had invited them to go with him and his Dad Steve to South Carolina on a feral pig hunt. These pigs have been around for a long time and are very prolific with the sows having their first litter of piglets before their first birthday, and typically two litters a year after that. They have almost no natural predators so one can see how quickly they could multiply out of control. Secondly, they are very destructive, tearing up good farmland and eating a lot of crops and natural foods like acorns that people would rather have available for the deer.

We flew to Minneapolis, then Atlanta, and finally to Charleston, SC. The plantation was about a 90 minute drive up the coast.

The history of this place is staggering. The original distribution of lands had occurred at the discretion of the King of England in the late 1600's. Not too long into the 1700's these lands were sold and subdivided into smaller farms which eventually became plantations. The names were charming (and optimistic): Prospect Hill, Oak Hill, Fairfield, Clifton, Rose Hill, Forlorn Hope, George Hill, and Bannockburn. President George Washington stayed at Clifton during his southern tour in 1791, and President James Monroe stayed at Prospect Hill in 1819.

During the slavery years the cypress swamps were cleared and a system of canals and gates was used to regulate the flow of water to the rice fields. Vast fortunes were made growing rice with slave labor. The Civil War brought the downfall of many of these plantations. Most were confiscated and poorly used by both armies, and the end of slavery meant the eventual demise of the rice plantation.

In 1906, a wealthy Pharmacist and entrepreneur from Baltimore bought Prospect Hill and over the next two decades added 7 more adjoining farms. This property consisted of 12.000 acres of Hardwood forest, several miles of riverfront and several miles of beautiful South Carolina beach. The family lived in the original Prospect Hill house (which his great-granddaughter inhabits today!) while most of the other homes were razed or allowed to fall into disrepair.

30 years ago, about 4,000 of those original acres were sold to developers for what became gated communities with Golf courses and many multi-million dollar homes. The family, however, still owns about 3/4 of a mile of the only undeveloped beach in South Carolina. Around 2005, they signed an easement on a portion of the property that will keep it undeveloped in perpetuity.

And it was into this history that the twins and I entered. We stayed in a beautiful rustic cabin which has some windows and doors taken from the Clifton House. We met the man who manages the property for his mother, and also met his wife and daughters. In spite of being total strangers, we were welcomed with that famous southern hospitality and made to feel right at home.

The first morning was cool and we hunted from tree stands. Nothing was really moving so we knocked off and went into Georgetown for lunch with some friends of Steve's from when he had lived there in the early 90's. Later that night, Alan got the first pig (and only sow) of the week and then Will shot two five minutes apart in another field. We went to the slaughterhouse and cleaned the sow and met some locals who had come to weigh a whitetail deer they had shot. That evening we had a cookout at our cabin and many old friends of Steve's and their families were invited. It was a wonderful time.

The next morning (Saturday) we decided to split up a little and do some walking. Luke and I saw the only big black hog  we were to see from a 1/4 mile away. As we tried to sneak on him he disappeared, but look did take a shot at a pig through the trees. These are very heavy woods so unless your target is standing in a clearing the odds are prtetty slim that you'll miss all the trees and actually get your pig.

It was getting quite warm, the eventual high was 71 degrees, so we were given a driving tour of the forest, saw an enormous flock of ringnecked ducks on a large pond, and got to play at their beautiful beach. That night our hosts took us for a finre seafood dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Our final hunting day was Sunday, and the weather again was uncooperative in that it was too warm and so the pigs were out in the swamps/old rice fields and not in our prime hunting spots. we did a lot of walking and exploring but found no pigs. In the afternoon we were invited over to the gated community where there is beach access and a swimming pool which we enjoyed. We watched Pelicans cruise over the surf, and saw some diving birds go after a large school of baitfish off the shore. That evening (our last) was uneventful with no more pigs taken.

We got up Monday morning, thanked our gracious host, and set out for the Charleston airport.



Thursday, November 08, 2012

North Dakotans "March to the Sea"

Lots of background needed for the next series of posts. Luke & Will were invited on a feral pig hunt in South Carolina by their friend Alan at a former plantation. I decided to tag along so there would be another adult, and of course the fact that the boys and I were all unsuccessful in North Dakota's deer gun lottery made the decision easier. Earth girl did the hard work of making reservations, etc. and we got on the plane in Bismarck at 5:00 a.m. After switching planes in Minneapolis we arrived in Atlanta about 11:30. We've had lunch and are waiting for our last connection to Charleston. From there it is an hour and a half drive to Georgetown.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

For all my fans...

So all of you who wonder if I still really exist outside of the Children, here is a photo of me and the planet....



You want pictures? I've got Pictures...

For all those who don't think soccer is manly or rank up there with American football let me say "Way more contact and viciousness than basketball, and way less padding than football. When you collide here there is only skin and muscle and bone."


   
 
And there are always cheaters



 
TEAMWORK


 
2012 North Dakota State Champions!!!


And then there is the teamwork and camaraderie; who are you willing to (metaphorically) die for?

 
 
Ah, Brothers. The sport or activity is always secondary to the great bond
 
 
 
As old school as you get: The police escort back to the High School.


2012 ND State Soccer Champions

Finally a beautiful day at Sid Cichy Field in Fargo. Wind was 8 mph out of the north instead of 28 out of the south (like Friday).

Shanley and Century had not met since the  2010 East-West Classic in Jamestown when Shanley prevailed 2-1. I honestly don't think they knew what was coming because Century playing hard (but clean) completely dominated play. The Shanley (Mr. 22 goals) All-Stater Conrad Hager had 2 shots, one of which was a free kick off the crossbar. Shanley started flopping right off of the first whistle and the referee gave them the first 5-6 and then realized when a Century player got rocked they just got up and kept playing while the Shanley guys laid on the turf writhing in pain until the whistle blew. Needless to say, there were very few fouls called after about 30 minutes in. The other interesting stat would be the 7 yellow cards issued to Century while none went to Shanley.

Despite that imbalance Century just kept pushing the ball up the field, playing a very Barcelona-like possession game and taking pretty good shots when the opportunity arose. The coaches went pretty much with the starters so Hunter played forward for about 10 minutes in the first half, and then split time in the back and the middle in the 2nd half, filling in when his friend Mason K went down with an ankle injury.

After 80 minutes of Shanley poor sportsmanship on and off their home field, Century Patriots prevail at repeat State Champions by the score of 1-0 which sounds much closer than it really was.

I will try and add some pictures when we get them downloaded.

It was a great end to Hunter's soccer career, celebrating with his teammates, his high school career now including 2 State Championships and 2 State Runners-up. We are so proud of all his accomplishments- can't imagine what more you could ask of a fine young man.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Two down, One to go....

Sorry no great pictures tonight. Earthgirl has not used the new camera under the lights so didn't try.  

A pretty cool night just under 50 degrees. We had a late start as the Shanley/Fargo South game went 2 overtimes and a shootout until Shanley emerged with a 3-1 shootout win after a 1-1 100 minutes. Century had the 20+ mph wind at their backs and put unrelenting pressure on West Fargo but only managed 1 goal. For the better part of the 2nd half Century continued to control and push the ball but could not score against the wind. Eventually they went into super defense mode and ran out the clock.

Hunter played 13 minutes of the first half and was energizing, and put in 10 tough minutes chasing the ball while we ran out the clock. I honestly believe he is not disappointed in his playing time - he has accepted that he is seen as a role player and shows up every game and gives it all he's got. Damn fun to watch If I say so myself.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

One down...two to go

Opening day of the 2012 Boy's State Soccer Tournament did not bode well. St. Mary's fell to East champ Shanley 5-1; Bismarck High lost to #3 East seed Fargo South. The Century Patriots took the field heavy favorites over the #4 seed Grand Forks Central (whom they had beaten 3-0 during the regular season.)

Century got on the board first with a nice goal by Forward Alec Rauhauser who punched one in in the 18th minute. Century had another goal disallowed later in the first have for goalkeeper interference. Grand Forks tied it up with a terrific shot just inside the 18 that caromed off the left post and in.

With less than a minute left in the first half Hunter was making a run up the left side and this time he drew a couple of defenders away and allowed sophomore Jacob Richter to go one-on-one on the right side and he promptly buried it for only his second high school goal.

The second half was controlled fairly well by Century but Grand Forks kept working and pushing. Everything changed when Hunter made a hard run diagonally toward the middle. He beat his defender to a well placed through ball from Mason Hanson, took a touch and then slid the ball past the charging keeper and into the net. The 2 goal lead proved to be all they needed.

In the final game of the day, Minot fell to The #2 east team the West Fargo Packers 2-1.

The Championship bracket has Shanley vs. Fargo South at 5:00 and Century vs. West fargo at 7:00. Temeratures are supposed to be warmer that today's high of 43 but windy.

One down and two to go....

This the montage of Hunter's goal against Grand Forks that put the game out of reach at 3-1.





Monday, October 08, 2012

A week to end all weeks (One week to rule them all....)

Whew! Poor Hunter. In addition to maintaining his position as co-valedictorian, Wednesday was the CHS Homecoming coronation. Hunter made the cut of 10 but the King was his good friend Jeff Gendreau, another soccer player and 4.0 student. Thursday night was none other than the Mr. CHS pageant, which Hunter won by his combination of terrific costumes (Thanks Earthgirl!) his awesome fiddling, and his snappy comebacks to stupid questions ("How would you describe your love?" Hunter: "My love is like diarrhea - I just can't hold it in.")

On Saturday, the Patriots played the Demons in Mandan for the West Region Championship. We scored 26 seconds in and the final was 3-1 with the BHS goal being very questionable as a defender kicked the ball off the line (in soccer the entire ball has to cross the goal line as opposed to American football where you only have to break the plane. As an aside: Why is it called a touchdown if you don't have to actually place the ball on the ground while under your control? Just sayin'.

Anyway, Hunter was named to the All-Tournament team, which is a bit of a misnomer since they don't have a true tournament as the #1 and #2 seeds meet in the championship based on the regular season record, so the award was more for his season, and considering the limited playing time he's seen this year, it was more of a lifetime achievement award. I think the West Region coaches were sending his coach a message as in "Why the hell does this terrific player play only 30 minutes a game?"

Here are a couple of candids, and remember that this makes 4 #1 seeds in a row for Century>




Friday, October 05, 2012

Soccer, soccer, and more soccer...

As freshmen, Luke and Will had very little chance of making either the Varsity or Varsity reserve teams since Century has such depth. Bismarck Public Schools also has a no-cut policy so there are quite a few Juniors and Seniors who want to play but who can't make the top two teams either. This leads to two "developmental teams", one of which is primarily freshmen and sophomores and the other the older players.






 
 
 
Because many of the older players know L&W through Hunter they were invited to play on that team and I think they not only had a lot of fun but learned a lot about being part of a team and working hard while you are in the game. Final result: undefeated season. Many, many goals, and both boys had a lot of success, Luke scoring a number of goals from the midfield, and Will getting a couple of goals but many assists on free kicks. Photos to follow!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

A career winding down

I am nearly in shock as I recently realized that we only get to watch Hunter in 5 more soccer games in his career. He has already told us he does not want to play in college, so that means a West Region game against Jamestown on Tuesday, the West Region Championship game next weekend, and the three games at the State Tournament in Fargo.


 
 




 


 
 




 




Hunter started playing soccer in kindergarten in the Bismarck Public School league which was parent coached and run. The big step came when Tami sent him to the English Summer soccer camp as part of The Capitol City Soccer Club when he was 10. He was awarded hardest working player trophy for that week and his decision was made - a soccer player he would be. He had some success at basketball (until he stopped growing) and a lot of success at baseball (another season behind the plate next spring for Century), plays golf and tennis but the truest love has been soccer. So many summer travelling championships, 2 or 3 summer state championships, 2 North Dakota High School second place finishes and one State High School Championship and it all comes down to .... 5 more games.