Showing posts with label deer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deer. Show all posts
Monday, March 18, 2013
Free Venison
Both life and death are part of a homestead cycle, it seems. About 50 yards away from the barn that just saw the birth of a new calf, the highway and a car joined forces to cause the death of a young deer passing by. Matthew and Simon saw the truck that hit the deer, and since the deer was not messed up at all they hoisted it up into Matt's truck. I was amazed that he had it skinned and had the hams and tenderloin ready to be washed off within 10 minutes of getting home. It should be a couple of very nice venison meals for this homestead family! Ya gotta love a country boy!
Added later: We had never had such a young deer on our table before. The meat from this animal was excellent! I guess being younger makes a difference in the tenderness and flavor. Even if someone thought they did not like venison, they would have found it difficult to not like this. Delicious!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Home Butchering and Processing by My Country Boys
I am thankful for the meat God has provided for us and I'm also very thankful for two sons who can do the butchering and processing of said meat! The past week and a half has seen our table filled with the blessings of fresh venison, chicken and pork.
It's been deer season and Matthew and Simon both went hunting a little, even though things have been fairly hectic around here. I did not take the oppourtunity to go hunting this time, but Matthew got a nice doe. He killed it Saturday, November 10th, the first day of deer season. Simon saw a deer when he went hunting all by himself Sunday evening but did not get a shot at it. We ate some of the venison for our Sunday dinner on the 11th and everyone agreed that the way Lisa fixed it was the best venison dish we had ever had! She rolled back-strap slices in seasoned flour and laid out two layers of them with butter and cheddar cheese between the layers of venison and also on top. It was delicious!
On Friday, Simon butchered two of our roosters all by himself and we had some excellent chicken-and-dumplings for supper Friday evening and Saturday. Simon has been around us butchering chickens for years and he had butchered some before when Matthew was with him. This time, however, Matthew was out of town, I was still at work, and Lisa stayed in the house. Simon dispatched both birds and commenced to the plucking all by himself, with no trouble at all! When I came home from work, Lisa was already getting the meat into a pot. It was a delicious meal and I didn't even find out that it was not Lisa who did the butchering until a few days later! It was no big deal to Simon, I guess, but after I realized what he had done, I was very impressed!
Matthew had been out of town last week doing some work at Bob and Brenda's home in Corbin and got home Saturday evening. He was a bit tired Sunday, but he wasn't going to let a few days work 3 hours away slow him down at all. He had butchered a number of our hogs in previous years, so I knew he was very good at it. What I didn't know was that he would feel like butchering a 500 plus pound hog on Monday! We had decided that we wanted her butchered, and had checked into having it done professionally again like we did back in June. Appalachian Meats said they were all tied up this week with deer processing and could not get to our hog until December. When I got home from work Monday, I discovered that Matthew had decided to butcher our large hog all by himself, and save us a big butchering fee! The tenderloin from this hog was huge and even after I trimmed off all the fat we packed thick tenderloin slices into 7 gallon size freezer bags! We are going to turn a lot of the deer meat into deerburger, so now we can use some of the pork fat in the hamburger mix. The meat from a deer is very lean, and not the best for hamburger without some fat. We are going to go for a 80-20 or 85-15 ratio. We will still have a good amount of fat to render into lard, as well.
I did not get any pictures of Simon with the roosters he butchered since it was all completed by the time I got home, but I took some of Simon working on the deer meat. I did get home in time to take a few pictures of Matthew cutting out the tenderloin of the hog while it was hanging up. The dining room table was soon covered with pork, much like the pictures of Simon with the venison, but I didn't think to take a picture of the table with the pork tenderloin. I'm mainly wanting to show some pictures of the two butchers in the family, anyway. They both are doing some wonderful work and I am very proud to have two such sons! (By the way, Christina helped with the skinning of both the deer and the hog. I didn't get a picture of her this time, but I'm also proud of my country gal!)
It's been deer season and Matthew and Simon both went hunting a little, even though things have been fairly hectic around here. I did not take the oppourtunity to go hunting this time, but Matthew got a nice doe. He killed it Saturday, November 10th, the first day of deer season. Simon saw a deer when he went hunting all by himself Sunday evening but did not get a shot at it. We ate some of the venison for our Sunday dinner on the 11th and everyone agreed that the way Lisa fixed it was the best venison dish we had ever had! She rolled back-strap slices in seasoned flour and laid out two layers of them with butter and cheddar cheese between the layers of venison and also on top. It was delicious!
On Friday, Simon butchered two of our roosters all by himself and we had some excellent chicken-and-dumplings for supper Friday evening and Saturday. Simon has been around us butchering chickens for years and he had butchered some before when Matthew was with him. This time, however, Matthew was out of town, I was still at work, and Lisa stayed in the house. Simon dispatched both birds and commenced to the plucking all by himself, with no trouble at all! When I came home from work, Lisa was already getting the meat into a pot. It was a delicious meal and I didn't even find out that it was not Lisa who did the butchering until a few days later! It was no big deal to Simon, I guess, but after I realized what he had done, I was very impressed!
Matthew had been out of town last week doing some work at Bob and Brenda's home in Corbin and got home Saturday evening. He was a bit tired Sunday, but he wasn't going to let a few days work 3 hours away slow him down at all. He had butchered a number of our hogs in previous years, so I knew he was very good at it. What I didn't know was that he would feel like butchering a 500 plus pound hog on Monday! We had decided that we wanted her butchered, and had checked into having it done professionally again like we did back in June. Appalachian Meats said they were all tied up this week with deer processing and could not get to our hog until December. When I got home from work Monday, I discovered that Matthew had decided to butcher our large hog all by himself, and save us a big butchering fee! The tenderloin from this hog was huge and even after I trimmed off all the fat we packed thick tenderloin slices into 7 gallon size freezer bags! We are going to turn a lot of the deer meat into deerburger, so now we can use some of the pork fat in the hamburger mix. The meat from a deer is very lean, and not the best for hamburger without some fat. We are going to go for a 80-20 or 85-15 ratio. We will still have a good amount of fat to render into lard, as well.
I did not get any pictures of Simon with the roosters he butchered since it was all completed by the time I got home, but I took some of Simon working on the deer meat. I did get home in time to take a few pictures of Matthew cutting out the tenderloin of the hog while it was hanging up. The dining room table was soon covered with pork, much like the pictures of Simon with the venison, but I didn't think to take a picture of the table with the pork tenderloin. I'm mainly wanting to show some pictures of the two butchers in the family, anyway. They both are doing some wonderful work and I am very proud to have two such sons! (By the way, Christina helped with the skinning of both the deer and the hog. I didn't get a picture of her this time, but I'm also proud of my country gal!)
Monday, July 04, 2011
Riding Our River
"Oh, Big Sandy River and a mountain man,
We get together anytime we can.
Oh, Big Sandy River and a mountain man,
We play together in Mother Nature's band.
Me and my woman's done made our plans
On the Big Sandy River, walkin' hand in hand
Gonna raise a famly, Lord, settle down
Where peace and love can still be found. "
(only the name of the river has been changed to protect the innocent)
We've been enjoying our river in a whole new way this summer. We've had a john boat for a couple of years now, but we have never made the time to put it into the river in front of our house. That is until an early morning last week when we finally decided to take a little boat trip. I took Matthew and Simon and the three of us floated down the river about 5 miles to our other piece of river bank down the road.
It was a wonderful 2 1/2 hour expedition, full of beauty and grandeur! Most of the time we just floated and took in the scenes, but we did land at one place to explore an interesting looking spot on the bank. We also spent some time testing out the anchor, which held the boat perfectly still even in the current, and we practiced paddling upstream some, just to see how difficult it was. We found that we could manage it pretty well, even though it was very slow going. (Some time in the future we will put our outboard motor on the boat and see how that does in the river.)
Floating down the river put things in such a different perspective, with the river being so much lower than the surrounding houses, roads and railroad tracks and being covered with large trees and other river growth. It felt like we had gone back in time, before civilization had dug it's fingers into every nook and cranny. We saw an occaisional riverbank garden and a barn every now and then, and we passed a couple camp sites where folks had been fishing, but other than that, it felt like we could have been the first pioneers exploring this river!
One very special 15 minutes or so involved a mama deer and her two small fawns. We spied them far ahead of us on the riverbank, so we stopped paddling and remained as quiet as possible as the boat silently drifted closer. They paid us no mind at all as we watched the two spotted fawns play tag and run around in circles as their mama munched on various low hanging leaves. When we were pretty near, she stopped and looked at us for a few seconds but then went about her business. She evidently did not feel threatened at all by what she must have thought was just some big log, and we were able to watch them the whole time as we passed just 50 feet away or so. Looking over my shoulder I could still see the adorable fawns taking turns getting a drink of milk from their mamma as she ate the river grasses.
I enjoyed the trip so much that I was determined for Erica, Christina and Lisa to get a chance to experience it. Timothy would love it too, but we figured that a 2 hour trip would be a bit too much for him to sit still. Yesterday evening, Matthew and Simon took Lisa, Erica, and Christina on the same boat ride while I kept Timothy. I tried to get some pictures, but since they were taking off in front of our house at the shoals, they zoomed off pretty quickly.
Here is the boat waiting to be put into the water:
We get together anytime we can.
Oh, Big Sandy River and a mountain man,
We play together in Mother Nature's band.
Me and my woman's done made our plans
On the Big Sandy River, walkin' hand in hand
Gonna raise a famly, Lord, settle down
Where peace and love can still be found. "
(only the name of the river has been changed to protect the innocent)
We've been enjoying our river in a whole new way this summer. We've had a john boat for a couple of years now, but we have never made the time to put it into the river in front of our house. That is until an early morning last week when we finally decided to take a little boat trip. I took Matthew and Simon and the three of us floated down the river about 5 miles to our other piece of river bank down the road.
It was a wonderful 2 1/2 hour expedition, full of beauty and grandeur! Most of the time we just floated and took in the scenes, but we did land at one place to explore an interesting looking spot on the bank. We also spent some time testing out the anchor, which held the boat perfectly still even in the current, and we practiced paddling upstream some, just to see how difficult it was. We found that we could manage it pretty well, even though it was very slow going. (Some time in the future we will put our outboard motor on the boat and see how that does in the river.)
Floating down the river put things in such a different perspective, with the river being so much lower than the surrounding houses, roads and railroad tracks and being covered with large trees and other river growth. It felt like we had gone back in time, before civilization had dug it's fingers into every nook and cranny. We saw an occaisional riverbank garden and a barn every now and then, and we passed a couple camp sites where folks had been fishing, but other than that, it felt like we could have been the first pioneers exploring this river!
One very special 15 minutes or so involved a mama deer and her two small fawns. We spied them far ahead of us on the riverbank, so we stopped paddling and remained as quiet as possible as the boat silently drifted closer. They paid us no mind at all as we watched the two spotted fawns play tag and run around in circles as their mama munched on various low hanging leaves. When we were pretty near, she stopped and looked at us for a few seconds but then went about her business. She evidently did not feel threatened at all by what she must have thought was just some big log, and we were able to watch them the whole time as we passed just 50 feet away or so. Looking over my shoulder I could still see the adorable fawns taking turns getting a drink of milk from their mamma as she ate the river grasses.
I enjoyed the trip so much that I was determined for Erica, Christina and Lisa to get a chance to experience it. Timothy would love it too, but we figured that a 2 hour trip would be a bit too much for him to sit still. Yesterday evening, Matthew and Simon took Lisa, Erica, and Christina on the same boat ride while I kept Timothy. I tried to get some pictures, but since they were taking off in front of our house at the shoals, they zoomed off pretty quickly.
Here is the boat waiting to be put into the water:
And here they are in the water after a hearty push off:
And there they go, down a river that time forgot:
Timothy said, "They go float away!"
But then Timothy had a good time playing on our river bank and throwing rocks into the river:
After they had gone just around the first bend, maybe 10 minutes into the trip, they passed one of those gardens that some folks have near the river. When the boys and I had gone last week, no one was in this garden, but this evening found folks tending it. They had music going as they worked the garden and Lisa was amazed at the song she could make out as they came nearer: "Rollin... rollin... rollin on the river..." It was as if someone was playing the song just for them!! It was actually on a radio station at that moment because they heard the announcer come on after the song finished. That was some pretty awesome timing, I think!
It is too bad that they didn't get to see the deer like we did earlier, but they did see several birds, ducks, fish and much beauty. One awesome moment involved a large flock of vultures that were covering a dead tree very near as the boat passed.
Timothy and I went down to our new river bank to await the family's arrival. After about 2 hours they came into sight:
Timothy was so happy to see them! He even ran down and slipped into the river trying to get into the boat. He then got to take a boat ride with the rest of the family and he enjoyed it very much! This is where they stopped to let Timothy in:
And then they took him down the river a bit more to the landing place where the four-wheeler was waiting to load the boat up onto the trailer.
This river has always been a special place for us at Pure Water Hollow Homestead, but now, traveling down it by boat, it is even more special! It is also good to know that it is still possible to use the river for transportation, if the need should ever arise. But since it is not exactly a need, we will travel it for enjoyment and as an escape from the civilized world. It is a blessing indeed!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Another Nice Evening In the Woods
Today gave us a nice evening to sit out in the snow and ice covered woods and watch the dusk settle around the beautiful nature God has blessed us with at Pure Water Hollow. And if a nice deer would happen to walk by, a muzzle loader would be waiting to greet it! We had a few snow flurries on this overcast day, but the main snow and freezing rain had ended yesterday. This afternoon saw a warm 30 degree temperature, so it was surprising how little of our winter storm had melted. We still had several inches of snow under a thick layer of ice, and it made a loud crunching sound as we stepped as quietly as possible across the frozen tundra. There was still a coating of silver ice around every twig of every tree, and the long blades of wild grasses would not bend when stepped through, they broke!
I set up at split rock overlooking dozens of deer tracks through the snow. It was difficult climbing up to the protected rock overhang because of the snow and ice. Matthew had gone up to the ridge to some heavily traveled deer paths, and I doubt his strong legs had any trouble at all with the ice.
I saw a couple of deer across the ravine, outlined against the white ground. They were too far away to shoot at, but it was fun to watch them meander and occasionally trot down the mountain in a ziz-zag path. After two and a half hours it was beginning to get dark so I decided to come on down from my hiding place. I quickly learned that it is easier and faster coming down a slick ice-covered hill than it is climbing up it!
Matthew had stopped on the ridge when he heard some deer snorting at his approach and crouched down in waiting. One did come close enough for him to get a shot off, but he missed. He was surprised how the smoke from the black powder blast engulfed his vision; the couple of seconds it took for the air to clear must have felt much longer as he wanted to see what had happened to the deer.
There were obviously many deer around, but a successful hunt this evening was not to be! It was still a pleasant way to spend the final 3 hours of daylight. Tomorrow is the last official day of black powder season and Matthew is thinking about going out in the morning before church and try once again. Perhaps that will be the fateful moment when he bags his first deer using a muzzle-loader!
I set up at split rock overlooking dozens of deer tracks through the snow. It was difficult climbing up to the protected rock overhang because of the snow and ice. Matthew had gone up to the ridge to some heavily traveled deer paths, and I doubt his strong legs had any trouble at all with the ice.
I saw a couple of deer across the ravine, outlined against the white ground. They were too far away to shoot at, but it was fun to watch them meander and occasionally trot down the mountain in a ziz-zag path. After two and a half hours it was beginning to get dark so I decided to come on down from my hiding place. I quickly learned that it is easier and faster coming down a slick ice-covered hill than it is climbing up it!
Matthew had stopped on the ridge when he heard some deer snorting at his approach and crouched down in waiting. One did come close enough for him to get a shot off, but he missed. He was surprised how the smoke from the black powder blast engulfed his vision; the couple of seconds it took for the air to clear must have felt much longer as he wanted to see what had happened to the deer.
There were obviously many deer around, but a successful hunt this evening was not to be! It was still a pleasant way to spend the final 3 hours of daylight. Tomorrow is the last official day of black powder season and Matthew is thinking about going out in the morning before church and try once again. Perhaps that will be the fateful moment when he bags his first deer using a muzzle-loader!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Fa, A Long Long Way to Run...
Well, it wasn't really that far, and I didn't run. But the buck did run, after my shot apparently missed him!
The pre-dawn was beautiful after a stormy night, and I decided to take advantage of the warm 50 degree morning. I left the house at 5:15am, trekked up the mountain along our half-mile of dirt road, and found the 4-wheeler path to the east ridge. It is easy to get fooled in the woods when it is dark, even using a flash light. I found it humorous that I had initially gone past the 4-wheeler trail without even knowing it! Once I realized where I was, it was easy to see where I needed to be. I was not running, but I was traveling on foot, so it was 5:50am by the time I sat down on my rock to await the deer that I hoped would come by. It was still completely dark at this time. Sitting in the pitch dark up on a mountain in the woods is a unique experience in my world and I would recommend it to anyone!
Last night we had strong winds and a wind advisory was issued concerning 45 mph gusts. Some of the gusts were still lingering, and it was especially whipping around up on the ridge where I was perched under an oak tree. Sometimes down at the house we can hear wind rushing through the trees up on the ridges but we can't even feel a breeze in our yard. I suspect it was like that this morning. Where I was on that east ridge, there was nothing to block the gusts of wind, and sometimes they were bone-chilling! I wonder what the wind-chill was? Good thing the air temperature was pleasant when the wind was not blowing, or else I would have been rather cold wearing only a sweat-shirt against those blasts of wind!
It was actually refreshing to feel the wind in my face and hear the creaking of trees around me and see the woods come gradually into focus with the brightening of the dawn. And it was exciting to see a line of deer come up the hill below my position around 7:00am. I let the first small one pass by, hoping that the others would be larger. The next one was indeed a larger buck!
Now, I can't explain what happened next. He was just about 150 feet away and I had him directly in my site. I pulled the trigger... I should have hit him directly in the neck! He just stood there and looked at me! I could hear a couple of the deer behind him running off, but he did not. Well, I decided after a few seconds that another shot was warranted, so I took it, right at his neck. Again, he just looked at me. I thought for sure he would fall right down, and to tell the truth, he made me feel a bit sad the way he was looking at me! I got up and started to walk toward him. After I had taken several steps and he was still standing there, I guess I should have shot again. Two other deer that I had not even seen before galloped away down the hill and that was when the buck I had shot at trotted away in the direction he had come. I was dumbfounded. I couldn't even find any blood where he was standing, but I don't know how I could have missed him?!?!
I'm thinking some target practice may be in order before I try to get another deer....
It was now time to go back to the house and get off to work for the day. I didn't figure I would have much hunting success now, even if I had time to stay in the woods.
My hunt could be classified as a failure, but I did enjoy the nice walks through my woods and feeling like I was part of God's nature once again. Perhaps next time I will get a deer?
The nice thing is that God has blessed us with the 3 deer that Matthew got this weekend so it's not like my family was depending on this buck to stave off starvation. I guess we have well over 100 pounds of good venison stored up (and some of it made a delicious meal Sunday evening!). And we soon will be butchering some more of our hogs, so we will be stocked up with pork again, too. Even if we had no ability to buy anything in a grocery store, my family would still be eating very well throughout this winter! Thank you, Lord!
The pre-dawn was beautiful after a stormy night, and I decided to take advantage of the warm 50 degree morning. I left the house at 5:15am, trekked up the mountain along our half-mile of dirt road, and found the 4-wheeler path to the east ridge. It is easy to get fooled in the woods when it is dark, even using a flash light. I found it humorous that I had initially gone past the 4-wheeler trail without even knowing it! Once I realized where I was, it was easy to see where I needed to be. I was not running, but I was traveling on foot, so it was 5:50am by the time I sat down on my rock to await the deer that I hoped would come by. It was still completely dark at this time. Sitting in the pitch dark up on a mountain in the woods is a unique experience in my world and I would recommend it to anyone!
Last night we had strong winds and a wind advisory was issued concerning 45 mph gusts. Some of the gusts were still lingering, and it was especially whipping around up on the ridge where I was perched under an oak tree. Sometimes down at the house we can hear wind rushing through the trees up on the ridges but we can't even feel a breeze in our yard. I suspect it was like that this morning. Where I was on that east ridge, there was nothing to block the gusts of wind, and sometimes they were bone-chilling! I wonder what the wind-chill was? Good thing the air temperature was pleasant when the wind was not blowing, or else I would have been rather cold wearing only a sweat-shirt against those blasts of wind!
It was actually refreshing to feel the wind in my face and hear the creaking of trees around me and see the woods come gradually into focus with the brightening of the dawn. And it was exciting to see a line of deer come up the hill below my position around 7:00am. I let the first small one pass by, hoping that the others would be larger. The next one was indeed a larger buck!
Now, I can't explain what happened next. He was just about 150 feet away and I had him directly in my site. I pulled the trigger... I should have hit him directly in the neck! He just stood there and looked at me! I could hear a couple of the deer behind him running off, but he did not. Well, I decided after a few seconds that another shot was warranted, so I took it, right at his neck. Again, he just looked at me. I thought for sure he would fall right down, and to tell the truth, he made me feel a bit sad the way he was looking at me! I got up and started to walk toward him. After I had taken several steps and he was still standing there, I guess I should have shot again. Two other deer that I had not even seen before galloped away down the hill and that was when the buck I had shot at trotted away in the direction he had come. I was dumbfounded. I couldn't even find any blood where he was standing, but I don't know how I could have missed him?!?!
I'm thinking some target practice may be in order before I try to get another deer....
It was now time to go back to the house and get off to work for the day. I didn't figure I would have much hunting success now, even if I had time to stay in the woods.
My hunt could be classified as a failure, but I did enjoy the nice walks through my woods and feeling like I was part of God's nature once again. Perhaps next time I will get a deer?
The nice thing is that God has blessed us with the 3 deer that Matthew got this weekend so it's not like my family was depending on this buck to stave off starvation. I guess we have well over 100 pounds of good venison stored up (and some of it made a delicious meal Sunday evening!). And we soon will be butchering some more of our hogs, so we will be stocked up with pork again, too. Even if we had no ability to buy anything in a grocery store, my family would still be eating very well throughout this winter! Thank you, Lord!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Doe, A Deer, A Female Deer....
Matthew and Aaron went back into Pure Water Hollow and up to the ridge tops again this Lord's Day morning. The woods are a wonderful place to get close to God, and I trust that they felt God's presence!
It was a bit warmer this morning, in the upper 30s, and a steady drizzle was heavy in the air. God's morning light of dawn had time to awaken this day before any deer were taken. I was out opening up the chicken coop around 7:10 am. The rooster had been crowing for some time now, and the chickens are always anxious to get out into their lot as soon as they see light.
As I was feeding the greedy hens a shot pierced through the still, wet morning. I quickly turned to get back to the house because I had left the radio there and I wanted to find out what had happened. Before I reached the house, another gun shot rang out through the air from up in our hollow. When I got back into the house the clock read 7:20am and I had news over the radio that Matthew had shot two doe!
Matthew had gotten to the same oak tree where he was yesterday when he shot the buck. This morning he had time to sit down beneath a maple about 20 feet further on. With his back to the large tree, this silver maple offered him some protection from the cold rain.
As he sat and waited he saw a herd of 8 or 10 deer going by. He watched as the first two passed by. They were not very big and he was hoping for a bigger one. He decided to shoot the third one, which was bigger than the first two, and he was afraid that they may pick up his scent at any time. It fell immediately, and the rest of the herd bolted. But then Matt saw one of the large ones stop about 150 feet away. He decided to take it, and it fell in the spot where it was standing also!
Matthew and Aaron had taken his two 4-wheelers up to the turn around spot this morning before daylight, so all that was left to do was to load the two carcasses and bring them down to the house. It turned out that the smaller one was actually a button buck, but the other one was a large doe. It was more difficult to hoist that big doe up onto the swing set than it was the buck from yesterday. I'm guessing it weighed maybe 150 pounds? The button buck was smaller than the buck yesterday and Matt didn't have much trouble getting that one up.
Matthew proceeded with the job of gutting the animals and then Christina came out to help us skin them. Between the three of us, along with Aaron, we had the hides off and wrapped up in the freezer in no time! (We would love to try to tan them someday) We decided to let the carcasses hang as the temperature continued to be cool enough and we wanted to have enough time to get ready for church.
I was proud of Matthew that he was not going to allow the morning activities of the hunt, and the success of bagging two more deer, to interfere with going to God's House. (Too many people use deer hunting as an excuse for missing church.) We decided that we had much to thank Him for this morning, and what better place than church!
I'm glad we made it, also, because I was called upon to preach and the Lord blessed me with a good message! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Now for some pictures:
Here they are on Matthew's Suzuki 4-wheeler: (Matt had just bought this 4-wheeler 2 weeks ago and it has come in pretty handy!)
Here the two deer are, hanging up to be worked on:
Matthew wanted to hang them up by their hind legs today and see if the gutting would go easier. Yesterday he hung the buck up by the front legs. It worked fine both ways, but he decided that he like them hung up by the hind legs the best.
Here is that mountain girl, Christina, helping with the skinning:
Matthew with the two gutted and skinned carcasses:
Well, now we need to get outside and cut up this meat that the Lord has blessed us with! It has continued to drizzle throughout the morning and afternoon and has not really stopped yet. I guess we will just have to get wet. (By the way, Aaron is back up in the hollow hoping to get a deer for himself. He was not successful this morning, and so far he has not reported anything this afternoon.)
Again, we will thank God for the blessings of this bountiful harvest of venison! It will make the grocery budget stretch quite a bit farther! I also want to thank my son Matthew. I am very proud of him and his success deer hunting this season. Only the second day, and he has already bagged 3!
It was a bit warmer this morning, in the upper 30s, and a steady drizzle was heavy in the air. God's morning light of dawn had time to awaken this day before any deer were taken. I was out opening up the chicken coop around 7:10 am. The rooster had been crowing for some time now, and the chickens are always anxious to get out into their lot as soon as they see light.
As I was feeding the greedy hens a shot pierced through the still, wet morning. I quickly turned to get back to the house because I had left the radio there and I wanted to find out what had happened. Before I reached the house, another gun shot rang out through the air from up in our hollow. When I got back into the house the clock read 7:20am and I had news over the radio that Matthew had shot two doe!
Matthew had gotten to the same oak tree where he was yesterday when he shot the buck. This morning he had time to sit down beneath a maple about 20 feet further on. With his back to the large tree, this silver maple offered him some protection from the cold rain.
As he sat and waited he saw a herd of 8 or 10 deer going by. He watched as the first two passed by. They were not very big and he was hoping for a bigger one. He decided to shoot the third one, which was bigger than the first two, and he was afraid that they may pick up his scent at any time. It fell immediately, and the rest of the herd bolted. But then Matt saw one of the large ones stop about 150 feet away. He decided to take it, and it fell in the spot where it was standing also!
Matthew and Aaron had taken his two 4-wheelers up to the turn around spot this morning before daylight, so all that was left to do was to load the two carcasses and bring them down to the house. It turned out that the smaller one was actually a button buck, but the other one was a large doe. It was more difficult to hoist that big doe up onto the swing set than it was the buck from yesterday. I'm guessing it weighed maybe 150 pounds? The button buck was smaller than the buck yesterday and Matt didn't have much trouble getting that one up.
Matthew proceeded with the job of gutting the animals and then Christina came out to help us skin them. Between the three of us, along with Aaron, we had the hides off and wrapped up in the freezer in no time! (We would love to try to tan them someday) We decided to let the carcasses hang as the temperature continued to be cool enough and we wanted to have enough time to get ready for church.
I was proud of Matthew that he was not going to allow the morning activities of the hunt, and the success of bagging two more deer, to interfere with going to God's House. (Too many people use deer hunting as an excuse for missing church.) We decided that we had much to thank Him for this morning, and what better place than church!
I'm glad we made it, also, because I was called upon to preach and the Lord blessed me with a good message! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Now for some pictures:
Here they are on Matthew's Suzuki 4-wheeler: (Matt had just bought this 4-wheeler 2 weeks ago and it has come in pretty handy!)
Here the two deer are, hanging up to be worked on:
Matthew wanted to hang them up by their hind legs today and see if the gutting would go easier. Yesterday he hung the buck up by the front legs. It worked fine both ways, but he decided that he like them hung up by the hind legs the best.
Here is that mountain girl, Christina, helping with the skinning:
Matthew with the two gutted and skinned carcasses:
Well, now we need to get outside and cut up this meat that the Lord has blessed us with! It has continued to drizzle throughout the morning and afternoon and has not really stopped yet. I guess we will just have to get wet. (By the way, Aaron is back up in the hollow hoping to get a deer for himself. He was not successful this morning, and so far he has not reported anything this afternoon.)
Again, we will thank God for the blessings of this bountiful harvest of venison! It will make the grocery budget stretch quite a bit farther! I also want to thank my son Matthew. I am very proud of him and his success deer hunting this season. Only the second day, and he has already bagged 3!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Music To Our Ears: Matthew's First Deer of the Season
Matthew told the story of this mornings' buck after it was all gutted, skinned, and sitting in the refrigerator. It is surprising how quickly he got it; he didn't even have time to sit down up on the ridge!
He had driven his truck up to the clearing and walked the rest of the way up the road to the turn around and on up the path to the east ridge. Aaron was taking the west ridge. It was still very dark as they were walking up the mountain side, but the first hints of dawn were beginning to show up. He kept his steps in the tire tracks from the path the 4-wheeler had made on previous days. This kept the crunching sound of the dried leaves down to a minimum.
It was difficult to see through the dim light of the morning, but Matt thought he was coming up on the big oak tree that he had planned on sitting beneath. It was about 6:35 am by this time. He thought he heard something walking, so he froze and scanned his surroundings. He was looking on down the trail, beyond the tree, when a form materialized before his eyes in the foreground of the picture! It was a buck, only about 20 feet away from him! He had walked right up on it, and didn't even see it at first! It dropped where it was standing on the first shot fired from our 30-30! He then shot it a second time to put it out for good.
Matthew came down to the house and got his 4-wheeler. He drove it up to the ridge to make the task of moving the deer carcass much easier. After loading it on the back of the vehicle, he brought it down to the house and we strung it up to our multi-purpose swing set in the side yard. Matt then proceeded to gut and skin the carcass and cut it up into pieces to store in the freezer.
It was a 4-point buck and probably weighed around 100 pounds. After we were finished taking the meat off that we wanted and deboning the roasts, we were happy to have about 35 pounds of prime venison meat!
Aaron came down and went back up in the hollow a couple of times throughout the morning, but he did not get a deer. He did see some, as well as turkey and squirrel, but he didn't get a shot off at the deer. Maybe tomorrow?
Here are the pictures I took, which may have been the first kill of the modern gun season of all the hunters out today!
On the back of the four-wheeler:
Hanging up on the children's swing set:
The gutting:
All skinned and ready to cut up for the freezer:
We feel blessed to be able to harvest this meat supply that God has provided us here at Pure Water Hollow!
He had driven his truck up to the clearing and walked the rest of the way up the road to the turn around and on up the path to the east ridge. Aaron was taking the west ridge. It was still very dark as they were walking up the mountain side, but the first hints of dawn were beginning to show up. He kept his steps in the tire tracks from the path the 4-wheeler had made on previous days. This kept the crunching sound of the dried leaves down to a minimum.
It was difficult to see through the dim light of the morning, but Matt thought he was coming up on the big oak tree that he had planned on sitting beneath. It was about 6:35 am by this time. He thought he heard something walking, so he froze and scanned his surroundings. He was looking on down the trail, beyond the tree, when a form materialized before his eyes in the foreground of the picture! It was a buck, only about 20 feet away from him! He had walked right up on it, and didn't even see it at first! It dropped where it was standing on the first shot fired from our 30-30! He then shot it a second time to put it out for good.
Matthew came down to the house and got his 4-wheeler. He drove it up to the ridge to make the task of moving the deer carcass much easier. After loading it on the back of the vehicle, he brought it down to the house and we strung it up to our multi-purpose swing set in the side yard. Matt then proceeded to gut and skin the carcass and cut it up into pieces to store in the freezer.
It was a 4-point buck and probably weighed around 100 pounds. After we were finished taking the meat off that we wanted and deboning the roasts, we were happy to have about 35 pounds of prime venison meat!
Aaron came down and went back up in the hollow a couple of times throughout the morning, but he did not get a deer. He did see some, as well as turkey and squirrel, but he didn't get a shot off at the deer. Maybe tomorrow?
Here are the pictures I took, which may have been the first kill of the modern gun season of all the hunters out today!
On the back of the four-wheeler:
Hanging up on the children's swing set:
The gutting:
All skinned and ready to cut up for the freezer:
We feel blessed to be able to harvest this meat supply that God has provided us here at Pure Water Hollow!
The Hills Are Alive...With the Sound of Gun Fire
Today was the opening day of modern gun season, and you can tell it from the ring of gunfire coming from the surrounding hills. Matthew joined in with the ringing chorus and was right on tune!
It was a cool 34 degrees when he and his friend Aaron moved stealthily up our mountain at 6:00 am (in his 4 wheel drive truck). The sun was just beginning to illuminate the surroundings and promised to warm things up, but Matthew did not have much time to get cold. He came over the radio at 6:40am with the report of getting a buck!
He said it was just a 4-point, but that's fine. He's not in it for the trophy; just the meat. And it should be good eating!
When he brings it down I'll try to get a couple of pictures and post them on another post later. I'm not sure if Aaron is going to stay up there for a while and continue to try for one for himself or not. This morning's stanza is still unfolding and there is over a whole week to go in the symphony. Perhaps I will get to sing along before it's over, as well!
It was a cool 34 degrees when he and his friend Aaron moved stealthily up our mountain at 6:00 am (in his 4 wheel drive truck). The sun was just beginning to illuminate the surroundings and promised to warm things up, but Matthew did not have much time to get cold. He came over the radio at 6:40am with the report of getting a buck!
He said it was just a 4-point, but that's fine. He's not in it for the trophy; just the meat. And it should be good eating!
When he brings it down I'll try to get a couple of pictures and post them on another post later. I'm not sure if Aaron is going to stay up there for a while and continue to try for one for himself or not. This morning's stanza is still unfolding and there is over a whole week to go in the symphony. Perhaps I will get to sing along before it's over, as well!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thankful For the Hunt
The day began just as most Sundays do around our house. I woke with the dawn to open up the chicken coop while everyone else slept in a bit longer. It was a cold November morning and there was a thin sheet of ice on the lid of the garbage can I use to hold the cracked corn we feed the chickens. I felt good this morning and I enjoyed watching our growing flock of 32 birds as they each aroused in turn and made their appearance from the coop. Some hens jumped out immediately and went for those golden specks of grain that they so enjoy, while the roosters chased them around and did everything in their power to make them temporarily forget about their breakfast.
When my fingers and toes began to feel numb from the cold I headed to the house. Sometimes I nod off back to sleep in my recliner at this point, but I am always more pleased when I spend some time in God’s Word. I was blessed with about an hour of quiet prayer and Bible reading before my growing family of blessings began to arouse from their warm beds. Things tend to begin moving pretty quickly on Sunday mornings after everyone gets going; breakfasts, showers, baths, find matching socks, “where’s my shoes”, get the diaper bag together and Timothy ready, move the car that is blocking the van, warm up the van, and off to church.
We had a nice worship service and a nice long visit afterwards with the folks who lingered. It was almost 2:00 by the time we got home so our Sunday dinner wasn’t finished until about 3:30. It was time to feed the pigs and it had become a pretty nice afternoon. Matthew and I had a thought about this being the last weekend for modern gun deer season. Maybe we would take our guns with us to the barn and then keep on going up the mountain after chores? Would there be any use to try one more time?
Personally, I did not grow up hunting and my only hunting knowledge comes from books and videos. The last few years the idea of deer hunting has really grown on me and I have tried unsuccessfully several times. I never had a “real” rifle before; just a muzzle-loader and a .410 shotgun shooting a rifled slug. I had seen deer, and even fired at them once, but to no avail.
I set out several months ago determining that this year was going to be different! For one thing, we now know how to dress a deer and fix it all up for the freezer. Previous years we would have had to call for help, but we successfully butchered a deer last month that we traded a feeder pig for. This year we would also have better tools to dispatch a deer with. I had traded some goats for a nice Marlin 30-30 rifle, which is a good deer rifle for our kind of terrain and brush. My other ace in the hole was that Matthew was now more interested in getting a deer and he knows how to shoot!
So we expected to get a deer the first morning of modern gun season last Saturday. And we expected it that evening. And again the next evening. As well as several more times through the week. I’m not sure how many times we went up in our hollow between the two of us. Sometimes I went by myself, and sometimes Matthew went by himself, and a few times we were both in the mountains at the same time, but at separate locations. With our expectations so high, each successive unfruitful outing felt like a sledge-hammer blow to our hopeful, but fragile, dream of shooting our first deer.
I saw two deer at the clearing one night, but it was too dark to see them except for their white tails bounding along the trail. I also startled a deer behind the school house one evening as I was heading to feed the chickens down in the ravine. Matthew saw three deer one evening and one was a nice sized buck, but he wasn’t able to get a shot off at them. One morning he did get a shot off at one and drew blood, but it ran up the mountain. Matt tracked it up the mountain all the way to the top of the ridge and from there he could see the deer going up and over the next ridge. We had started to wonder if that would be the closest thing to bagging our first deer either one of us would get this year.
Going up in the hollow to hunt one more time this particular ordinary Sunday afternoon was almost an after-thought. Our hopes had been all but shattered by this time. Still, it would be an enjoyable way to spend the last hours of daylight on this nice Sunday evening, I thought. One thing I’ve re-learned this week is that it is easy to feel close to God sitting in the peaceful woods, still and quiet, listening to a multitude of forest sounds as unseen birds and small woodland creatures scurry and scamper through the crisp, crunchy fallen leaves. The darkening scarlet sky and the setting sun which changes the colors and shadows of the forest hues points toward a Master artist! A cool gentle breeze in my face whispers to me that God is real; He is here. Experiencing God’s nature allows one to recognize the beauty and majesty of God’s creation. Not getting the hoped for deer was disappointing, but spending these hours in the woods this week have not been wasted.
Still and quiet I sat under a half-fallen pine tree waiting and watching for the elusive deer to move into my view. I must admit that I had dozed off to sleep in this peaceful wonderland that I call home on this early Sunday evening. My ill-timed slumber was shattered with the crack of a gunshot not more than 150 yards further up the hollow where Matthew was staked out!
As I arrived past the clearing on the fern trail, this was the scene:
He had pulled off an expert shot from the hill above the clearing to the hill on the other side of the gully leading to the fern trail. The deer had stumbled down the hill and fallen near the creek. Since it was trying to get up Matthew decided to put one more bullet through the neck to be sure that it would not run off like the deer a week earlier had done.
We used his 4-wheeler and a rope to pull the carcass up to the level fern trail. We loaded it on the back of the 4-wheeler and then joyfully transported it down to the house to gut and hang.
We were primarily interested in the meat this animal would provide for our family, but the fact that it was a trophy buck was an extra blessing! It was a 9 point with the inside rack measuring 12 3/4 inches!
Hanging the carcass on the swingset and going through the gutting process was a memorable family experience:
Admiring his work:
The triumphant hunter, Mathew the Mighty, with our 9 point buck hanging to cool:
Needless to say, we are very proud of Matthew and of this accomplishment. I am pleased that he recorded our first deer kill at Pure Water Hollow. I’m sure there will be many more to come in the future.
Both Simon and Christina are waiting in the wings for the year when they will have a chance to bring in some venison for the family table, and one of these days I’m sure I will get one, too. We will give God the glory for providing both the wild game as well as the domestic animals for our sustinance and well-being. It all comes from Him, and I am thankful that He is allowing us to benefit from such abundant blessings!
Every day we are thankful for so many things at Pure Water Hollow Homestead, but this past week I was especially thankful for the hunt!
God bless, and may everyone have a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday this week!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 comments
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jrejhkids on November 24, 2009 at 11:09 am
I enjoyed reading your entry. I can picture some of the area now as I have been back to Kentucky. I took my son back to Berea for college in August.
He has also seen different areas of Kentucky and sent us pictures. He went to Stinking Creek for a field trip. The pictures he sent are beautiful.
It is wonderful how God provides more than we need. I love seeing the beauty of God's handiwork.
Have a great week with your family.
~jrejhkids
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purewater on November 24, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Hey jrejhkids – Good hearing from you again.
If it was the Stinking Creek in Knox County, that was the country my father-in-law was born and raised.
Small world!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schatzi on November 24, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Wow, now that is excitement around your place…say congratulations to your son..and next time it WILL be you!!!
Have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Connie
When my fingers and toes began to feel numb from the cold I headed to the house. Sometimes I nod off back to sleep in my recliner at this point, but I am always more pleased when I spend some time in God’s Word. I was blessed with about an hour of quiet prayer and Bible reading before my growing family of blessings began to arouse from their warm beds. Things tend to begin moving pretty quickly on Sunday mornings after everyone gets going; breakfasts, showers, baths, find matching socks, “where’s my shoes”, get the diaper bag together and Timothy ready, move the car that is blocking the van, warm up the van, and off to church.
We had a nice worship service and a nice long visit afterwards with the folks who lingered. It was almost 2:00 by the time we got home so our Sunday dinner wasn’t finished until about 3:30. It was time to feed the pigs and it had become a pretty nice afternoon. Matthew and I had a thought about this being the last weekend for modern gun deer season. Maybe we would take our guns with us to the barn and then keep on going up the mountain after chores? Would there be any use to try one more time?
Personally, I did not grow up hunting and my only hunting knowledge comes from books and videos. The last few years the idea of deer hunting has really grown on me and I have tried unsuccessfully several times. I never had a “real” rifle before; just a muzzle-loader and a .410 shotgun shooting a rifled slug. I had seen deer, and even fired at them once, but to no avail.
I set out several months ago determining that this year was going to be different! For one thing, we now know how to dress a deer and fix it all up for the freezer. Previous years we would have had to call for help, but we successfully butchered a deer last month that we traded a feeder pig for. This year we would also have better tools to dispatch a deer with. I had traded some goats for a nice Marlin 30-30 rifle, which is a good deer rifle for our kind of terrain and brush. My other ace in the hole was that Matthew was now more interested in getting a deer and he knows how to shoot!
So we expected to get a deer the first morning of modern gun season last Saturday. And we expected it that evening. And again the next evening. As well as several more times through the week. I’m not sure how many times we went up in our hollow between the two of us. Sometimes I went by myself, and sometimes Matthew went by himself, and a few times we were both in the mountains at the same time, but at separate locations. With our expectations so high, each successive unfruitful outing felt like a sledge-hammer blow to our hopeful, but fragile, dream of shooting our first deer.
I saw two deer at the clearing one night, but it was too dark to see them except for their white tails bounding along the trail. I also startled a deer behind the school house one evening as I was heading to feed the chickens down in the ravine. Matthew saw three deer one evening and one was a nice sized buck, but he wasn’t able to get a shot off at them. One morning he did get a shot off at one and drew blood, but it ran up the mountain. Matt tracked it up the mountain all the way to the top of the ridge and from there he could see the deer going up and over the next ridge. We had started to wonder if that would be the closest thing to bagging our first deer either one of us would get this year.
Going up in the hollow to hunt one more time this particular ordinary Sunday afternoon was almost an after-thought. Our hopes had been all but shattered by this time. Still, it would be an enjoyable way to spend the last hours of daylight on this nice Sunday evening, I thought. One thing I’ve re-learned this week is that it is easy to feel close to God sitting in the peaceful woods, still and quiet, listening to a multitude of forest sounds as unseen birds and small woodland creatures scurry and scamper through the crisp, crunchy fallen leaves. The darkening scarlet sky and the setting sun which changes the colors and shadows of the forest hues points toward a Master artist! A cool gentle breeze in my face whispers to me that God is real; He is here. Experiencing God’s nature allows one to recognize the beauty and majesty of God’s creation. Not getting the hoped for deer was disappointing, but spending these hours in the woods this week have not been wasted.
Still and quiet I sat under a half-fallen pine tree waiting and watching for the elusive deer to move into my view. I must admit that I had dozed off to sleep in this peaceful wonderland that I call home on this early Sunday evening. My ill-timed slumber was shattered with the crack of a gunshot not more than 150 yards further up the hollow where Matthew was staked out!
As I arrived past the clearing on the fern trail, this was the scene:
He had pulled off an expert shot from the hill above the clearing to the hill on the other side of the gully leading to the fern trail. The deer had stumbled down the hill and fallen near the creek. Since it was trying to get up Matthew decided to put one more bullet through the neck to be sure that it would not run off like the deer a week earlier had done.
We used his 4-wheeler and a rope to pull the carcass up to the level fern trail. We loaded it on the back of the 4-wheeler and then joyfully transported it down to the house to gut and hang.
We were primarily interested in the meat this animal would provide for our family, but the fact that it was a trophy buck was an extra blessing! It was a 9 point with the inside rack measuring 12 3/4 inches!
Hanging the carcass on the swingset and going through the gutting process was a memorable family experience:
Admiring his work:
The triumphant hunter, Mathew the Mighty, with our 9 point buck hanging to cool:
Needless to say, we are very proud of Matthew and of this accomplishment. I am pleased that he recorded our first deer kill at Pure Water Hollow. I’m sure there will be many more to come in the future.
Both Simon and Christina are waiting in the wings for the year when they will have a chance to bring in some venison for the family table, and one of these days I’m sure I will get one, too. We will give God the glory for providing both the wild game as well as the domestic animals for our sustinance and well-being. It all comes from Him, and I am thankful that He is allowing us to benefit from such abundant blessings!
Every day we are thankful for so many things at Pure Water Hollow Homestead, but this past week I was especially thankful for the hunt!
God bless, and may everyone have a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday this week!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 comments
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jrejhkids on November 24, 2009 at 11:09 am
I enjoyed reading your entry. I can picture some of the area now as I have been back to Kentucky. I took my son back to Berea for college in August.
He has also seen different areas of Kentucky and sent us pictures. He went to Stinking Creek for a field trip. The pictures he sent are beautiful.
It is wonderful how God provides more than we need. I love seeing the beauty of God's handiwork.
Have a great week with your family.
~jrejhkids
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purewater on November 24, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Hey jrejhkids – Good hearing from you again.
If it was the Stinking Creek in Knox County, that was the country my father-in-law was born and raised.
Small world!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schatzi on November 24, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Wow, now that is excitement around your place…say congratulations to your son..and next time it WILL be you!!!
Have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Connie
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