Floating Holiday

I had today off from work as a floating holiday to ensure I didn't miss the kids Christmas Play at school tonight. I decided since I had the day off I would partake in one of my favorite past times - you guessed it, Hunting!

Much to my disappointment when I got into my truck this morning I found I had a tire going flat. So being the responsible young man that I am I went to the closest gas station to get a can of fix-a-flat. Now I know one of my arms and at least one leg are in danger of being acquired when I go to purchase gasoline but it turns out you need to be rich to purchase a can of fix-a-flat. It was a small can not even one of the tall boys and they wanted over $9.00. Even though I could have expensed it I just couldn't bring myself to spend more than double what I know I could pay somewhere else. At this point I asked the attendant to turn on the air pump outside ($0.50 cents if you are too lazy to ask!) and when I began to fill the tire up with fresh winter air much to my surprise the leak began to bubble right in front of my nose. I decided to take a trip to our local Goodyear shop and get it fixed properly.

Now you can imagine me sulking in the waiting area as I waited for my vehicle to get pulled in and I sat dreaming of sitting in the woods rather than smelling all the rubber tires on display. Thanks to all the service guys I was out of there by 10:30 and on my way to the farm I hunt on.

When I got to the farm I was thinking about where I wanted to sit for the day and decided due to the time I would walk through the swamp and look for Ariel's hunting cap which we lost last time we went out when walking through all the briar's. I figured I could get to the area that Ariel realized her cap was missing and it would be long enough to cut over to my ground blind and sit for the rest of the day. Well I never found Ariel's cap but as I was approaching the log that we sat on the day she lost it I walked up on a doe and when she turned her head I was able to raise my weapon and take a clean shot at her fully exposed vital area. The shot looked good so I decided to sit and wait 30 minutes before approaching the last area I saw her. After what felt like an eternity I began to approach the clearing I last saw her in when suddenly she stood up 20 yards away. I decided to take a second shot before she ran off and thankfully it was a clean shot and she dropped where she stood. Much to my surprise as I prepared to field dress the deer I looked to my left and discovered I had harvested 2 separate deer!

Thank you Ariel for losing your cap, thank you whoever dropped the 3" sheet rock screw that delayed my hunt as it was buried in my tire, Thank you to the Grant's for allowing me to hunt your property. Now last but by no means least Thank you to my Dad (father-in-law) for dropping everything you were doing to help me with dragging the deer through all the briar's and up the hill-I don't think I could have done it without you!

I am thankful that I live during a time that hunting is not required to provide food for my family but with that said I am glad I have the freedom to go hunting and harvest an animal, especially the beautiful and majestic deer; that God has placed here for us to eat. The meat that is obtained from these deer is one of the healthiest meats we can eat (now that doesn't mean the way I prepare it is always healthy- I love butter!) and the $$ we save on purchasing beef is amazing. Most importantly I enjoy the time I spend in the woods, I get much needed exercise and the quiet time is beneficial for the soul as well as the physical body.

I will be spending tomorrow butchering my deer so hunting season has come to an end for me but the memories will last forever and the meat will fill our bellies at least through the spring.