Venison Ambassador

The Hunt for Excitement

On Sunday evening (10/17) I had a great opportunity to sit in a ground blind and scout for Jeff. I settled in about 4:45 and starting trying to slow my brain down and just enjoy. I told myself I would be happy to see a couple of squirrels and a bird or two. (Big lie, of course, but you try all the same. You're always hoping to see the "big one.") Finally, about 5:45 I had given up my pretense, largely because except for 2 flies, nothing in nature was even attempting to entertain me. I could hear birds behind me and see the evidence of squirrels in the trees, nuts were falling like crazy, but I saw nothing.

Then, I checked out the noise on my right - a gobbler!! I had never seen one in real life, this close up! They are taller than I had thought. He was so dark, he almost looked to be black. He had a beard hanging down (Jeff says that means its a gobbler, not a Jake) and he was eating away at bugs or corn, I'm not sure which. Turkeys are funny and this one suddenly jerked his head up and flapped his wings, then ran down the hill into the woods, completely out of sight. I watched and a couple of minutes later, he came right back up the exact same spot! He freaked out again and ran into the weeds and finally (according to the ruckus) ran down the hill into the woods, not to resurface.

I was so excited! A turkey, acting all crazy and close enough to really watch. Next, out of the woods popped  a doe and her fawn, ready for the evening browse. Both walked out, stared straight at my blind, then twitched their tails and settled into the business of feeding. The fawn was completely engrossed in her nibbling, but momma would check my direction every so often, just making sure. Something spooked the doe and both scurried around the bend, out of sight.

What a night! Folks, if you have a chance to get outside and sit really still and watch - who knows what you'll see! Just go! By the way, if you get delicious meals in the process - woo hoo!!

A Plug for the Hunting Man

How do you know if you are lucky in love? Water leaks. That's right, plain old highly unromantic fact of life problems, like water leaks. I went outside this morning to discover water oozing out from under the garage door and streaming directly from the laundry room. ICK!!! Big huge mess! This, for those who are uninformed about the special weekend this is - is the first weekend of bow season. My husband and his hunting buddy were at the farm for some well deserved hunting fun. My texts ruined the fun. I had to find out where to shut off the water and my husband IMMEDIATELY called when he got my message and let me know how to shut it off and he'd be right here. His buddy? Also a married "good guy" called to be sure I knew to turn off the breaker to the water heater. Both arrived with very kind attitudes and got down to business. I don't know yet if they'll make the evening hunt or not (they're in town getting whatever to fix it) but I know Christine, Todd's wife, and I are very lucky in love!

So ladies, if you happen to have a tree stand hubby like me, hug him and tell him you know you're lucky!

Jeff's Cabin

Drum roll please! Check out the hunting cabin! Jeff designed this cabin, handpicked the trees off the land, had the trees sawed into exactly the right boards, then put  it together! Great job, Honey!!

The builder with his creation....
 

 

My Hero!

When many husbands might be out drinking and embarrassing their wives and families, mine is just getting back in. Know what he's been up to? Filling the freezer! Seems the deer numbers weren't satisfactory this season & he got out and got things done! Go sweetie! 2 deer will go a long way to making the freezers look well stocked! So glad to be married to a hunter!!

Nature's not nice????

As a hunter's wife, and now as a hunter myself, I am always amazed at the Disney-like view folks have of wildlife. Admittedly, my view did tend to be Disney-like in my life before Jeff (hubby).

Today, right in town, there was a Hawk eating a bird. Since he had chosen to eat it right outside an office window, he had spectators. We live in a fairly rural community, so whether or not a person hunts we're all still familiar with the fact that animals do eat each other. I must say, though, the Hawk's choice of lunch was not very popular inside that building. I made the remark that nature isn't all that friendly and that comment was met with some rather serious, slow head nods by folks still not thrilled with the Hawk.

Sometimes its good to watch what really happens "out there" for perspective. For those who "don't know how you can eat Bambi" it would likely be quite helpful. If a person really watches what critters do and who eats who, the idea of a Bambi & Thumper woods fades away to fantasy. Fantasy and dreamworld is where Bambi belongs. Venison, now that belongs on my table!

Amazing Sights and Sounds

This past Friday was the first day of shotgun season here in Illinois. My husband and I got up early and snuck into our stand. An owl hooted loudly above us. There are so many sounds in the woods at night. Coons were fussing at each other. We were quiet - it sounded like we were the onlyones out there being quiet. We jumped three deer walking in. We climbed up into our 2-man stand, got situated and waited for daylight. Its so amazing who finds their voice as night slides into day. The night sounds, the owl, the racoons were no longer vocal. Instead, songbirds welcomed the sunrise, happy for the new day. Squirrels began to scurry around and it was officially a new day.

We sat there watching and listening to the birds and the squirrels and suddenly we heard a doe blow. I remember Jeff (hubby) talking about a doe blowing and just dying to hear what it was like. One day they showed a doe in a bit of a huff on a hunting video and then I really wanted to hear it for myself. Since then I have heard it, live and directed quite at me when we have walked out and spooked a doe. This doe, though was really unhappy. She just kept blowing! Jeff & I looked at each other, it was so strange because the sound was getting closer to us. (When a doe is blowing because she has smelled human odor, she doesn't normally come closer, of course.) Then, it got CRAZY!!! The doe burst through an opening, running and followed by a large buck who was roaring. Roaring! Not a grunt, a roar. I never even knew a buck could make that sound! I was relieved that Jeff and I were together, because not in a million years could I have explained that sound to him. After the doe and the big buck came 3 smaller bucks, followed by a spike buck. Really - isn't that a bit much? We could hardly believe our eyes! (and ears!) The big buck kept roaring, the doe was running, the other bucks followed & the whole mess went running up the hill and out of site.

I can't think how to do justice to what we saw and heard. When I write it here it doesn't even give a glimmer of how it made our hearts pound or the level of WOW we felt! That's something Jeff and I will always have to remember. No deer were harvested that morning and its still a hunt we will never forget.

Deer & Greens

Yesterday (Saturday) I had to stay home and work on my studies, no hunting for me. Around 4:30 in the afternoon I was taking a break by gathering some greens from the outdoor garden. As I clipped my Swiss Chard I heard a twig snap and jerked my head up. There he was. A buck, not big, but definitely a buck watching me. We have a bit of woods and brush along side the yard and he was making his way up there, no doubt checking for the does who live in these woods. Let's just say that this did not really enhance my studying. Next thing I knew I was sitting here at my computer trying my best to concentrate and jumping up to look out the window every time I heard anything from the woods.

Deer fever - seems like its contagious.

Last Saturday's "Sit"

Last time I got to go sit in a deer stand was last Saturday evening. It was very warm, especially compared with the weather the weekend before. Unfortunately, while we can wear fewer layers, the deer are already wearing a warm coat and simply don't move as much when we get a warm spell.

It was an uneventful "sit." I saw some squirrels, some birds, no deer. While I definitely wish the deer had been out and I could have watched them, I'm still glad I went. It is quiet, there is no talking, no phone, no internet and no demands. The only thing to do is to be still and quiet.

A Successful Hunt

I had a great opportunity Saturday night to go hunting with Hubby! There were all manner of squirrels causing commotion and fighting and scrambling for nuts. Then, as the squirrel activity decreased with the setting sun, came the real show. I saw a deer walk out of the woods into the field edge, followed by a second deer. Next, a bunch of scratching noise. Then, the clatter of what sounded like antlers????

Thank goodness Jeff had a better view. The first deer was a doe. The second deer was a buck who was "ready for action". Unfortunately for the buck the doe wasn't "ready" yet and she ran into the corn to escape his unwanted attention. The buck took his frustrations out by making a scrape to show his dominance.(scratching noise). Apparently, another small buck had come up out of the woods and he and the first buck tried their hand at fighting. Not the go after you till someone wins fighting that the big bucks engage in, but the practice for later fighting that small bucks do.

Later, out of our stands and back in the cabin Jeff has been building, we sat and compared notes. It is so fun to talk with your hunting partner and clarify what you heard and explain what was seen by each. It is a fun type of camaraderie that you can only get by going.

Money Talks - What Do Your Dollars Say?

Do you vote with your dollars? The other day I was on a site to purchase makeup. I had my order ready and the price was good. (I'm frugal & hubby would've liked the price.) Then something caught my eye - they support PETA. PETA sounds good - I want animals treated well. I would never abuse or tolerate others abusing or hurting animals. However, in the back of my mind I thought I remembered that they were against hunting. Talk about an understatement!! I went directly to their website to get the real scoop and be sure. Right on the front page was a fresh bit of info (blog or article, I'm not sure which it was now) about how terrible hunting is. That sealed it. No way was I going to buy something from a seller who will give funding to wipe out (if they are allowed to) my lifestyle!

PETA's site even had info about someone giving deer birth control! Someone please stop and THINK! When we hunt responsibly - hunting in season, accurately tagging our harvest, only taking shots that make sense, eating our harvest with thanks at each meal - this is controlling the deer herd. It is simultaneously keeping deer from running into vehicles on the road, or, that's right - requiring birth control. (I know, if I hadn't read it I wouldn't have believed it either.) Then too, instead of someone having to raise cattle in conditions I disagree with and injecting them (& consequently my dinner) with things I would NEVER condone - we've provided clean, free-range red meat in its purest form.

To be fair, before I met my husband I didn't have any idea that responsible hunters had so much to do with different species having survived and grown in number. I didn't know that many hunters actively work to improve their own hunting ground for the good of the population all year. I had no clue that there is a selective method to the harvest. For now, I will make sure that my dollars go to those who either support what I believe in or who at least don't support getting rid of my lifestyle. My hope is that as we come into contact with folks who erroneously believe that hunting is without merit, that by our words and actions we can influence them to see the benefits of hunting.