I Did Something Right!

Sometimes I feel like no matter how hard I work at something the work is under appreciated or not appreciated at all. I try to be a positive guy and get excited about what I do but not everyone shares my excitement. I tell my wife (my biggest fan) and she cheers a little then gets back to her work. Know the feeling?

I find my “pats on the back” in nature. Being a hunter carries responsibilities. I get angry and disheartened when I see a carcass on the road, a magnificent animal killed for antlers and backstrap then discarded like trash. My responsibility includes killing for food, not shooting spots, knowing and respecting the law, and providing for the deer that go through my land during the year.

Last year we tried to have a winter garden but the winter was so harsh for the deer they ate our garden to nothing as they foraged for food. My wife was upset. “We need to feed them,” she said. “Let’s buy hay and set it out in the back away from the garden.” I bought a square bale and it was devoured in one day. The next day I bought a round bale and built a lean-to to keep it dry. Luckily it lasted until the grass started coming up again.

This year I planted winter grass along the trails on my land. Long before I moved here and long before my neighbor put a fence up there was a trail that the deer would walk. They would forage then bed down up front in the woods. My neighbor has a horse and put up fence disrupting the trail and limiting the feed area. My answer to that was to provide an alternative place for the deer to feed, especially the fawns that couldn’t jump the fences yet.

Today I was rewarded with a wonderful sight when I went out for my morning walk in the garden. On the trail that leads to the garden five deer were eating the grass I planted a couple of months ago. Does and their fawn were eating the feed I planted and the Lord provided with the bountiful rain we received. I feel so blessed. I guess I did something right!

Making Dog Food

Like I said before, I got hunting poodles. The wife and I have 3 poodles, Annie, Salty, and Fred. Annie’s a great hunter and Salty’s a little guy (5 pounds wet) with the heart of a lion. Fred’s Fred. Great little guy but took a little longer to catch on to things. Not much of a squirrel hunter but let a varmint in the yard and he’s all over it. Forget about bringing to me and set it on the porch. He makes mince meat of it, what ever it is.

Well, this is about Annie and Salty, back before Fred came to live with us. Annie likes to hunt squirrels. She’s pretty fast but usually just a little too slow for the squirrel. Every so often she gets one, though. Well one day she was ready for it. The squirrel came down from the tree and jumped for the bird feeder. I don’t know how she did it but she jumped and caught it in mid-air. Caught it by it's tail. The squirrel came around and bit Annie on the lip and just wouldn’t let go. Annie didn’t know what to do. She shook her head and tried to get the squirrel off but it wasn’t going anywhere, that is until Salty saw what was going on. Salty, the littlest tough guy in the neighborhood, grabbed that squirrel off Annie and killed it, then brought it to me on the porch. Set it right down by my feet!

Poor Annie. Her feel goods were hurt….and her lip was sore. I took the squirrel, skinned it and cooked it for the dogs. They did good, even if her lip was tender. Got to reward good work.

I bet you thought I was going to give you a recipe.

Hunting with Annie

Yeah, you guessed right, I am a hunter. In North Florida I hunt deer and wild hog. I would hunt squirrel but the wife says it looks like a rat and she won’t eat it even if it does taste like chicken. Says she’d just soon deal with feathers. I usually hunt alone but every so often I take my dog, Annie. Annie’s a cute little girl, just happens to be a poodle. Now for all of you who think “A poodle? That’s a foo-foo dog!” I am here to dispel the notion that they can’t hunt. Ya see, poodles were used for hunting years ago. Their thick hair and agility made them great hunters. They’d hunt bear! OK, the big ones hunted bear. People bred the poodles down to the little things they are now and tried to spoil the tough spirit out of them. They are tough little dogs and like most dogs, can be trained. In the case of Annie, she’s a natural hunter.

Years ago, I had red-nose pit bull dogs for hunting. Caught a few wild hogs with them. They were my pets, too. Great dogs but needed watching. When I was away fishing (I’m a commercial fisherman, too), the dogs got out and killed the neighbors chickens. Not very neighborly. My wife told me to find someone to take in the dogs since they needed someone to hunt with….something I couldn’t do if I was away fishing. Made sense. A couple of months later, the wife saw a sign “POODLES for Sale” and had to have one. She wanted a little dog to drive around with and picked out a little blond girl. Named her Annie.

Annie must have been an old girlfriend in another life because she took to me right away. Just loved on me so I thought I would teach her to hunt. She stalks squirrels, watching them in the trees for hours, barely taking a breath. She’s fast enough to catch them in mid air, too. We have a few squirrels around with short tails to prove it.

Every so often I take her with me when I hunt. She’s quiet as can be and growls softly when she sees something. Couldn’t ask for a better hunting partner. She doesn’t talk or move much and with her blond hair she blends into the grass. Good dog. Good at tracking and keeping up. Couldn’t ask for more. Today we saw the prettiest site, a doe and twin fawns. The fawns had spots, looked like they were just a couple of days old. A beautiful site. Annie and I just watched them. I don’t hunt poach does, and I never hunt spots. I’m not that hungry.

Going to my tree stand in the morning. Major feed is about 10:30 AM and I want to be settled in long before feed starts. Maybe I’ll get to see the momma and her babies. Hunting isn’t just about killing and filling the freezer. It’s about  nature, going into the animals’  homes, and being a part of the entire process. To get the chance to live off the land is a gift I appreciate.

Well that’s about it for now. Wish me a safe hunt. Bye, y’all.