I took Carrie up north this week so she could spend some extra time away for the Thanksgiving holiday. Naturally Olivia is with her so the house is pretty empty and quiet. This however, seems to have ill-effects on me. My day just doesn\'t seem right without Liv blowing kisses and waving goodbye, and Carrie telling me to drive carefully and call when I get into the office so she doesn\'t worry. I just figure, what the hey, I\'m a \"still\" a new daddy so I can get away with it, but deep down I know its cause I\'m just a ninny.

Furthermore I got to participate in a time-honored Wisconsin tradition: The Deer Hunt. Now mind you, I can count on one hand the number of times I\'ve held anything more powerful than a BB gun, and I don\'t have a deer license, so I didn\'t get to have a gun. (It was offered, but I declined...ninny). I was offered a club to beat it down with as well, but again, thankfully declined the offer amongst the numerous chuckles of well-seasoned hunters.

This particular task was a \"drive\" hunt. Several people stroll through the woods in and attempt to drive the deer out towards the \"posters\" (the guys standing still in the wet snow with guns). I was really hoping to participate in the walk, since I didn\'t even have a gun, I wouldn\'t be of any use as a poster, but alas, I got to be an \"extra pair of eyes\" for a 75-year old man. Needless to say, I froze my ass off and saw no deer. Nobody in our party got anything either. They saw several doe\'s [cripes, is that even how you spell \"female deer\"??), and a yearling buck that someone though they hit, but couldn\'t find.

I\'ve made up my mind...next year, I need to do this for real. As soon as I find a rifle, take a \"hunter safety\" course, and learn how to shoot. Do they give deer licenses, or rifles for that matter, to ninnies??