Opening Weekend

This weekend was the opening weekend of deer hunting with a rifle (bow hunting is allowed for several months each fall and rifle season only lasts a few weeks).  Justin loves this weekend and he goes to his cousin's house for the weekend (although he doesn't only go there this weekend).  I usually go with for the opener although I don't shoot a gun or have Hunter's Safety certification. 

The first time I went hunting was when we were dating and I was 20 years old.  Opening weekend is always at the beginning of November and it is imopossible to predict what the weather will be like. That first year, it was very cold and snowy.  One year there was an ice storm that knocked down power lines and left us without electricity for the weekend and coated every fence and every blade of grass with ice.  It was very beautiful and also challenging!  One year it felt like summer and everyone hunted in Tshirts.  This year was very nice.  It was near 60 and the sun was bright during the day so walking outside was alot of fun.  Although I love warm weather, experienced hunters say that when it is warm the deer do not move around as much so hunting is usually not as productive. 

It is hard to see them in this photo, but Justin and his friend Aaron are pictured in the distance.  Justin is at the base of those two trees that form a V and Aaron is easier to see by the large tree trunk. They were wearing orange and were very visible in life! It is taken near Justin's family's farm (where his cousin lives and where his dad grew up).  There is a small river that runs nearby so there are areas with alot of trees where deer can be found.

This is our nephew, Dylan.  He is 6 and went out walking with use for awhile.  He got kind of bored with hunting but that is understandable for a young kid his age.  I'm sure his interest will increase when he gets older. 

This little house is a familiar landmark to me!  After all these years, I decided to take a picture!  It is a place where the person posting with thier rifle sits and waits for the deer to be pushed out of the trees and grass.  I believe it is an old dog house that was maybe intended for a herding dog. 

Usually the end of daylight savings time usually happens the weekend before this one but this year it took effect Saturday night/Sunday morning.  Justin and the hunters usually like to go out at sunrise to look for deer so that means we get up at around 5:45 am.  This year it was nice that sunrise didn't happen until around 7:00 am!  Also, it allowed them to hunt later into the evening.  On Sunday morning we were back to the old way of getting up at 6 and I snapped a few pictures of the sunrise. 

Our friends Aaron and Andy were parked about 1/2 mile away and saw my flash in the distance when I took the pictures!  Hopefully I didn't scare away any deer!

I love this picture!  Guys usually avoid my efforts at group photos but I caught them! 

Meanwhile, back in my hometown, opening weekend was also in full swing.  My dad and my brother and brother-in-law hunt with a big group of guys and on Saturday evening the local fire department holds "smoker".  If you are unfamiliar with smokers, they are events that traditionally have been held for men and involve drinking, smoking and heavy gambling with the proceeds going toward community purposes.  This specific one is held in the firetruck garages.  It is now acceptable for women to attend and smoking is no longer allowed in the fire department but the spirit is the same I guess!  I was sitting in the local bar with Justin and his cousins when I looked at my phone and saw that I had recieved this photo message...

That's my mom holding a shotgun!  At first I thought she was just being silly but I found out that she won that gun in a drawing!  The gun is from Scheels and she can either pick it up after passing her background check or take the value in store credit.  Since it is a gun intended for bird hunting and no one in my family does that she will probably take the credit instead.  That could buy alot of shoes for running or a nice new ski outfit! 

I left after lunchtime on Sunday and, of course, Justin got a buck and his friends got a buck and a doe.  No one shot a deer the whole time I was there (well, there were shots fired, but no success!) and as soon as I left luck started to change!  I hope they don't banish me from hunting from now on!  I don't have the photos of his buck on my computer yet so I will show it off later if he wants me to.  It is a 5x6 if that means anything to any of you!  It's severed head is in my garage right now but I will spare you any pictures of that.  I don't really relish the sight myself.  My dad's group hunts more for meat and population control so they don't really worry about size or racks but I heard they got three bucks.  They process it themselves into jerky and pepperoni sticks which are delicious.  My family usually doesn't eat the roasts but if my mom gets any unwanted ones she cooks them and uses them for pet food which I think is a good use.  Justin gets his meat processed professionally at a local butcher and they make delcious summer sausage and pepperoni.  We eat roasts sometimes.  I prefer them after being cooked in a crock pot for several hours!

I stopped at the farm after I parted ways with Justin on Sunday just in time to trudge through the woods around the house to push out two bucks that Pete and Kirk (my brother and brother-in-law) had seen run in there.  They came out but escaped to live another eay!  I feel bad for the deer during hunting season but I also agree with the concept of population control to reduce starvation and disease.  Also, I know alot of people donate the venison to charities and homeless shelters so I think alot of good comes from deer hunting.  Not to mention, it is a good time to spend time with friends and family doing a wholesome outdoor activity!