This is one of those questions that is asked every year around this time.  It has been asked enough that I thought I would at least try to explain some of the things we do in the off season outside of the normal chores and day to day duties.  I hope we do as much as we think we do and if not, maybe Steve won’t pay too much attention to this particular post.  Most people think that after deer season the world stops moving and we live the life of rest and relaxation for the other 8 months of the year.  Truth is, we stay busy every month of the year and a lot of times, season is a welcome break.   In this first post I will try and explain January, February, March, and April…

SCI Reno

SCI convention in Reno

January and February are usually when we are away from family and on the road trying to book any openings we may have for the upcoming two seasons.  The show road can be quite hectic trying to make sure we get to shows on time, get booths set up/ torn down, finding all of our non-camo clothing, figuring out how to iron it (this can be very time consuming), as well as keeping up with the home-front.  Jeff plus one normally drive while Travis and I normally fly, but no matter how you get there the shows can take their toll.  In between setting the booth up and tearing it down, it is an absolute blast seeing our clients from the fall, friends in the industry that we have not seen since the previous year, and getting a chance to visit with dedicated whitetail hunters from around the country.  Of course, with season just winding down we haven’t had much time with the family and the work back home tends to pile up while we are gone.  Still, the show season is a great time to see everyone, meet new clients, and share stories with hunters from around the globe…it may be a tiring run, but it is a great time.

One of those painful year end meetings with the boss!!

Senior Staff Meeting.....in Mexico

March and April are usually spent in meetings, in the woods, and in the office.  We normally have year end meetings with the boss and also with the senior staff so we can take a look at what happened during the previous year and how we can make things better for the year to come.  We are usually buried in the office as we try to make sure year end numbers are turned in as well as touching base with clients to try to get things firmed up on the schedule for our preserve hunters and our free range hunters.  We also try to touch base with everyone we met during the show season that is considering hunting with us in the future.  Of course, time in the office is exactly the type of work that takes the fun out of the job, but it must be done (I guess we all have to grow up sometime).

Jeff after a long day at a senior staff meeting

The best part of March and April is working outside as spring gets underway and the temps start to rise.  Of course, Jeff is stuck outside earlier in the year when the weather is miserable, but this is the time of year it starts to get fun.  Sometimes, at least once every spring, we get stuck cleaning up after mother nature as things thaw out and yellow spring creek comes out of her banks (not the fun part I was speaking of).  We get to spend a lot of time wandering the woods in contemplation while we do a little frost seeding, scour the ranch and leased ground for sheds, and scout out new stand locations on the free range properties.  The good thing is we get to do this with the same deer addicts we spend the falls with.

All in all, the good days far outweigh the bad ones (yes we actually have some days we hate to be at work), but that is what makes this job better than most!!  Well, that is a quick run through of the first four months of the off season.  Keep in mind that we also have the day to day chores that have to be done like checking fence, getting feed out, other general ranch maintenance, keeping up with clients, paying bills, budgeting, planning, and the occasional event we don’t plan for (like the year the basement flooded in the lodge).  I am sure I could have painted a more dismal picture of the off season and showed you pictures of the muddy, messy, cold, miserable times we go through all the time, but the truth is that I can’t think of any other way any of us would rather make a living or raise a family.  Sometimes I think we lose sight of just how lucky we are to earn a living doing something we love with great friends, but that is a whole other topic all together.

We have finally arrived on the doorstep of technology and have decided to walk through and embrace it as a way to keep everyone posted on what is happening at Timberghost.  We are excited about what this could mean for us, our clients, and those hunters and outdoors people who just like to keep up with the whitetail addicts here in Iowa.  This all started because there are simply not enough hours in the day to call all the people I would like, visit with all the potential clients, keep up with all the hunters interested in Timberghost, get out and do what I love in the outdoors, and make it home to my family for dinner, or before they go to bed for that matter.  I used to stay up late working, emailing, writing letters, and making lists of things to do over the next week, but not any more.  This may cause me to simply fall behind on work I guess, but at least if I am up late now, it can be having fun posting to this blog in an effort to better keep up with everyone.

People are always calling to see what is happening at Timberghost, how the deer are growing, to share a hunting story, or simply say hi.  I always enjoyed talking with everyone, but as our business has grown it has become difficult to keep up with everyone.   As we start the blog I am sure we will have to endure technical difficulties and I am also sure I will write some things I shouldn’t.  While I am not a Pulitzer Prize writer and I always had a hard time making the grade in English, I will try to keep it interesting and current and will always tell it how I see it.  I am not entirely sure how often I will be able to update it, but I do know it should help us keep our family of clients, friends, and fellow whitetail addicts informed.  Let all of your friends and fellow whitetail addicts know about us as I am sure anyone that loves whitetail will want to see this blog, especially when fall gets here and we start knocking down the monster bucks of southeast Iowa.  I hope this turns out to be as fun and useful as I think it will and that all of you enjoy keeping up with us here at Timberghost.  Take care and I’ll be back soon.

2009 ends with a bang and am looking forward to 2010!!!

If you love chasing trophy whitetails, whether it is in the cold silence of the Canadian wilderness, the draws and creek bottoms of the midwest, the prickly flats of South Texas, or right in your backyard, you can appreciate the need for great gear. Timberghostshop is currently working on becoming the one stop shopping destination for serious whitetail hunters across the country and we need your help.  Currently, you can find most any hunting equipment you might be looking for, but we are working with our guide staff and industry leaders to bring you the best gear that has been proven in the field.  Products will be used and reviews will be written by some of the toughest critics in the industry, the guides, clients, and prostaff of Timberghost.  They use and abuse equipment just about every day of deer season across the entire country.  If these guys say it works, you can count it working for you.

We are not building an online store to sell you a bunch of crap, or even to sell you something expensive.  This is not a place to compare 10 different grunt calls, 20 different broadheads, hunting clothes from 30 different companies.  This is a site where you can find 2-3 of the best grunt calls, a 5-6 of the most effective broadheads, and clothing you can count on for years of abuse.  We will have the best options at the best prices.  We want to create a place that you can come to shop for hunting equipment that you know you can count on, not a place where you keep buying things that can’t stand the test of time or are not effective.

We will leave the old store up so people can continue to shop while we update the site.  It may take a while to gather all the information and get the products updated.  It will take even longer to post reviews and comments about the products we place.  Make sure you check on us come hunting season because we are hoping to make some major progress, but at the end of the day it will never be done because there are always great new products to review and more information we can put out there.  We hope you visit Timberghostshop and sign up for their newsletter so you can keep updated on store updates, sales, and special offers from our friends in the industry.  Take care and let us know if you have any suggestions.

Located in the bluff country of Southeast Iowa, the most incredible trophy whitetail country in North America, Timberghost was born out of a special passion for whitetail hunting.

We have brought all of our knowledge, skills, and experience together to create a trophy whitetail hunting environment without equal.

Whether your interest is in preserve hunting or free-range hunting, gun hunting or archery hunting, the heavily wooded hollows and impenetrable creek bottoms will provide you with the hunting experience of a lifetime for mature trophy bucks.

We invite you join a new family of hunters that will relive old stories and enjoy new experiences for years to come as we work together to create the ultimate trophy whitetail hunting adventure.

Take me to Timberghost