Now that the convention is over things have settled down to some resemblance of normalcy here at the studio and it feels great. After all the long hours prepping for the convention and all the nights away from home it is really nice to have a normal work day/week. The only problem now is that the weather has gotten a lot nicer and it makes staying inside a real challenge.
The grass is getting greener and growing, the trees are budding, the birds are singing and the peeper chorus coming from the swamp near the studio is constantly testing my dedication. I have to admit though that it does help that I love my job so I'm sure I can persevere for a couple more weeks. I'll have to excercise my rights then to take some time off to bag a gobbler with my bow.

The 2010 MTA convention and competition is over........... finally. I suppose I honestly didn't give myself enough time to do these critters for competition but I surely learned a lot. I learned that African critters are a new and difficult challenge especially considering that the people who skin them will never have to show their face again. I learned that the hides exhibit much more shrinkage than do our North American game animals. I learned that working with the right clientele makes it all worth while.

Today was one of those "feel good" days. Myself and dozens of other taxidermists from throughout Michigan traveled to Hamilton Michigan to help mount a deer for our US veterans that have been wounded while risking their lives to protect our freedom. There were eleven purple heart recipients from all over our country that were invited to the Legends Ranch in Bitely, MI. to hunt for a trophy whitetail buck as a tribute to one of our fallen heros. The Michigan Taxidermists Association stepped up to the plate again, as in the past two years to skin and mount the trophies these veterans collected there.  I was honored again, as in the past two years to take the lead role in mounting one of these trophies. My assistant today was Ralph Ely, he and I mounted a deer taken by James McConneghy, an 87 yr old hero from WW2. I was able to talk to his son and grandson as Ralph and I breathed a sense of realistic life into the beautiful whitetail that James had taken at the ranch. I'm sure that mount will now be handed down from generation to generation as a reminder of the bravery that James displayed all those years ago. I am more than proud to be a part of that memory, and proud to play a small part in saying "Thank You" to James and all the veterans in the past and future to protect what we as Americans enjoy in our everyday lives. Our veterans should never be forgotten, if you appreciate life as an American thank a veteran.

We are now well into the month of January. The holidays are over and all of the 09 deer capes are ready for the tannery. I am busy every day in the studio working on various mounts with an emphasis on preparations for the upcoming competition/show in Grand Rapids, MI in March. I have three African deer that will be mounted as one piece, as well as my own whitetail that I shot last October.
Doing mounts for competion always takes up a lot of my time but it brings out the best in all taxidermists, and for this, it is worth all the effort. As much as I'd like to, this year doesn't look like the year for me to toss my hat into the ring for the coveted " All Around Taxidermist" award. For this award each taxidermist has to complete one mount each of a bird, lifesize mammal, fish and game head of some sort. To be elegible for the award a score of at least 80 points must be achieved for each piece with the highest total score for all pieces winning the award. Every year I keep thinking that next year will be the year that I have time to enter that arena but as the show becomes  closer and closer I again realize that time doesn't allow me to do it this year. I'll be lucky to get the mounts done that I have started, given the amount of time that I will ultimately put into each one. Oh well I never dreamed of being the fastest taxidermist around, only the best. Maybe next year............

Here it is, a week before Christmas and only two weeks till the end of 2009. I have many blessings to be thankful for and this year brought a few of those to me. To say that this has been an incredible year would be an understatement!
In March at the Michigan Taxidermists Association's annual convention I felt like I was dreaming each time I was called up to accept another award for my bear/fawn peice.
In April I finally pulled off a quest that I'd been attempting for quite a few years. I took a beautiful double bearded eastern tom turkey with my bow.
October came with rewards of it's own this year, after shivering in a tree stand for three hours the most beautiful buck I've ever seen in the wild sauntered by within bow range and my shot was perfect! So came to fruition my longtime desire to take a Pope & Young record book buck.
All these events meant a lot to me without a doubt but the best was yet to come. I realized in December that Hamilton's Taxidermy had actually grown 150% in the past year, and we're in a recession! It's always great to have your dreams of good things come to fruition but to be able to make a thriving business with those dreams is amazing. I want to thank all of you for trusting me with your trophies and allowing me do what I love.
Merry Christmas to you and yours and a very happy and prosperous New Year.

Had to attend a funeral for a friend's mom today, a sad affair, but the lady lived a good long life, 89 years. I got home about 3:45 and couldn't get dressed for the woods quick enough. After grabbing my bow and back pack, I immediatly headed for the rubber bucket that holds my majic concoction for scent elimination on my rubber boots, water and baking soda. A couple sloshes in the majic juice and I was off to a different stand on the east side of the property because the wind was out of the east. Topping a small rise in the field I noticed a small doe trot off the field to the east. Thinking that I'd spooked the little deer I walked a bit farther over the crest of the hill and was surprised to see a 2yr old 8 pnt flemening with his nose in the air and totally annoying two does at the far edge of the field. Standing totally motionless for what seemed an eternity, the buck finally tired of the does rejection and made like a beagle sniffing a deer trail off into the woods while the does went in the opposite direction. I then made my way across the woods and into a tree stand.
Once in the stand and finally geared up to hunt, I began my vigil. Time then dragged until there was only about an hour of light left then does and yearlings started to filter into the two food plots that were visible from my stand. I could hear some commotion about 50 yards into the woods but never could see the source. Just before dark I could make out a buck of some kind, probably a year old guy, working his way into the nearest food plot. He immediatly zeroed in on one of the does and pushed her off the food plot and into the woods. The dark curtain slowly fell and my evening drew to a close with not shots again, but well worth the wait!

Spent the afternoon in my favorite tree stand in a great funnel between two swamps. Today, 11/11/09 was supposed to be the very peak of the seeking/chasing phase of the rut and I couldn't help but treat myself to a swampside seat. I am an avid bowhunter and there is nothing I love better than to see the November rut play out. Well I did get some action, a dandy two year old 8 pnt sauntered by my stand before I could get set up to shoot once I'd climbed up to my stand. I wasn't there to shoot a buck any way, I'm not sure that I was even there to shoot a doe for that matter. I'd used up both of my Michigan buck tags in October, (see "About Us" page), but still had two antlerless tags in my day pack. Knowing that I had a funeral to attend first thing in the morning I wasn't sure I wanted to use up one of the doe tags tonight. After the 8 pnt went by the action slowed to a crawl. Nothing stirred other than some neighborhood squirrels doing some grocery shopping. After a couple hours dragged by I was startled by the welcome sounds of hooves rapidly heading my way. Looking in the direction of the sound I was rewarded with the sight of a fat doe trotting toward me. Judging by the way she ran and stopping briefly only look back and run again, I was sure a buck was close on her tail, and I wqs right! The cutest little 6 pnt trotted into sight shortly. He stopped only for second before wagging his tail, giving a short grunt and trotting off after his girlfriend wanna-be. That then, was the end of the story for the evening. I can't say that I was overly impressed with the peak of the seek/chase phase of the rut, hope there were some other bow benders that were having better luck than me. My evening was still better than a day at the factory :) What do you think?