I don’t know what the Monday after Thanksgiving is like where you live, but in PA, it’s a holiday. Schools are closed. Families gather, fathers passing down the wisdom of the ages to their children. It’s been a family tradition for as long as we can remember. Up at 4am, a little eggs and sausage, lunches packed, bundled up, boots on and out the door to sit in the woods for a day.
This is my 22nd first day of deer season. I spend a lot of time in the woods, but only a few days each year with Pappy Ken and Uncle Dew (Kim’s dad and brother). Levi joined us a few years ago, and this year we added my daughter (Sadie) and Dew’s son (Mitchell) to the roster. We hunt a little patch of woods in Bedford, and like most hunters in PA we’ve seen the number of deer decline over the past few years. The hunting regulations change and the restrictions vary a little from year to year as the Game Commission tries to improve the state of the deer herd. As a dad taking his kids into the woods, I can assure you that seeing a good number of deer throughout the day makes the early morning and freezing temps a little more bearable.
While Mitchell and his dad saw a good number of deer, Sadie and I saw only a few, with 2 coming in behind us about 30 minutes before dark. She was a little nervous about joining the guys for this big day–she’s the only girl in our hunting party. But she handled herself quite well, and had a good time in the woods. She got to spend a day with her Pap (which is a win) and she got to hang out (literally!) in a tree with her dad. Even though there weren’t many deer to be seen, I’d call that a good day.
My Tuesday was a little more deerific. I had a couple of hours after work, so I slipped into a little wood lot where we’d seen a pretty nice buck. Of course, I had no idea if he was still running around, but I wanted to spend some time in the woods, do some thinking and reading and praying…I’m in the last chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring! My afternoon of introspection was interrupted by the biggest buck I’ve ever shot. As the father of 7, I am grateful to God for providing us with some meat. They say you can’t eat antlers (THEY being the people who didn’t shoot the big buck!) but I’ll have to admit that this big buck had my heart pounding as he made his way through the woods to me!
Special thanks to my buddies Doug (who brought his dogs and helped me track the deer) and Andy (who showed up to shake my hand and helped skin the deer). Those are true friends. Isaac went with us on the trek to drag the deer out. That was one heavy deer…Josie and Annabelle stayed outside to watch us work. They’re pretty easily amused. Here are some pics…
0 Comments