144...

...bottles of beer on the wall? No? How many licks to the center of a Tootsie Pop?  Try the number of arrows you shoot in an outdoor FITA tournament.

View of the Back Range above Nederland, CO.

Have been shooting better and better and recapturing a lot of my lost confidence in the past couple of weeks. So much so, that I am actually considering doing a small outdoor tournament in a couple of months. Didn't shoot much this week, due to being out West for a few days, but have made up for it and am feeling it in every muscle today. Have some work to do between now and then, but it feels possible. Or at the very least, not stupid.

Getting green lights from all over right now. Some exciting opportunities are presenting themselves (or I've been jumping up and down to get their attention) So much so, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's been too interesting to sleep much.

Deep Thought Thursday...

"People tend to forget that play is serious."

-David Hockney

Post-rapture thoughts

It was waay too nice out for the world to end, as yesterday was first day we have woken up to sun and not the inside of a golf ball.  I am apparently one of the naughty ones, as I was still here sitting on the porch with my coffee listening to the turkey cackle in the hedgerow. Good thing, too, as it was a great week for shooting and I want to keep going.

You ever notice that the more you do something, the more you want to keep doing it? Not like a habit, but you improve your skills and get excited about it and want to go out and do it again as soon as possible. Yup, I am in the happy space right now. Good light bulb stuff happening and the fact that it's not drizzeling is definitely a plus in my book.

After the lawn and laundry chores were done, Matt and I met up with some friends for an impromptu 40-50-60 shoot. First time out - we were looking for zombies in the woods. Found Grant's new turkey decoys instead. The shooting part was great - I had one pin marginally set for 40 yds and had to guess for the rest.

Thursday's Thought Brought to you by Seth Godin

Just imagine how much you'd get done

...if you stopped actively sabotaging your own work.
We must be talented, powerful and resilient creatures indeed given how much we manage to produce despite the constant undercutting, ridicule and needless censorship we aim at ourselves.

Turkeys, rain and targets

It's been a while since the last post, some interesting things have been happening.

Firstly, decided to see if my compound could be switched over to shoot fingers. Short answer = no. But, had a fun afternoon shooting easy with a release. No thinking, just shooting. And it was fun. I have a shoot through riser, so my arrows leave a major racing stripe with fingers. But hey, it was worth a try. And worth getting Cricket out of the basement for a change. That bow is just plain fun to shoot.

Gratuitous pic of my
Dad and his turkey last week.

A week or so later, got handed my bow all stripped down (the bow, pay attention). No scope, no annoying grip, no clicker. Got put 5 yds out from the target and a pair of high-end noise cancelling headphones on with music to get lost in. I got lost. Really lost. In about 3 seconds flat the entire world disappeared into just finding a rhythm and keeping my hips pointed in the right direction. Arrows started trying to get in the same hole. Could have done that all night. No joking. Was probably the coolest experience I have had in awhile.

The wet stayed away for almost an entire week and so Tuesday was able to shoot in one of my favorite spots outdoors. Was the first time I've shot outdoors this spring. If you ever get a chance to stand in the middle (safely) of someone shooting 90m and watch the arrow from the side go from right to left, I highly recommend it.

And, now I can shoot out back in my own lane which I did yesterday even thought it was like shooting in England. All misty and wet at 30 meters. Fabulous. I really do love shooting in the rain as long as my teeth aren't chattering. (No, really, look...)

Need to spend some quality time with my arrows repairing shredded fletching. Maybe today, since it's 43 degrees out and raining again. If it's still raining where you are, check out the photos from earlier this week during the Gold Cup qualifier. This one is of Dan Kelly. He was the brainchild behind the aforementioned headphone practice. Dan, you rock.

Da Bears Deep Thought Thursday

"Success isn't permanent and failure isn't fatal." 

-Mike Ditka

PSA: You have to learn to walk before you can run

 

Go get yer cup of coffee and enjoy.

Archery was fun this weekend.  Staked out and mowed my 70m lane out back. Shot my Cricket bow and remembered why it's fun. Shot my current set up outside by the pond while the geese took a bath after deciding I was not hunting this morning. First time shooting outside since watching my breath fog up and until the garage lights came on at 6:15 pm. Also stole Matt's new stabilizer to try. He may not get it back for awhile.

Hellooo Spring. Missed you a whole big bunch. <3