It is 13 Feb as I write this. Deer season in Alabama ended just 3 days back. It was one of the poorest deer seasons we have had since 2017. Andrew and I killed a total of 6 deer, only one of which was a buck. The buck was big in body, but small in antlers, with one side broken off totally. I didn't know that when I shot, or might have let him walk. Our freezer was totally full with 3 new deer, and we gave away 3. We love venison, and I have mentioned before it is: organic, free-range, non-hormonal, non-GMO, extremely lean meat. What's not to love? It is the only meat I know that is good cold as it is hot--due to its leaness.
Lots of hunters would think 3 deer each is a great season, but we have been spoiled over the last couple of years. Plus there is much more to hunting than killing. This was our first time since childhood to hunt land that we owned. We saw far fewer deer than usual, but still enjoyed some great days alone in the outdoors. Plus Andrew killed his first feral hog. I hunted 21 times at Baker Swamp, 20 times at Deerfield, and maybe a dozen times at Echola. That's about 53 hunts. Ah, the joys of being retired from the 9-5 job!
Andrew and I had the pleasure of hunting together most of these. You hunt totally alone, but the trip to and from, plus the discussions of all sorts of things, makes having a hunting buddy a greater pleasure than doing it alone--as I did a few seasons back.
Enjoying the sunrises, the sunsets, the deer sightings, the snacks, the thrill of a harvest, the disappointment of a miss, is a pleasure that many folks miss.
Thanks be to G^d for making such a wonderful complex world. Thanks be to G^d for giving us the opportunity to enjoy nature in ways that most people miss. And...thank you L^rd for delicious venison.
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