It's Like Here...Only It's There

Pop recently invited me to accompany him on a weekend trip.  Sounds exciting, right?  Romantic, right?

While Pop truly is increasingly more romantic as time goes on, this was not a warm and fuzzy invitation.  It was purposeful.  He was making plans to hunt at one of his favorite places in the world and he takes his hunting very seriously.  Did I say VERY seriously?

This trip involved preparatory work.  Did I say WORK?

We had to begin planning for this trip several weeks in advance.  We had to shop.  We bought fabric.  We bought PVC pipe.  We bought weatherproof foam.  Then we started to work preparing to prepare.  That's right...preparing to prepare.  We drew out plans, we  measured, we cut, we created.  We made a sand blind and we made pads for tree stand seats (out of camouflage fabric of course).  We patched and painted an old deer target to be re-purposed as a decoy...then we repainted it...twice...to get it the right color.

Pop Scouting for Deer

Then, when it was time, we loaded up and headed out.  Pop drove while I worked on some tee shirt rugs (that may be another blog later on) and we visited on the way.  I had been there one other time but it had been a while and it was a really short visit, so I was excited to go and visit with our friends who live there...we have known this couple for a long time...we actually got to know them because they are related to other (even older) friends of ours.  They are really special people and their place is special too...It's like here...only it's there.

When Pop has gone there, I've noticed he comes back calmer.  I have known that this place touches him somehow in the deep recesses of his being.  It's rejuvenating for him even though he works hard as he hunts.  By the way, it is compound bow hunting for deer.  It is for the iron-willed, tough-minded folks who appreciate the hunt as much as they do the venison.  So anyway...

The Cowboy and Mrs. Cowboy

When we arrived, we stopped and talked to The Cowboy (not one of our grandson cowboys but an authentic, boot and hat wearing cowboy who rides horses and works with cattle) and let him know we were there.  His wife, Mrs. Cowboy, was still working so I rode off in the truck with Pop to begin preparing for his hunt.  We toted a camo blind and other essentials off to a tree row where The Cowboy had seen signs of deer activity.
I helped Pop set up the blind which involved a lot of thought on his part.  He had to determine the right place for it most importantly.  Setting it up was easy...it's sort of a pop up nylon tent thingy...then the hard work started.  We had to camouflage the camouflaged blind with branches and brush and make it nearly disappear into the tree row.  In the process, I walked into a tree limb and got a nice scratch on my forehead and tripped while walking and did a nice belly flop on the ground.  But my best trick was when I felt something crawling up my leg.  Turned out it was just a long piece of tumbleweed that had sneaked up in between my jeans leg and boot...the harder I tried to shake it out, the higher it "climbed" up my leg!!  I nearly disrobed to get rid of it...it all happened SO fast!  Pop just shook his head.  I think he felt sorry for me in a "bless her heart, she's pitiful" sort of way.  Oh well...I would do it again...all of it...because besides spending time with Pop, it allowed me two incredible things.

1.  I got to see why he loves hunting there, and 2. I got to spend some time with The Cowboy and Mrs. Cowboy.
(We got bonus time with one of their three awesome offspring as well.)

This place where The Cowboy and Mrs. Cowboy live and work is incredible.  It is beautiful and it is peaceful...It's like here...only it's there!  There is a river.  There are trees everywhere - the cottonwood tree branches were loaded with golden leaves that reflect the rays of the sun.  There are miles of land to be explored.  Hills to climb.  Rocks to study.  History to learn.  It is an incredible place.

Like Four Sisters Farm, it is peaceful...it is much larger and offers a wider variety of beauty...but it is the peace that makes it feel like here.  It is lovely... incredibly lovely.  It's like here...only it's there.


Mrs. Cowboy and I tagged along for part of the time we were there keeping Pop and The Cowboy company while they did some of the prep work.  We visited about all kinds of important heartfelt matters and mulled over some of the world's problems.  We also perused catalogs and pins on Pinterest while we talked about their plans for renovating their kitchen (and then some).

We looked at rocks, found some old bones (probably cow bones) near the river bed, marveled over God's creation, and compared notes about grandchildren, among other things.

We visited with Pop and The Cowboy over meals and when it came time for us to leave, I can genuinely say that Pop and I had a hard time just going.  The Cowboy and Mrs. Cowboy are people we love.

I am grateful we got to know them...grateful for the way God puts people in our lives who share our love for Him and others...grateful for the way they share what God has given then...grateful that they love us too...grateful that His peace abounds in ways that we can feel in different places...places that make me say, "It's like here...only it's there."

Processing a Deer

Okay, those of you non-hunter, non-meat eater types might want to skip this post.  (Did you know that Rock Star eats no meat and Pretty Princess eats very little...just a fun fact for you).

Anyway, Pop, Grammy and I worked together to make use of the deer Pop brought home from a recent hunting trip.  Now, I must say that I never saw the deer and I like it that way.  It was already in meat form by the time I had to touch it.  Good work on that Pop.

This is fat and meat.  You have to grind them together to create the sausage and ground venison.  For the sausage, you also add seasoning.

I am a big dork and somehow deleted the picture of Grammy.  I did, however, manage to keep the picture of her hands.  So there you go, proof that Grammy was there putting meat into the grinder.

I told Pop that this doesn't gross me out.  In fact, I find it sort of fun.  It reminds me of the play dough toy I had as a kid.  Remember those?  You put the play dough in and push that lever down and it comes out in different shapes. 

We made 10 pounds of breakfast sausage and 20 pounds of ground venison.

Go Team!

I think Pop and EJ are still on the hunt so we may need to do this again.

Are you totally grossed out or impressed with our skills?

Dee Hacks

It's hunting season in these parts.

I am not a hunter myself but we have plenty of them in the family.

I was on a walk with the boys this morning. We walked down to the pond and back. On our way there I noticed some deer tracks. I didn't say anything about them, just took a mental note.

All the sudden Wubba stops walking and bends down close to one of the hoof prints and says, "Dee Hacks! Dee Hacks! DEE HACKS!"

"That's right, little man, those are deer tracks!"

Apparently someone in the family is already grooming my 2 1/2 year old to be a great hunter one day.