We lit out last night to do our usual thing, but at about 7 miles out it began to drizzle and about 9 miles out the bottom fell out; had a real frog-strangler (or gulley-washer, depending where you're from). Fortunately, there was a shed where several of us took shelter until the bulk of the rain passed, then we headed home. I managed to get in 19.89 miles at an average speed of 17.3 mph which is pretty good for me. According to my schedule, that'll have to do me until Tuesday. Work is always getting in the way of riding; that's okay, going to the mountains to ride next Saturday!!
I warned you earlier that the cycling nurse is also a hunter; I like meat, so what is better than an animal that has spent its life in total freedom, eating off the land, to produce meat that is lower in fat and cholesterol than beef and generally just healthier? I and my family enjoy the taste of venison however it's prepared, and I enjoy sitting in a tree for hours at a time in hopes of harvesting some.
Last year was not a good year for this, as I did not see one single deer unless I happened to be driving (not the way I want to obtain deer meat!). This year perhaps offers something different: on the second day of our season, I harvested this calico deer.
I have never had the good fortune to see a calico on the hoof; seen several hides hanging on the walls of fellow hunters' homes, but never walking through the woods. To be honest, I didn't think I'd see ANYTHING today. It takes me about an hour to get from home to hunting ground, and the whole way I am thinking it is way too windy for any deer to be moving. I needed to go though, so I could put out corn, and since I was there I might as well get in the tree, right? In the air, in the dark, and as it got lighter, I was cat-napping and still thinking, "what a waste of time."
I think deer are part ghost, though, because you can not see one there and then turn your head and there they are! This was the case; I nodded off, opened my eyes, and two deer are snacking on my cornpile. A better look revealed a third deer, well, just her back half, enough to know she was calico! The other two walked around practically begging to be targets, but the one I wanted was happy where she was and would not move, only showing her back half.
I waited for what seemed like forever and finally got the opportunity to take her down; she dropped like a rock. Now, I will have some of the tastiest sausages to throw on the grill over the coming year! Those really come in handy after a long bike ride, and are much healthier than what flows out of these hog farms nowadays, all pumped up on steroids and antibiotics.
But going to the woods is not all about killing, don't get me wrong. There is no more peaceful thing to do than to sit alone in the woods and witness nature at work. You will see things you could never imagine and will leave those woods a better person. Try it and see. Then go get on a bike and see what a better person that makes you.
Be blessed, be safe.
