Hunting Season Part 2

So yesterday I shared how I grew up surrounded by hunters. My dad and my 2 brothers, Chad and Chris. Little did I know when I was dourting Greg (we call it 'dourting' because it was somewhere between dating and courting) he was a budding hunter enthusiast too. I blissfully spent time with him, studied with him for our classes, he taught me how to juggle, etc. And then I brought him home to meet the family. Imagine my surprise when he and my dad started talking guns, knives, and hunting! Now, there is nothing wrong with being a hunter, I just had not discovered that side of him before!

Over the past 8 or 9 years, Greg's love for hunting has grown and has provided us with plenty of meat to eat. I have had to learn how to process the deer meat, venison. It's really not hard to do, it's just time consuming and a bit messy. I usually wait to start the processing until after the kids go to bed. I DO NOT HELP GUT OR SKIN THE DEER! And Greg knows that. So, he will cut the meat off and bring it inside where I grind it up, or package it as roasts and stew meat. Oooooh, filets are great too.

But most importantly, I have had to learn how to cook it. I like to joke around and say it took me a "deer and a half" to learn to how cook the meat. I have some great recipes I'll glady share, and if you have some, please feel free to share with me! If cooked properly, venison is actually quite good, and it's one of the healthiest meats because it's so lean and there's no added hormones. ANYWAY.....

Greg gets so excited as deer season approaches. Hunting magazines start to pour in and he drools over them. He gets out all his hunting gear, inspects it, cleans it, practices his shot and plans his hunting days. He gets to spend many Fall and Winter days out with his bow hoping some unsuspecting deer crosses his path. And then for 1 or 2 weekends, he gets to hide out with his shot gun, wearing lots of blaze orange, of course, and wait quietly. In the freezing cold. Without anyone to talk to. Without making a sound. Sitting as still as he can. I don't understand the appeal, I guess. Although there are some days I'd love to get away to someplace quiet with the time to just sit and be alone. (That's what my jacuzzi tub is for, I guess.)

So, what's the purpose of my posting about hunting season? Well, because Greg is out hunting this weekend, shotgun season. He's in Illinois until he bags his deer, or until Sunday night when shotgun season ends, whichever happens first. I'm personally hoping he gets 2-3 deer, enough to fill our deep freezer. And could he get a big buck? It'd be great to have him bring home some prize antlers to hang on the wall. Or to sell to Cabella's and get some money and a set of replicas.

I wasn't always so supportive of Greg's passion for hunting. He's certainly not obsessive with it, and it does provide us with meat which cuts our grocery bill by a ton. But, it's hard to be a mom at home all day while he's working, and then to face the long, lonely weekends during hunting season. Thankfully I have outgrown my feelings of resentment of his time spent to himself doing something he loves, and I've learned how to support and encourage his passion. I'm excited for him at this, the beginning of shotgun season, and I'm praying for a big buck to cross his path, and can't wait to hear his hunting adventures when he gets home.

So, what am I doing this weekend while Greg is away? I'm searching for the perfect curtains for our new house. Greg always loves how homey it feels when the curtains are in place, and it's taken me several months of thinking to get some ideas on curtains. If I get some today, I'm doing pretty well since the last house took me 5 years to find the perfect curtians. And then we moved....