Walking with our Ancestors

As part of our homesteading journey, we put a lot of effort into feeding our family the way our ancestors ate: off of the land, garden and farm.  A huge amount of work goes into the heavenly pot roasts that we pull from the oven in the dead of winter.

Our preparations for Deer Hunting Season 2019 began back in March with the pruning of our apple trees.  This helped ensure that we would produce enough apples to feed both us and the deer.

In addition to scattering apples in the forest for several weeks prior to the start of hunting season, Ian also cleaned his gun to ensure optimal performance.  He spent time at the gun range making sure that his scope was aligned perfectly and working on his aim.  He also visited his tree stand regularly to check his trail cameras that monitor the movements of wildlife in the area.  Ian and I spread buck scent immediately before hunting season commenced and he washed his hunting attire with special laundry detergent to help reduce his "human" scent before opening day.

There is also creating and maintain good relationships with the farmers who permit us to hunt on their land.  We send them Christmas cards and Thank You gifts, as well as calling or stopping by for friendly visits when we are in the area.

Given all of the advance preparation required, for the past three years the actual "hunt" part of deer hunting season has been a relatively small part of the forest to table process.

Post-hunt there is much more work to be done.  We field dressed "Hannah" and dragged her carcass out of the woods.  Ian removed her pelt and hung her in the garage where she will remain for a few days before he begins the butchering process.  After getting more comfortable with butchering an animal after working on Lego and Cobalt, Ian is considering butchering Hannah himself.  I hope he does.  It is satisfying to know that our hands have touched every aspect of putting this meat on our table.

I am proud of Ian for the hunter and provider he has become.  Grandpa Al Scott would have also been very proud of him and of Alistair, his namesake, for participating in his first (of many) hunts.  Ali "helped" Papa field dress Hannah.

In the same way that I bake our daily bread in the cast iron dutch oven passed down to me by my Grandma, Ian uses the hunting rifle gifted to him by Grandpa Al for deer hunting each year.  Gifts like these are so special to us because their use allows us to walk for a while with our ancestors who shared our love of eating off the land, garden and farm.  Grandpa Al was in our thoughts today as we conclude Deer Hunting Season 2019 with a good sized doe in our freezer.  Congratulations Ian!  Well done.