It’s different, dating someone with a clear eye toward spending the rest of your life with them. Some people just don’t do anything other than that; not wasting time with someone that they know is incompatible in the long run. I’ve done that. I’ve dated people that I knew were moving, or that I knew just weren’t right for a long-term partner for one reason or another.

It’s fun, but superficial. You don’t have to worry that your habits match up, because really, you’re not spending all that much time with them, and everyone’s generally on their best behavior anyway. If he’s a night owl and you’re a morning person, it doesn’t really become an issue if you’re only interacting once a week, or less. You don’t get your heart all worked up in these types of things either. I always took them for what they were, no more, and just lived in the moment. I liked them, don’t get me wrong, or I wouldn’t have been dating them in the first place, but I didn’t love those ones. I couldn’t have seen spending the rest of my life with any of them, but that didn’t deter me from seeing them anyway.

This, though; this is different. This is the third time in my life where there’s been the potential for a life-long partner, and I’m (and we’re) approaching it with much more thought and deliberation than I ever have before. Things that wouldn’t even be a topic of conversation in a shallow relationship are now something to be talked about, to see how we fit and if we don’t, what we can do about it.

We’re talking so much that we’re working on a head start on compromises, seeing where they’re going to be needed. How do we feel about raising families, and being an adult child of various types of families, for instance. What do we each see in our futures. Philosophies on doing the dishes immediately after dinner, and of course, the whole toilet seat issue.

One of the hazards of starting a relationship at my age and general crabbitude is that I was a little concerned that I might be too set in my ways, that I just wouldn’t have any give left in me at all. I’ve been on my own and in charge of my household for a long time now, and I have  clearly-defined ways of thinking, of doing, of being. Where once upon a time I was more of the type to just cave to what the man wanted regardless of my own inclination, I’m much less likely to do that now.

Fortunately, I’ve found a depth in myself that I didn’t know I had. I’m feeling able to let go of the small stuff without any resentment, and am able to consider alternatives to the big stuff without knee-jerk stubborn reactions. It helps to have a man who does also want to make things work, and is willing to give on his side as well, and who gives my thoughts equal weight with his own. I can’t run right over his positions, and I don’t want to, but trying to dominate might be a little too automatic for me. I trust that he has the patience to see that it is just automatic if I do that, and to give me time to think about something no matter what quick response came out of my mouth. I have change in me, and that surprises me.

It also helps that there isn’t a whole ton of changing to do, but there are definitely a few areas where we don’t line up perfectly. That’s just fine with me though; who’d want a carbon-copy of themselves? That wouldn’t be interesting at all.

So here we are, dating but not frivolously. This is the audition, and the probation period, and the honeymoon phase. We both really want to make this relationship work, and not just for a year or two. We’re looking at the rest of our lives here, and trying to set us up a solid foundation. You know the kind; you can see the chimney and the porch stones of the house long after the wood and the bricks are long gone, after the people who lived there have been in the ground for a hundred years and the highway’s gone right through the front yard. I want that kind of base. You can’t build forever on wedged-in two by fours and expect the house to stand through an earthquake. So, one stone at a time, we’re building.

It feels sort of anticlimactic, after all of the turmoil and stress it took to write the bid up, but this morning, my next three years’ worth of future was casually approved in a Board of Supervisors meeting.

I sort of knew it would be, as I was the only bidder, and they can’t very well not cover this system. I was feeling fairly superstitious for the last month about assuming that I’d got it. I had plans in my head about how I was going to move on with this next phase of things, but I hadn’t acted on any yet. The most I’ve done is a little window-shopping for a service truck, without any looking in person. I had no contingency plans at all for catching myself if they turned me down.

But it’s all good. I gave myself a little raise, much of which will be eaten up by the new truck. I’m growing out of my pickup, and it will be promoted to my personal vehicle, with maybe a business trip or two in its future. The rest of the raise is going to be squirrelled away into the house fund. I’ve been working on year-to-year contracts for more than ten years now, and that’s not a very stable platform from which to jump into a mortgage. Three years confirmed, now, that’s a little better. Unfortunately, lenders are a little conservative about handing large chunks of money to the self-employed, and want to see two years’ worth of receipts (last I heard) before they’ll take that chance. Which is fine; I can wait and save up a down payment in the next year and a half. And I probably won’t be applying alone then either.

I suppose now that they’re paying me all of this money to run the water system, that I should go get back to work. I’d like to stay employed, after all.

I was going to run off this evening for a class down in the LA area, but with this shocking winter storm California’s having, I bet the Grapevine is going to be closed by the time I get down there. Never mind that I’m driving a four-wheel-drive truck and carrying chains, they close that thing for a quarter inch of snow.

Which means that I have to leave earlier, to try to make it, and if not, I have to ditch off to the left at Bakersfield and go through Lancaster. With everyone else in the world. Goody. I predict at least eight hours of driving today, on a truck with the check engine light lit, and after at least a half-day of working here. I can’t blow it off or reschedule though; I need to renew this license and this is the last class before my drop-dead due date.

I’m not used to having a partner in life, so when I mentioned that my engine light was on to Junior, he surprised me by offering his truck up. I think I would feel more nervous worrying about his than just pushing on with mine though, so he said he’d come get me if I needed it. that hadn’t even occurred to me, but it sure is nice to feel that safety net under me. Oh, and then he figured out what the light was all about for me, at ten last night, so I might be able to take care of it today before I leave.

It’s not going to be a fun weekend, but at least I come home to someone who loves me. I’ll walk through the closed Grapevine for that, if I have to.

Not only does Junior trapshoot, he was excited about teaching me to do it too. I’m always up to do something new and interesting, so I was all for it. So on Saturday, when the club had a practice day to warm up for the next day’s League shoot, he picked out a shotgun from their collection that fit me well enough. I gathered up some of my grampa’s shells which my dad had just given me, and we tried it.

We didn’t get any pictures of me doing it, because I needed him right there to teach me, not twenty feet away and behind the camera, but I did OK. He started me slowly, shooting a box on the ground so I could feel the gun. It seemed to shoot exactly where I pointed it, so after a couple of those, we went on to the flying clays.

I was more than a little nervous about that part. There were other people out there and I was feeling shy, and it looked so complicated, this hitting a moving target thing, that I was a little intimidated. When I hit the first one, I felt better, and went on to not do too badly, especially for a first time out. I wasn’t counting and neither was he, but he guesses I hit fifteen or so of the twenty-five, and that’s not too shabby for the first time picking up a shotgun.

It’s not easy though. Some things are so very different from shooting a rifle, which is what I know, that I’m going to have to unlearn as much as I learn from scratch. You don’t aim a shotgun, for instance, but you point it. I’m really not sure of the distinction myself, but he said he could tell when I was aiming. I guess I stop moving it, and you can’t do that, you have to keep swinging it while you shoot to get the shot patterned into a stream that will intersect with the target.

After my introduction to it, I was sporting rubber arms and a bruised shoulder, so we stopped before I started not liking it. A little teaching at a time will give me time to think on what I’ve learned, and let it sink in a little. And it’s going to take a lot of sinking in, I can tell. It was fun though, and I enjoyed getting to actually feel what he does up there. It made me watch him the next day a little more intelligently.

 

 
And the next day was fun too. I hadn’t yet been to a League shoot, where they’re competing with a team. I brought the camera out and took pictures of the whole team on one station. The light wasn’t great and I wanted to watch for once, so after those first photos, I put the camera down and did just that. I could see a little more of what he was actually doing, and let some of his previous days’ lessons sink in to my head. That’s how I learn best; all the classroom experience in the world doesn’t do much for me if I don’t get out there and get my hands on something. Once I know what questions to ask, the answers mean a little more to me. 

I would have been happy enough just being a cheerleader for him for a while longer, especially since I bring my own hobby along to the shoots (the photography.) He’s pleased that I wanted to pick a gun up and try it though, and I am too. We don’t have to share all of the same interests exactly, but it’s good to know what floats your partner’s boat, and it’s good to share a passion here and there outside of the bedroom. What good would a long life together be, if you didn’t like to spend time with each other outside of the house? You can’t be naked all of the time; you have to be able to enjoy each other’s company for the other 23 hours a day. Fortunately, we share a lot of things. I can see a lot of years with this man, building foundations.

More nerve-wracking than meeting the folks, in this modern era, is the meeting of the children.

Junior’s meeting of mine went fairly well. He’d already met Seamus while hunting, before we were even an item, and Seamus is a friendly sort. John was, well, John, but he’s coming out of his shell and actually being polite for a change. Which probably had nothing to do with the whispered and sincere threats in his ear, now, did it?

This weekend was his younger daughter’s birthday. Seemed a good time to introduce everyone all around, with other people around to run interference and pizza and games to provide distraction. From what he’s said about the younger one, I thought she might be a little like Seamus; outgoing and happy to be around people. I was right too, we hit it off just fine, and in fact she and Seamus buddied up a little bit too.

The older daughter might be a little more of a challenge. She strikes me as more of a sensitive sort, who’s had to go through quite a bit in the last year. There was their divorce, and her mother getting remarried right away, and moving houses, and now her Dad springs a new girlfriend on her, complete with a whole other family to deal with. She might take a while to warm up to me, but that’s OK. We got off on a good enough foot; she was distant but polite, and that’s really all you can ask of an eight-year-old. We have time, after all.

Family dynamics are challenging enough when everyone’s related to each other, but the prospect of merging two families scares me a little, and him too. We’ll do it, it’s absolutely worth it, but it’s going to be hard. We catch each other’s eyes over the heads of whichever kids happen to be around at the moment and know that we’re both doing the math and wondering if we’re crazy to be trying this. At the very least, we’re going to need a bigger house, but that’s just details. There are going to be an awful lot of details to work out, and some of it’s not going to be easy at all.

Suddenly, this relationship isn’t just between the two of us; now there are six hearts involved, and how do you keep that many happy, warm, and safe? I don’t know, not right off the top of my head, but we’ll be learning as we go.

Imagine, daughters. I never thought I’d be in that position, but I can see it from here.

You all know that I like to get up in the mountains in the winter and see the animals that know better than to come out during hunting season. I think it’s just outstanding that I have someone to share that with now, not to mention someone to help get the truck out of the snowbank (where he stuck it.)

So we packed our lunch and headed for the hills before daylight to see what we could see. Early winter is a great time to go up, as the deer are in the rut and they couldn’t care less who’s around; they just want to get them some. The weather has brought the big bucks down from the high country, but the snow wasn’t so deep that we couldn’t get in to most of where we wanted.

And we sure enough found deer; for once, we saw more bucks than does. The does were being somewhat more sensible, but the males were all addled. We hunted strictly with the camera, and discovered that there are trophy animals in California after all. You doubt that, after a while, but they’re here.

It’s a ton of fun to watch their behavior when they don’t care who’s watching. We didn’t actually get to see any getting it on, but we sure saw them trying for it, the big morons.

This one was by far the best. He caught Junior’s eye just at the corner of his attention, and I have no idea how. We’d already gone past him and he wasn’t moving at all, but something tweaked at his subconscious, because he backed up for a second look and there stood this monster. He had his body parallel to us but was facing away. He heard us, we could tell when he twitched an ear, but he didn’t care. It took whistling at him to make him acknowledge our presence and turn around.

And what a rack! The edges of their ears average about 24 inches wide, and even though his ears weren’t out straight, he was well beyond that size. Junior thinks he might have been a 28-inch buck, better than anything he’s shot in Colorado.

He was a confident old bastard, and a tough one. If you zoom in, you can see that he’s got some damage done to his right eye, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He just stood there for a good five or ten minutes, watching us watching him, before he calmly walked behind a little more cover. He acted like a buck unconcerned by vehicle noises, which probably paints him as a Yosemite buck, used to tourists snapping his portrait. Hell, he turned to give us both side views!

He’d have been a good trophy, but I think I’m just as glad that he was smart enough to avoid that, and to come down after season ended to spread his genes around. Those are some good genes; get to it, buddy!

Lower Division Courses 

101. Introduction to Bass Fishing (4 units)

(Formerly: Fishing Principles 101) An introduction to the principles of fishing using the bass as a model organism. The course covers bass boat care and launching, trailer backing, basic knot tying, casting, basic lying, and cold-weather safety. Fish may or may not be caught during the laboratory portion of this course.

Note: Laboratory requires a valid fishing license and semi-public urination. A course for students majoring in Redneck Science.

102. Introduction to Hunting (3 units)

(Formerly: Hunting 101) Prerequisite: Hunting Safety (H107)

A general course introducing hunting principles and wildlife interactions in rural ecosystems, emphasis on locating, killing, and processing large and small game animals. The course covers hunting camp preparation, introduction to tracking, basic butchering and meat processing, and open-fire cooking techniques.

Note: Instruction will consist primarily of laboratory activities of various types. Hunting license required.

103. Applied Deer Hunting (4 units)

(Formerly: Hunting 102) Prerequisite: Hunting Safety (H107)

Emphasis on the application of biological knowledge designed to harvest a mature male Mule deer. Topics include: Preferred deer habitat, seasonal variations, and locating techniques. Various means of harvest will be discussed, including center-fire rifle, pistol, and archery techniques. The course covers hunting camp preparation, tracking, butchering and meat processing, and open-fire cooking techniques.

Note: A course for students majoring in Redneck Science. Instruction will consist primarily of laboratory activities of various types. Hunting license and D-6 zone deer tag required.

104. Introduction to Large Game Hunting (4 units)

(Formerly: Hunting 104) Prerequisite: Successful completion of Redneck Science 103(or equivalent) with a grade of C or better.

This course, with Redneck Science 103, makes up the introductory series for Redneck Science majors. Both courses must be completed with a grade of C or better before students will be allowed to take the second level of required courses in the Redneck Science curriculum. This semester covers dangerous game principles, an introduction to bear hunting, and anatomy and physiology of large game animals. Concepts and facts discussed in lecture will be closely integrated with laboratory observation and experimentation.

Note: This is part of the introductory series for Redneck Science majors. There are weekly laboratories. Hunting license and bear tag are required.

105. Introduction to Hounds (4 units)

(Formerly: Hunting 105) Prerequisite: Successful completion of Redneck Science 104 (or equivalent) with a grade of C or better.

This course consists of beginning hound care and selection. Topics discussed will cover scent hound breed and bloodlines and management in and out of the field, correct use of tracking and training devices, and and introduction to locating concepts. Laboratory observation will be required, with overnight courses occurring at least once per semester on an unscheduled basis.

Note: This is part of the introductory series for Redneck Science majors. There are weekly laboratories. Mode: Lecture and Laboratory.

106. Introduction to Varmint Hunting (4 units)

(Formerly: Hunting 106) Prerequisite: Successful completion of Redneck Science 102 and Redneck Science 105 (or equivalent) with a grade of C or better.

This course completes the introductory series for Redneck Science majors. Redneck Science 106 is designed to be taken in the winter of the students’ freshman year. This semester covers small game applications, including the pursuit of raccoon, fox, and bobcat using scent hounds. Topics include cold-weather tracking, night observations, off-road driving and self-rescue, and cold-camp techniques. Concepts and facts discussed in lecture will be closely integrated with laboratory observation and experimentation.

Note: This is part of the introductory series for Redneck Science majors. There are weekly night laboratories. Mode: Lecture and Laboratory.