About a month ago I let Justin, Fitz and Crik know that I wouldn't be around much anymore starting this spring and that I was semi-retiring as a moderator of the forum. When JZ asked who I would suggest to take my place, Matt (MGH_PA) came to mind right away. Now that Matt has been a mod for a few weeks I have decided to fully step aside as a moderator and as a staff member of Bowhunting.com. As some of you know, my wife and I decided to move back to WI from the resort in Ontario a few years ago and to let my brother run the camp for me. Over the last two years I have been a stay at home dad for our two kids while Jill finished her second degree, gained some experience and has now been a full time Accountant for the last year. After I left camp I really didn't know what I wanted to do in the next phase of my life. I started Rut Junkie Apparel, but I really didn't have the desire to be in that type of business so I have since licensed the Trademarks to another clothing company. My family owns 10 grocery stores, but I left that business back in 2002 to move to Ontario and I really have had no desire to return to the retail business and work with family. About a year ago my brother, who is the President of the grocery stores now that our dad has retired, and I were having a conversation about our love of being outside in the outdoors and how he wishes at times that he did something different. We got on the subject of myself and what I wanted to do in the future, as he knew I had no desire to be in the retail side of the grocery business again. We started talking about farming and some of the promotions they have for pumpkins and squash. So, last year I decided to test grow a few thousand pumpkins and 30,000# of squash. I found out that I loved it and decided that farming would be the main thing if the next chapter of my life. For the last year Jill and I have been talking with a lady about buying her property that joins up to my brother's land. We finally agreed on a price and will be closing on the 38 acres May 1. This is our dream home property and where we plan on calling home the rest of our lives. Currently there is a smaller older house, a 3 car garage and a barn foundation on the property. We are planning on tearing down the house and garage to build our new place on, but we don't know if we want to tackle that project this year or wait until next year yet. Here's a picture of the property from the main road out front. The driveway will need a bit of gravel work, but is .43 miles long and will be nice an private. You can see where the house is now and that will most likely be where we build the new house. The property is on the left side of the driveway and goes to the woods. There is 32 acres of field and 6 acres of woods with a creek running through it. This place is going to be taking up the majority of my time, so my time around here will be very limited starting in a couple weeks. Its been great here and I've made some wonderful friends through this site. But, times change and life sometimes starts to get in the way. Behave around here kids. I'll still be watching, I just won't do anything about it anymore.
Congrats on finding a new place for you and your family to settle down at and also good luck with the farming and hopefully everything works out for you guys. It looks like a nice area. When i get to that point in my life id like to find a nice place out in the country to call my own. Again good luck with everything.
Jealous. Sounds like an awesome new venture. With Vito all but gone, and now you retiring, this place is losing some of it's best members.
Good luck with everything, Dan. Super happy you've found something you can really enjoy in life. Not many can say the same. Don't be too much of a stranger:D
Darn good decision to not get sucked up into the family grocery thing and hate it the rest of your life because it is the convenient thing to do.
Thanks a bunch guys. The thing I'm most excited about is getting out of the subdivision and raising our kids at the new place. With the creek running through ours and my brother's properties, its going to be a great place for the kids to grow up and explore the outdoors. Wyatt will be able to shoot squirrels and deer in the back yard and have an absolute blast. Here's a GE shot of the property. My brother Jeff will be just to the east of us and has 22 acres and my brother Rick will be just SW of us across the road. We're a pretty close family, so it will be nice to have them as neighbors. I'll still be around here some, just not as much. Hunting has become much less of a priority for me the last couple years and is another reason I have decided to step down as a Mod. I'll still be doing a lot of food plotting at the cabin, but I don't feel the urge to kill a deer anymore. I'll concentrate on getting my 73 year old father his first buck with a bow, my nephew who's in a wheelchair another mature buck, my niece's husband his first deer with a bow and to shoot a deer with my son at my side.
I laughed. I guess that's why I love you. Now go write your wedding vows and get packing for Utah!!!!
Dan, best of luck in your new endeavors. One door closes and another opens, and its all what we make of it. All the best, Jimmy
I'll be spending a lot of time driving this, after this damn snow melts. And watching this little dude climb trees in the yard.
That's awesome Dan! Bust of luck to you and your family in this new chapter of your lives. Looks like a dream coming true for sure.
