WARNING: If you are sensitive to issues of hunting, you may want to skip this post. Hunting happens to be a sport that our family participates in and has much respect for. Although we view it as sport, we do also eat the meat of everything we kill. We understand, however, that not everyone holds our same views.
It just occurred to me the other day that some folks don't understand deer speak.
I mean, I guess I knew that not everyone hunted, but I didn't realize that deer lingo was truly a foreign language.
And, for sure, I'm not fluent. I'm like on DoeBuck Level 3. Maybe 3.5. But, I'm learning.
My mom's side of the family lives, breathes, and sneezes hunting. My cousin is a professional hunter, which might as well be NFL to redneckians. And we have more pictures of my grandpa standing beside some critter that he killed than pictures of him not. It's just how that side of the ole familia rolls. So although my own family didn't do much outdoorsey stuff, hunting was certainly not strange or odd or foreign to me.
And then I married this guy.
And I have been neck deep in wild game ever since. Not only do I understand the anatomy of a deer, I have the anatomy of a deer in my fridge as I type this. I've had deer heads in my freezer, and we have horns on our walls. We've spent many a night processing our own meat, and the boys love venison more than chicken or beef. My closets vomit camouflage, and our entire fall schedule revolves around magical dates on the calendar which indicate what is in season and which gun or bow you can use to shoot it with.
So you can imagine the all-out giddyness that ensued late Saturday afternoon when I got the call that Sawyer shot his first deer ever. All by himself. And dragged it out of the woods. All by himself.
Seriously big stuff around these parts. Like a rite of passage of sorts.
Because it is one thing to dress the little men up in camo and hunter's orange and send them off for a day in the woods with their daddy. Knowing that it really is probably not going to yield a successful hunt, and it is really more about the being like daddy part that really gets them excited anyway.
But we're on the fast track to mandome now.
And we couldn't be more proud.
13 comments:
What a rite of passage. Good for him, and good for you for figuring out what to do with the meat. I am all about hunting, but eating Bambi is hard for me to do....and you know I'll eat just about anything...
Girl, girl, girl. How could we have married brothers and never met???
Even though I did NOT grow up in a hunting family, I have learned all the hunting lingo. Our calendar revolves around magical "opening season" days, and I find myself watching way too many whispering man shows (aka hunting channel). While I don't participate in the preparation of the meat, I will eat it.
Congrats to Sawyer!!!
Amb,
I won't go into any "story" about the results of a few of our "outdoorsy" escapades. Suffice it to say, that there were two times our family attempted to "camp out" in the wild (actually, it was a park once, and a KOA the other.) Some kind of bug hit the whole family, including Nanny and cut that one short. The other was when I developed kidney infection after I got the tent up, and you all had to tear it down and get me home to the doctor the same night. Not very successful, I guess. I don't know why, for I used to hunt and camp with the family on the creek when I was a youngster.
I did, however, on the heels of my grands, Sawyer, Jordan, AND KEATON, and their recent experience - I say again, on the heels of...when I went to Walmart today I actually stood and compared prices of the guns they had on display. Didn't buy but was tempted. Who knows, I might venture out over the holidays if Kirk and Kevin could stand it.
I am proud of the boys. And looking for a slice of good venison. Yum, Yum!
Later,
Jim-Dad
Well, I'm so very glad that two of my besties know all things woodsy owl because my son is so very thankful he has a place to learn!!
I am actually quite impressed that you can/will handle all that meat and it says a lot about your character as a wife/mother that you love and support your men, b/c I know PLENTY of women around here who could care.less.
This is a language I didn't really grow up hearing. My dad fished and occasionally hunted. Having two girly girls he certainly didn't take us hunting with him.
On the other hand, I married a man who LOVES to hunt so I know there will come a time my little guy will be joining dad out in the great outdoors. He also eats what he shoots. I don't so that leaves lots of meat for him :)
Way to go, Saw!
I'm impressed you're willing to cut up and process the meat. I don't do raw meat...I like it in a neat little butcher-paper package and I try not to look while I dump it in the skillet.
Also, I have a deer head in my freezer if you would like to complete your set.
I can soooo see his little chest puffed out and his little shoulders thrown back...S.T.R.U.T.T.I.N.G. around!! He must be so proud!!!
I'm pretty stinkin' proud of him, too!!!
Like, "tie him up in the basement proud"!!! Hehe!!
Now this is awesome! My hubby doesn't hunt, but he needs to learn since we do live in Oklahoma. Will you make me a venison dish someday? Don't tell the kids.
Although it is quite foreign to my family, I'm totally ok with hunting.
But I couldn't help thinking - ewww - there's blood on the new truck!
:)
I don't get it. But then I don't get baseball fever, either. But I do get the pride in accomplishment and the bonding of men and boys and rites of passage which are so important (and I venture to say, so rare these days). Your son is blessed to have such heritage.
I'm thrilled for them all. And thrilled that you can make anything look cute. Even camo. ;)
Well done, Sawyer.
The grin on your little man's face says it all! My son is 13 and will be going hunting for the first time on Sat. My husband doesn't hunt, neither does my dad, but dad's whole family does. My uncle has a deer camp and the first day of deer season is also Thanksgiving Day for us. Hey, the whole family is together so why not? (Does is help when I tell you that the name of the camp is Camp Razoback?) With my luck, my kiddo will bring in a buck and I'll be forced to figure out what to do with all that meat.
Hey, if your boys need hunting dates sometime in the future, my brother's girls are available. The oldest got her first last year, and the other two are itchin' to start. I think if they start liking football, they'll have guys lined up around the corner.
There's just something about seeing a lovely young woman elbows deep in a gut pile.
Way to go Sawyer!!! Girl, let me tell you, Miss Carrot Juice here comes from a "hunting family". Now the football man I married could care less about hunting, but my stepdad is ALL about it. Football husband does love that it saves $$$ on our grocery bill when deer meat is passed to us. Alec went hunting for teh first time this year. I so hope he kills a deer. Where I'm from you must love 4 things: 1) God. 2) GA Bulldawg football 3)Garth Brooks and 4) hunting!!!
Here's a health tip I betcha didn't know . . . deer is the cleanest meat there is, actually one of the healthiest you could eat. . . yep better than chicken and fish. . . that is according to Jordan Ruben author of "The Maker's Diet". See. . . . you're eating all healthy and didn't even know it!
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