November 3, 2011

Life as a Hunter's Wife

As I type that I thought, "hmmm Life After I "Dew" could be alternately titled Life as a Hunter's Wife during the fall months" and it's so true.  October thru whenever Jimmy gets his deer, which could be January, are dedicated to hunting.  So much so that...
  • We see him more on the week days than we do on the weekends.  He hunts morning and evenings so even during the afternoon hours he's gone because it doesn't make sense for him to drive all the way home just to turn around and drive all the way back out to the place he hunts.  So yeah, while most people can't wait for the weekends, we can't wait for the weekdays.
  • And, seeing as we don't have any weekends free till Lord knows when, we make plans for December or later.  The chances are high that he'll get at least one deer before then so we take hunting a little less seriously after that.  Once December rolls around we're pretty safe to make plans to, you know, see friends and DO things normal people do.
  • I have found myself defending hunting and explaining it's benefits to those less privy to the sport.  I mean in all honesty, the deer here {and I'm sure other places} are overpopulated.  And it's not like he just does it for the thrill, we use that meat all year long.  And don't turn your nose up at it unless you've tried it, it's really not bad.  So see, he's just like a regular ole caveman hunting to bring food home to the family.
  • Jimmy's birthday is coming up, as in it's THIS Sunday.  When I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday he declined any and all festivities because they would interfere with his hunting. 
  • I've actually considered buying Kendall some sort of "my daddy hunts" tee off of Etsy.  I mean they're kinda cute, right?
  • Well Jimmy would get a KICK out of one of them, I'm sure.
    But no matter how used to hunting season I get there are still some things that rattle my brain.  For example I cannot wrap my head around...
  • Shed hunting.  It's when you go "hunting" for the antlers that the deer shed in the spring.   I mean I don't really see why it's called "hunting".  The antlers don't move, you don't have to shoot them, and it doesn't matter if your loud or in camo.  So really it's more like shed hide-and-go-seek.
  • Waking up at the ass-crack of dawn.  I mean maybe it's just because I've been woken up before the sun more times than I care to count, but there is NO WAY my butt would be out of bed at 4 am if it weren't for a little lady in the next room.  No way.
  • And I would NEVER sit, in a tree, in below freezing weather.  This is my husband's idea of a good time, he thinks and reflects on the days past or something like that.  No way.  I hate the cold.  My idea of a good time is staying nice and warm INDOORS.
  • Tactics to lure the deer in aka dousing oneself in fake deer urine.  Yes you read that right.  And I have asked Jimmy if this is the type of activity that he partakes in and he has informed me that he has, on occasion, showered in doe urine.  I can't make this up.
  • The after.  I mean once you shoot the deer you have to do what you need to do, right?  I don't want to go into details but let's just say the first step involves removing the member {if it's a male}and THAT is something that I'm thankful there are other people to do because I could NEVER.
So, we are still early in the season and Jimmy has yet to score/kill/get {still not sure the proper term, Lindsey} a deer so looks like we have a few more daddy-less weekends in our future.  Man I can't wait to get my husband back!







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26 comments:

  1. I don't get hunting, but I love venison. Go figure. I would imagine that the first couple of hubby-free weekends would be nice to get things done, but when they are legit MIA, I would miss them too.

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  2. ahhhh you have described my life perfectly! my hubby hunts NONSTOP during the fall months. problem is, i grew up hunting too and really enjoy it...but he's not quite ready to share "his" hobby.

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  3. I LOVE me some Venison!! It's soooo tasty! And those shirts for KP are SOOOO cute!! LOVE it!

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  4. My bf hunts too. He's not so much the wake up at the crack of dawn kinda guy but a go in the evening one. Hopefully he gets one soon!

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  5. I grew up with a dad that hunted and thankfully my husband does not. BUT I never heard they had to cut off the bits before...why is that?

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  6. This reminded me so much of my best friend's husband. They HAD to get married in February because that's the only month he isn't killing some sort of animal. Ha! I have never heard of hunting for the antlers....that doesn't sound too thrilling. But then again, neither does sitting in a tree stand in freezing weather:) hope he gets a deer soon so you get your husband back!

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  7. OMG! My dad is a huge hunter, so much so that he wont even come for Tgiving b/c he will miss a day! He travels to the saskatchawan(sp) every year to bird hunt, they can't even bring the birds home! My dad would go during the week and on Saturday, in VA you can't hunt on Sunday so that's when we saw him! I love me some venison and duck!!

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  8. I could have written this but replaced hunting with fishing...and ice fishing.

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  9. I think the technical term is "harvest" a deer. I only know that because starting in August I'm forced to watch hours upon hours of hunting videos.

    December can't get here soon enough!

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  10. Totally get it! My boyfriend is a hunter but even he is surprised that he manages to get up at the crack of dawn.

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  11. OMG i am all the more in the know now and somehow it makes me more grossed out :)

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  12. I could use the same title ... But Sep 15th through Jan 31st!!! Though I agree whatever the term ... after the first boy deer is killed -- I see him a little more .. hOwever my husband hunts EVERYDAY weekday evenings and all day Sat.. Thankfully it is ILLEGAL to hunt Sunday here ... So I have one day :) However, I do NOT eat deer meat (as in I am a vegetarian and dont eat ANY meat) so really a vegetarian being married to king hunter is quite the oxymoron (I think)

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  13. Seriously..I never got the whole "hunting" thing. Yeah it's fun to be with the guys and drink in a cabin. But to sit in at tree stand for hours in the freezing cold? What fun is that?!?!

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  14. I give you major props because I couldn't deal with the "going hunting" stuff. I've never went hunting and my bf doesn't hunt either. I did however kill a deer for the first time this year when it came out and hit my car. Ek!

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  15. I totally don't get the enjoyment out of hunting. Although since he's not around, you can enjoy shopping with your beautiful little girl :)

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  16. so funny!! my dad got an elk tag for KY this year which is a pretty big deal..He is practically LIVING outdoors..nuts!

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  17. My ex was a hunter.. When it was hunting season, I never saw him, as he would go hunt up north.. I went with him a few times, and it was the neatest experience ever :) We had our living room in our house dedicated to all his taxadermy animals.. They were def conversation pieces.. I had to be careful who I shared his "hobby" with because of course everyone had an opinion.. But, it was HIS thang, and we had bear and deer meat for dayyyyyssss.. I wasn't a fan of the deer meat, but the bear meat tasted just like ground beef.. p.s. those little shirts for KP are adorable :)

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  18. Oh honey! You know I'm here with you. You know it.

    My favourite part: "I mean I don't really see why it's called "hunting". The antlers don't move, you don't have to shoot them, and it doesn't matter if your loud or in camo. So really it's more like shed hide-and-go-seek."

    I feel your pain.

    And I'm with you - I have had to defend it so many times. People are quick to judge and turn up their nose at eating venison .. but um, it's actually way healthier (and tastier, IMO) than beef. I use it in place of beef in every thing.

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  19. the future Mr loves to hunt. it's all we talk about this time of year. who is hunting where, who got a new gun, who got a new stand, how many tress they cleared for thier stands. ugh, it goes on and on. and the crappy part is that we don't live together yet so the only time we get to see each other is on the weekend. umm... not during hunting!
    although i was told by a third party that i will make a great wife because when we were picking a wedding datei said it couldn't be during october because of beet harvest and it couldn't be in november because of deer hunting.
    side note: my future mr's bday was two weeks ago- for all of the time that we have been together i have gotten him hunting stuff for his bday. my bday is on monday. i told him my only request is that he is home to take me out for dinner at a resonable hour!!

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  20. I live in alaska.. Sooo hunting is huuuge up here.. I find it disgusting.
    Moose meat is horrible , dear meat is
    Worse and I would never in my life eat bear meat. To each his own.

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  21. you crack me up! if you and kendall ever need a shopping partner while Jimmy is shopping for a deer, please let me know :)

    My cousin made a venison, black bean, something or other for thanksgiving last year - and holy amazing! i went back for 2nds {and the day where I let my inner fat kid come out - probably 3rds}. If i think about it, I will get you the recipe - because its soooo good!

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  22. Big A doesn't hunt (thank GOD! He has enough hobbies), but his friends do and they are obsessed. I like to think the meat comes pre-packaged on a tree, kind of like fruit. I was tricked into trying venison, so it isn't my fault that I like it. But, damn, if you cook it right... that ish is delicious.

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  23. This makes me so glad my husband isn't a hunter! I do think KP needs one of those shirts!

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  24. This is my life...definitely not my favorite time of year. Holy time consuming and everything revolves around it. I don't even eat venison... :S

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  25. I know of 5 people who have either hit deer or hit something else trying to avoid a deer in the past month, so I am okay with the hunting thing. Just would not do it myself, and pretty much for all the same reasons you posted!

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  26. I love , Love, LOve those shirts!

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