Wednesday June 28, 2006

I'm sorry that it has been a couple of weeks since I've updated, but I have been going full blast. I'm starting to get caught up to a point where I can I slow down and enjoy life a little bit. I had so much work come in during December and January, that it makes it tough to get it all done within six months. I have completed everything that came in during December and am in the process of finishing up the work I took in during January. In the next few months, I will be working on fish, turkeys, waterfowl, and deer that came in after the fall/winter season ended. By the time I get all that finished up, it will be hunting season again and it will start all over. Luckily, this year, I won't have to spend time working ON the shop, rather I can spend my time working IN the shop. I still have lots of personal stuff that I'd like to get around to mounting. Hopefully, I can get some of those specimens done during the next couple of months as well. I have a whitetail fawn (hit by a tractor) that I want to mount. I also have a huge Canada Goose that I shot in the swamp in Creedmoor. I actually stumbled and fell to my knees while trying to get into cover when I heard him coming. I couldn't get up before he got there, so I shot him while on my knees in about 18" of water. I have tentatively talked my wife into letting me put him up over the fireplace (we don't use it). I think I'm going to do a cupped pose, but I still haven't decided.

Today, I'm going to deliver some birds I mounted to some customers in Fuquay. I mounted 16 ducks and a Canada Goose for these guys. 13 of the ducks are mallards and 3 are ringnecks. Tonight, I'll be doing some work on a turkey that is for a wholesale customer (another taxidermist). I have it all mounted and all the feather groups are pretty much in place. Tonight, I'll spend a good amount of time grooming and preening the bird. Turkeys are not hard to mount, but it takes time and patience to groom all the feather patterns properly. If I have time, I'll inject and paint some duck feet for some birds that I'm going to mount later this week or weekend.

Well, that's pretty much it for now. I am going to take some pictures of the ducks and goose before they are delivered. I will try to post them up as soon as possible.