I blinked and I found myself in the middle of November. Youth deer hunting weekend was a success for our youngest son. He is only thirteen and has completely taken charge of how we will manage the deer population at the farm. He instructed my husband to leave all the cows and horse penned up in the front field of the property. He diligently set up feeding stations several months ago to track their movements. When he goes out to retrieve the SD cards from the game cameras, he has posted near his deer stand, it is like watching a young child open up an Easter Egg.
After all this preparation he had his heart set on bagging one of the large bucks he had been courting on the game cameras. He came away that weekend with a large doe. He and his older brother loaded her up to take her to our shop. They hung her up and he began to work away at skinning his deer. He is almost fourteen, but he only weighs around ninety pounds. By the time it was time to pull the hide off and cut up the meat, he was looking for additional muscle. My husband, who does not enjoy deer hunting at all, was enlisted for some help.
After the men of our household had cleaned and cut up the deer, my husband announced that the next one they were going to do on their own – fat chance! The next day, our neighbor (a fellow teenager) called our youngest son to tell him he had killed a deer. They do not have a place to hang one and clean it at their house. Our son was happy to help him and told him to bring it over. The first question my husband raised was, is his dad coming with him? Our son said yes, I think so.
Our young neighbor arrived on his side-by-side along with a huge doe. The boys got her hung up and started working together to get her cleaned. They got to a point where once again; they needed some help to finish. My husband exasperated and laughing went to the shop to help them finish the job. He instructed all of them to pay careful attention because this was the LAST time he was going to help.
After the first day, I let our son cut up the backstrap and cooked up some chicken fried steak-style venison for supper. They all had big plans to grind their deer burger themselves. That did not happen. The mothers intervened and both deer were taken to our local processor for the next step.
Now we are patiently waiting for the call to come pick up the neatly packed venison haul from youth hunting season. Deer season in our zone will continue for a few more weeks. Our youngest son has even arranged a Missouri hunt with my nephew-in-law. I love watching him pursue his love of hunting and harvesting. Our oldest son also hunts but is not nearly as passionate in his pursuit.
As the price of beef and other groceries continue to climb, I’m thankful this little fellow is adamant about filling up our freezer. I hope you are enjoying the crispy fall weather, a successful hunting season and a happy thanksgiving, neighbor.
Jody Harris is a freelance communications specialist, gardener, ranch wife and mother of four. She and her family raise Angus beef cattle and other critters on their northwest Arkansas ranch. She is a graduate of Missouri State University. To contact Jody, go to ozarksfn.com and click on ‘Contact Us.’
