Living life to the fullest

Two great friends -- my son David (left) and Mark Rinckey of Honor

Life is a very precious commodity, and speaking only of myself, I try to live each day to its fullest.

There are many ways to live, but my life has been built on a strong foundation of honesty, hard work and helping others whenever possible. Those thoughts will be with me tonight, tomorrow and forever.

I consider myself a very lucky man. Hard work, they say, never hurts anyone and I suppose that is true. I've been fortunate in my life. It hasn't all been easy, and the money I needed to run my businesses hasn't always been there, but somehow we've always made it through.

It hasn't all been easy, but no one ever guaranteed an easy life

My business life, like that of others who are in business, has been a series of ups and downs, high and low points. My writing has always fluctuated with the moods of the stock market and the automobile industry, and there was never anything I could do to cure that except drum up more markets when business slowed down.

I've always believed in delivering the best possible product. If a story need two or three rewrites, that's what it got. I often went out to shoot specific photographs for a special story.

A magazine wrote a story once about me, saying I was an honest man. It wasn't an ego stroke for me. It's something I've always believed in all of my life. Honesty is the hallmark of every man, and as my Daddy once said, we come into life buck naked and with a good reputation and I want to leave it the same way.

There is much to be thankful for. My children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren work hard and are honest, and I'm almost always surrounded by family. They enable me to live my life as I choose.

My choice has always been to work, grow my writing business, and hunt as often as possible. My bills always got paid, my family eats well, and when it becomes necessary to reduce my workload, I made necessary changes.

My avocation also is my vocation; Few can say the same

Few people can say that they've had a job they loved. Many folks can't stand their boss or their job, but that has never been my problem because i am my own boss and my worst critic. I love meeting people, and my weblog gives me a great opportunity to meet some of the finest people in the world.

How many people can say they do what they wish to do. Many of my years were spent working for others, and then I began my machine shop and became my own boss. It gave me the freedom to work when I wanted, hunt whenever possible, and be a productive citizen.

My life, for the most part, has been spent being productive at a job I loved and wanted to do. Designing new bows, striving for the ultimate compound bow, and working constantly toward that goal is difficult but refreshing. We reach a certain point, encounter a problem, and then it takes time to solve it. Solving problems became a theme for me.

And it has made me stronger

I look at my life, and that of my family and close friends, and feel good about my place in society. If I had it to do over again, I would probably live my life the same way.

Such thoughts will surround me as we work our way toward Easter and spring weather, and I will give thanks for a long and fruitful life. I've lived it my way, and that means a great deal to me.

I've written thousands of magazine articles, newspaper columns, and daily weblogs, and it's you -- the reader -- on an individual and collectively, to produce good copy and fine photos. That I've done, and over 72 years, I've done things my way.

My reward in life is not measured by a large bank account, and a big beautiful car, and an expensive home but by the acceptance and occasional good and kind words of gratitude by my reading audience. I do this, not only for you, but also for myself.

Get your vision checked yearly

Dave Richey and his two bad eyes. Have yours examined yearly.

Operations do not scare me. They never have and probably never will.

There have been so many eye surgeries: nine on my right eye, the only one that works, and 10 on the left.

It's been a 30-year slugfest against glaucoma. My left eye is sightless. Obviously, there is great concern for any more right-eye surgeries or vision loss but that thought doesn't rule my life.

Skip this blog if you wish, but be aware of the possible consequences.

This blog is written in hopes that readers will have their vision tested at least once each year after turning 40 years old, and be checked for glaucoma. You may see well right now, but most people take their vision for granted, which was hammered home years ago after undergoing my first eye surgery.

Before glaucoma came visiting, no one in the Richey family ever had glaucoma ... until me. We really didn't know that it is the greatest sight robber of all. My father developed glaucoma late in life, and my twin brother was on the bubble for glaucoma when he died in 2003.

My vision was never great, and never was 20-20 corrected vision found in our family. My brother began wearing glasses in kindergarden, and thick glasses covered my face, so it's been glasses or contact lens from that day forward. Now my life became one of eye drops and eye surgeries.

It was after my first glaucoma surgery more than 20 years ago that the idea of looking and seeing, and paying attention to things unseen earlier in my life, became so important. My glaucoma came on suddenly with headaches, blurred vision and preliminary tests were done.

And then came even more complicated tests as doctors determined that my intraocular (inner eye) pressure was four times higher than normal.

Glaucoma pressure at a higher-than-normal rate causes pinching of the optic nerve. The more the nerve is pinched, the more vision loss is noted. By the time they determined that glaucoma had settled in, some of my vision had already been lost. My depth perception began to go, and stumbling over things became a problem, and peripheral vision was soon lost as more and more open doors suddenly jumped out at me.

Vision loss is slow at first but can speed up without notice.

The early surgeries helped, but vision loss kept disappearing like a mirage. Outdoor walks, hunts and fishing trips with friends became more meaningful, and stopping to study the spring flowers and smell the roses, became much more important as time went on.

Soon those spawning salmon and steelhead that had been easy to spot, were now very difficult to see, even with polarized sunglasses. More than once an improper step found me plunging into river bank holes, and on more than one occasion, my wader-clad boots would trip over a submerged log and we'd come splashing ashore through cold water.

My companions thought it was funny, and we laughed at my apparent clumsiness, but it wasn't a case of being clumsy. It was caused by poor vision. No longer was the river bottom in an assumed location.

There have been 19 eye surgeries.

The times spent outdoors have become more dear in recent years. It's easy now to marvel at glowing sunrises and sunset, and although grouse hunting was always a passion, there were more missed birds than before. If they scoot out the sides, my peripheral vision misses them. Once every 10 flushes a bird may be seen somewhat clearly, but that doesn't necessarily translate into a hefty bird in my game bag.

It's still possible to hunt deer, and many folks ask why my bow range for bucks is 15 yards or less, and the answer is the animals can't be seen clearly enough at 20-25 yards to make an accurate shot. Knowing my limitations, and hunting within them is my key to success. Give me a rifle with a quality scope, and there are no missed shots. The magnification allows me to place the bullet accurately, but one can't always walk around with a scope to his eye.

Living in denial doesn't work. Accept the problem but keep working.

It's become necessary to adapt to this problem. My lack of vision and my life has changed and my thought is to ask my valued readers to learn from my situation. Get your eyes checked once a year after the age of 40. Glaucoma damage to an eye is irreversible.

Hunting and fishing has been my life, and now it is slowly changing, and this points out that life holds no guarantees for any of us. My operations have helped save my right-eye vision. My life could be much worse.

Much of my time is still spent outdoors. Winter days are spent tracking bunnies and squirrels around the house or wherever life takes me, and hours are spent watching birds from my kitchen window. It's easy to drink up the outdoor sights like a 21-year-old chugging their first brew. Ice fishing has become a special pleasure for me.

My thought is to store up outdoor memories, to place pictures in my mind of things seen and done, and places visited in the past, and if my surgeries don't do the job, there are memories stored for the future.

Don't feel sorry for me, nor shed a tear on my behalf, and please don't pity me. My life has been one wonderful adventure after another. Day after day, week after week, and year after year for over 40 years, the outdoors has been my private banquet table where one could feast heartily on all sorts of wonderful and exciting fishing and hunting experiences.

Any upcoming surgeries will be just another adventure. Each new day is another adventure as time is spent looking forward to another new experience. Time will tell, but one way or the other, any surgeries needed will happen. So, until then, my vast warehouse of memories continues to grow.

You may have noticed a brief absence of stories lately. That occurred because of computer glitches. Sometimes I can see them and other times I can't, so just bear with me. It's my intention to bring more fishing and hunting stories your way, so stay tune.

Never take your vision for granted, and live each day to its fullest, and suck up all outdoor memories like a new kitchen sponge. One day we may need them to flow vividly through our mind's eye.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Q & A about deer hunting

Green woods or snowy terrain, feel safe when drawing on a buck.

Over many years, readers have asked me countless questions about deer and deer hunting, and they are often duplicated. Each one is answered in some detail, but seldom is this information shared with other readers of my daily weblog.

Here are several questions asked of me in the past couple of weeks as we prepare for the end of the archery and muzzleloader deer seasons soon.

I could fill a book with questions I’ve answered in recent years.

Q. - Are you happy when all the deer seasons finally end after three months?

A. - No, I'm never happy to see the season end. But then, I often go out and sit in the woods and watch for deer providing they aren't yarded up. There is no bow or firearm with me, but I'm studying deer habits, travel routes, and it is all a necessary part of hunting. I'll spend an average of 87 of the 90-day season hunting, and watching it end feels like I'm losing an old friend.

Q. - What kind of a tree stand appeals to you?

A. - I enjoy an open tree stand where playing the wind is necessary. I use the Gorilla brand ladder stands made by Eastman Outdoors. They go up easy, come down easy, and put me about 15 feet off the ground. They are safe, stable, easy to climb, and work for me.

I like these easy questions.

Q. - Name your favorite trees for a tree stand? And why?

A. -- C'mon, that's too easy: Cedars. I prefer to sit back in the shadows of overhead boughs with heavy limbs on both sides. The only place I need to shoot is out in front and a bit to my left. I prefer deer to pass the stand from behind me and to my left, and that angle provides me with an easy broadside or quartering-away shot.

Q. - Do you cut shooting lanes for bow or firearm seasons?

A. - No, and here's my reason why. Remove a bunch of small trees, branches and other cover such as leaves, and it removes the reason why bucks travel in that direction. I note where deer travel, pick a hole in the brush to shoot an arrow or bullet through, and do as little to disturb the area as possible. I hear most deer before I ever see them.

Q. - How often (days in a row) will you sit in the same stand?

A. - Much depends on the circumstances, but I try to sit in a different stand every evening or morning. If I've got a a big buck coming through on a regular basis, and if the wind is in my favor for two days in a row, I will probably sit in the same spot both days. The big problem is it is very easy for deer to pattern a hunter, and it becomes easier the more often you hunt a particular stand. I get bored sitting in one stand, looking at the same trees day after day, and when we leased land, we had several tree stands and several coops or box blinds scattered around. It was easy to hunt a different stand almost every day. It paid off with good bucks.

Q. - What is your biggest fear associated with deer hunting?

A. - Getting spotted climbing into the stand or being winded. Each location has a minimum of two routes in and two out, and I always rotate how I approach a stand. Even if I hunt the same stand twice in eight days, the second time I walk to the stand is by a different route than I used a week before. I always leave the stand by a different route than when entering it. Some of my stands have three and even four ways into and away from them.

I’m now obsessed with personal safety while treestand hunting.

Q. - Any other fears?

A. - Oh, sure. I have a healthy fear of falling. I've fallen several times in the past, but was never injured. As I get older, and as my vision worsens in my remaining good right eye, I've become more obsessed with insuring greater personal safety. I began wearing a Rescue One 'CDS'  (Controlled Descent System) full-body harness from Mountaineer Sports <mountaineer-sports.com> every time I hunt from a tree.

It affords me much greater protection while climbing up a tree or ladder, climbing down, and while in the stand. I’d rather be out without my bow or firearm than be without this safety harness, ascend-descend line, and Lineman’s Safety Rope and Treestand Anchor Strap. There is a much greater peace of mind when knowing you are safe at all times.

Q. - What is the biggest problem for most archery deer hunters to solve?

A. - Playing the wind. The hunter must be downwind or down and slightly cross-wind whenever they hunt. How you avoid having deer wind you is up to you. Simply hunting only when you can have deer upwind of your position is great. Some hunters believe in Scent-Lok suits, as I do, and others believe in sprays that help eliminate human odor. Being downwind of deer offers a great advantage. If the wind switches, leave that spot to avoid being winded and blowing a good stand.

Q. - Do you wear rubber boots? Are you that fanatical?

A. - Yes, I am that fanatical. Most of the time I wear knee-high rubber boots, but if I must walk through tall marsh grass I'll often wear hip-boots or rubber waders. Years ago, when I wore leather boots, more than one deer trailed me to my stand. They don't trail me now. I also try not to touch any vegetation with my clothing or skin.

Q. - Why do you pass up bucks that others would shoot?

A. - That's easy. I've shot over 270 deer during my lifetime, and no longer derive any satisfaction from shooting small bucks. I'd rather hunt for an old doe because they offer more of a challenge than a young buck. Hunting doesn't always mean a kill for me, and if a wee 6-point comes by, I draw and aim as if I'm going to shoot, and then ease off and let him walk. I no longer need to kill a buck every year, and I didn't shoot one during last season, but passed up numerous bucks I could have shot. Passing up bucks can be more fun than shooting one because it means you've completely fooled them.

Stay tuned and we'll do this (answering questions) again soon.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors