Tagged

A small amount of snow fell last night and we awoke to a 1 hour delay for school and lots of happy children and hunters. (I did not share in their enthusiasm for the white stuff!)

Once I ushered the younglings off to school, I sat down to crochet an "owl hat" for Kaylee. It was her request and I simply can't resist her sweet face! As I began, I heard the garage door open and BJ came in, as excited as ever that a) he was able to leave work early, and b) that he was able to hunt in fresh snow.

He set out around 11:00, at 11:23 I recieved a phone call from him... he was out of breath, excited, pysched, pumped, and was speaking in forced-hushed tones (I learned later that you never speak loudly in the woods as you'll scare off other deer - and Dad still had a tag to fill - now I know). He had tracked this buck since first stepping into the woods and shot it where it laid at 10 yards. He didn't realize just how big this buck was until after he shot and was better able to evaluate its sheer size.

Dad was hunting about 500 yards away in the tree stand and heard the shot, moments later received a similar phone call of my own. He had seen this buck in the days before and was excited that BJ was able to tag out with this monster.

It was a memorable experience for me, as this is the first deer I've been available to photograph in the woods. Most times, BJ's successful hunts were captured after work. It was great to be able to share the memories with both my husband and my father... I consider it a great honor that they allowed me into their exclusive club.

Of course I realized quickly that I was outnumbered when it came to the decision whether to have this trophy mounted... I lost by a vote of 2:1. It's really not fair - I should count for two votes since I have to look at the thing.


... and yes, Kaylee's hat was completed later that day :)