On a beautiful fall day last week I, once again, spent three hours on a combine with a friend. I find watching the rows of corn make their way through the wide corn head meditative and enjoy watching the animals dash for new cover as we disrupt their respite. It’s wet out there this year so there was lots of mud to navigate. Having previously written about this experience it was time to move on to a new fall adventure.
As I dropped off some carrot soup at a neighbor’s house Friday night, my new experience presented itself in the shadowy form of a dead beast hanging from the rafters in my neighbor’s garage. What a way to scare a screamer during Halloween season. As I stepped through the dark doorway, I jumped back three feet and was surprised I didn’t land on my backside. Now, I know this is all business as usual for you locals but it was a first for me to get “up close and personal” with a dead deer. After recovering from the shock of it, my inquisitive nature kicked in and I started asking questions. Well, who knew there was so much to learn about hunting?
My first surprise was discovering the complexity of the system from which I gleaned info about four categories. First, one must decide whether their prey will have feathers or hooves and it seems most area hunters want to hunt both. Next is choosing between bows and guns with most choosing the later. Then one must secure a tag or permit to hunt in an area either through sign up or a lottery system. Finally, there are time frames for what you can hunt for when based on in state or out of state residence. I don’t have this all sorted out but I do know out of state pheasant hunters have been making their way into the state in droves the last several weeks. I also discovered it is bow season for deer with gun season coming up soon.
I learned this because that is how my neighbor shot his deer somewhere south of here. I have no idea if his “story of the hunt” is typical but it was sure interesting to me. I especially enjoyed the details of tracking and learning about what happens in the field once the deer is shot. I was also fascinated with the contraption known as the bow which I could easily have mistaken for a piece of workout equipment or some sort of man tool. I learned one needs some serious upper body strength to effectively operate a bow to say nothing about good eye-hand coordination. It seems like a lot of practice would be in order to prepare for the big event.
After “warming up” to the dead beast, I learned about the process of getting the hide off the deer and how it is butchered. With so many gun, bow, knife and saw skills, I quickly decided never to upset this particular neighbor. Did I mention he is all about teaching those interested and as such, I spent Sunday afternoon in a class called Butchering 101? I was put on the “grind line” cutting fat and silver skin off pieces from a growing pile of meat near my cutting board. After significant practice, I got the hang of it and ended up with only three finger cuts. This meat is frozen in 5 pound bags and later taken to the locker where, through some sort of magic, it is transformed into tasty sausage and jerky and returned to the customer packaged and ready to enjoy through the winter. I also enjoyed watching the choice “loin” taken out of the deer and cut into beautiful fillets which I am looking forward to trying. After three or four hours of class, during which I ended up hot, bloody and exhausted, I headed home with my sore arthritic thumbs to recover but proud and pleased with my new “coming home” experience. I can’t wait to get Paul in on this next year! Maybe we should prepare by grinding our own meat and perfecting a sausage recipe this winter?