Deer Reflections

 As we near the end of another season of Deer hunting, it is nice to think back to the many years in the woods. This was not one of my best seasons, only killing one doe. In fact, even in places where I typically see lots of deer, the numbers have been much lower.

But I can recall the day, Dec. 10, 2010 when I killed the best dear rack ever from one of my favorite spots in Hale County, AL. I just saw a photo of Andrew when he took his best buck, and recall the excitement when I spotted him with his antlers stuck in the ground and his nose pointing almost straight up. 

I have greatly enjoyed hunting with many friends over the years. I started hunting with Bill Rogers in MD. Then I hunted almost 30 years with Bobby Mc. Over those same years, Mark S and I enjoyed hunting in several different locales including VA. My recent and favorite hunting buddy has been my youngest son, Andrew. Once when he was home for only a couple of weeks, we killed 8 deer in 2 weeks of hunting.

There was that 28 F morning in Jan, 2016 in Hale County when I heard from G^d directly about "loving" things but not "marrying" them. I have written a couple of books in the deer stand and revised my text book. I have read more books there than anywhere, rivaled only by time at the beach. Plus some good thinking an praying have happened right there on the deer stand.

I have had some great times in the woods, and have changed how I hunt and handle venison over these many years--dating back to about 1974. I still recall the buck I killed on Ft. AP Hill in VA, and the two does I harvested at West Point, NY.

Sweet memories!

Memories

Speaking to Responsive Audience

I’m guessing that I have written about this before, but for speakers, the audience can make or break the experience. Recently I had the joy of speaking 6 times to a good, reactive audience. They made eye contact with me, they smiled, they laughed at the jokes. I may have mentioned this, but I once had 52 Professors from the University of Herat, western Afghanistan in an audience for several lectures. I was shocked at their responsiveness. Likewise I was surprised, pleasantly so, at this latest group.

I taught undergraduates for many years at UA. In most every class (except one) there were a couple of responders, but it was rare to have a whole class. In fact, I only recall one such group in 33 years of professing.

Zoom seems much worse than live speaking. In Zoom, even the normally responsive folks are subdued. So, if you are in a ZOOM audience, give a big smile—bigger than usual—and gives a thumbs-up or other indications. Be a friend to the Zoom speaker—respond!

So, the next time you are in an audience—respond! Smile, nod, clap if appropriate. Respond!

Beautiful Leaves

Bre and I drove up to Annapolis recently. We caught the leaves at near peak color I would say. Some of them were magnificent, and the bright sun magnified the effect.

We had a little color south of B’ham. The color got better and better all the way to our detour in NC. From there northward it was terrific. This same time last year we were driving between Charleston, SC and Eu Clair, WI. We had great leaves that trip too.

G^d made a beautiful world indeed. Who would have thought to hide these colors under green chlorophyll, and make the reds come alive with the waning sunlight. I have heard it said that one of the most frustrating things for atheists is to feel grateful and have no one to whom to express it.

Well, Thank you L^rd for the beautiful Fall colors.

Beautiful North Carolina

In October we had the pleasure of spending a day and a bit with good friends Pete and Nancy. They have a condo at Sugar Top, NC. These are dear friends and we always enjoy being with them. We had a great time on this stopover on our way to my 50^th reunion in Annapolis.

This area is a MAJOR tourist destination, and we can see why. We visited Blowing Rock, NC, which was the real town described as “Mitford” by Jan Karon in her Series of books. The town was full of old tourists because those with children are back at school.

We also drove to the top of Grandfather Mountain. It was cloud-covered at the top, but was still great fun. We went to Boone, where Appalachian State University is located. We also visited Banner Elk, NC where Lees-McRae University is located. The high winds made it cold, but the great friends made it warm.

We hope to return for another visit—it was definitely worth the detour!

G^d made a beautiful world indeed.

Another Season Another Hunting Friend

Mark and I immediately bonded over deer hunting. We were in the same small Christian Church congregation and discovered each other’s love for deer hunting. I am unsure of where we first hunted together, but I recall a lot of our hunts.

The best I can recollect, Mark and I hunted just east of Moundville, AL. We then hunted near Panola, AL. From there, I recall us pursuing bucks in Demopolis, AL and over near Uniontown, AL. When Mark moved to Kingman, AZ, I managed to make a trip out there for—you guessed it, pursuing deer with my bow. After he left AZ, he made a great move to eastern West Virginia.

We have hunted some great spots, and some not nearly as good. We have plotted strategies, and followed blood trails together. We’ve drug out each other’s deer and put quite a few in the cooler.

On one of our last hunts in VA, a few years back, Mark had shot an 8-point. We typically bow-hunted together, but that day we carried rifles. The deer had immediately dropped, and particularly because I was in a stand nearby, Mark had just sat in the stand after the shot. When He finally slipped down to get it, it was gone.

Meanwhile, in my stand I had heard Mark shoot. This was a pretty good spot, and Mark always scouted thoroughly, so hearing him shoot was no surprise. But, it was a bit of a surprise when I saw a buck ambling along the edge of the woods almost due south of me. I didn’t think the deer was a shooter, so I didn’t get too excited. The deer was slowly working north, down the edge of the woodlot. He turned west and broadside to me. Then I saw it.

There, just below his spine was a huge hole, almost as big as a soft ball. There was no decision to be made, I had to take this deer down. I was amazed it was on its feet and seemingly unfazed by the gaping wound. A shot to the spine put him down on the spot.

That deer was very educational. It didn’t dawn on me yet that this was Mark’s deer. The deer had taken a big hit, just below the spine. The shock to his spine had put him on the ground immediately. Some time within the next few minutes, the buck had recovered enough to stand up and slip away without Mark noticing. Subsequently, the deer had wandered into my view. Again, when I first saw the deer, and during the time it took him to wander down to me and turn broadside, I had not detected even so much as a limp. Wow! Whitetails are tough!

Mark and I had scheduled another whitetail adventure for the beginning of November of 2022. I had packed my gear for another great bow-hunting outing. Just before leaving home for the long drive to Mark’s, he texts me to say that his Chemo for his cancer had really set him back. His pain was also intense. The hunt would have to be postponed to later. I was disappointed, but I new how much Mark loved hunting. If he felt so bad he cancelled, I knew he had to be really sick.

Mark and I have many a joyous hour together. It is sad to see him so sick. But, G^d is sovereign and He is the one true Physician. Mark trusts in G^d, and so do it.

Get well soon Mark.

Wordle!

 

Yes, Bre and I have been bitten by, or bit, the Wordle bug. I you are one of the few who haven’t heard Wordle is a NY Times game that shows up each day. In Wordle the object is to guess a 5-letter word based on the game showing you which letters are in the word (yellow) and which letters are in the right place in the word (green). It takes strategy and thinking and it most commonly takes 4 guesses to get the word. Some of these words are not common in English—though I admit they are legitimate words—with only one exception (glyph).

We typically do the puzzle first thing in the AM to share with our son in Japan who gets to do it 14 hours earlier than us. He does it most every day and posts it late in the afternoon before we get access the net morning. It is fun to share it with him—and also fun to be challenged to think of the right word.

I probably take it a bit too seriously. A few months back I created a “wordle” doc wherein I often write down the potential words in order to be able to pick the one most advantageous. I have words that start with each letter, and words that end with certain letters (e.g. “e”). I also have words excluding certain letters and including others.

It’s fun and I guess it keeps us mentally exercising…but mainly it is fun.