Yep, it is now deer season! Okay, archery season started on October 1st, but today starts firearms season, and this is when it gets really interesting...

   I moved from the Chicago area to Thayer, Missouri when I was 15. talk about culture shock! Thayer had about 2000 people then and 67 in my graduating class compared to the 280+ that graduated in my 8th grade class in Illinois. I started school there in January, so it was a long time before my first experience with deer season rolled around. And when it did, I thought there was some sort of contagious illness running rampant, because about half the school was not present. That included most of the boys and a large number of girls. When I asked what was going on and got the answer, I was sickened. to think all those people, all those kids,  were running around, trying to kill poor, helpless animals, and got excused absences for it! I wrote a short-short story, from a different perspective, about the horror of shooting a deer, because i was so outraged by it all...

   Fast forward to about 4 years later. married, living in Texas with an Army husband, a friend invited us for dinner and cards. Dinner was simple- a huge pot of stew and biscuits. this was the best stew I have ever had, so I asked what was in it. Of course, it was venison. before the night was out, they sent us home with several packages of venison, as her husband had gone to Colorado and had an elk in processing, so they were running out of freezer space. It took awhile for me to try to cook any of the deer meat, but once I did, we were all hooked. I still thought hunting was barbaric, but others who hunted always saw fit to give or sell us some of the extra meat they ended up with. Life was good!

    The first time I went hunting, it was one of those desperate times. I had a new baby, money was tight, my husband's job was going down-hill (commission-based), expenses were going uphill. I am sure many of you can understand those times. deer season rolled around, and we were nearly out of food. well, I knew my husband was going to hunt, but, bless his heart, he isn't the best shot around. I knew we NEEDED the food, so i got my license and went with. I am an excellent shot, but when the deer was in my sights, I guess I trembled. I missed, and off she ran. We didn't even see another deer the whole season. It was such a blessing that his grandfather's church saw fit to provide us with 2 small deer!

     Now, I hunt regularly. In Missouri, if you own more than 5 contiguous acres, you can get a permit to hunt on your own land for free. If you live out of state, you must own 75 acres in Missouri to get a lfree andowner's permit.  So my husband, each of my sons, and myself can each take any deer on our property. Since I recently won a new gun (Savage .243), I am eager to get out there! But my boys beat me to it and are now in my favorite spot, so I will wait and head out there this afternoon, while they are sleeping off the big hunter's lunch I plan on feeding them! Yeah, Mama knows a trick or two...

    So, besides the wonderful-tasting, healthy meat, why do I now think it's okay to hunt? Population control. In our family alone, over the last 10 years, there have been 2 deer-caused car accidents adding up to over $5000 in vehicle damage. There have been at least 2 dozen near misses (one of which caused us to slide off the wet road and tear up a tire). People die or get seriously injured from deer-related accidents, or swerving to miss deer fairly regularly around here. Deer, when the population is not controlled, cause a lot of damage to gardens and crops. Deer spread ticks and fleas that may can carry illnesses that humans can contract. As a mother who spent most of October taking care of a very sick child who turned out to have an animal-borne disease, I want that risk as low as possible! And during rutting season, bucks get very territorial and have been known to attack humans who were out walking through the woods. WE own 40 acres and love to hike it- it's bad enough we have to watch out for the local Mountain Lion, I don't want to have to worry about a deer with attitude (and too much testosterone) coming in to attack, as well!

    Yes, there are valid reasons to hunt and keep the deer population in check. Yes, I enjoy the meat and there's nothing that can beat a big pot of Hunter's stew when the snow starts falling. I look forward to filling the freezer with venison every year, and if we get enough, we share it with others. We don't hunt just for the "fun" of it, and I cry over every deer we have to process, but in those same tears, I am saying thanks to God for providing for us again...

    So, what's the down-side to this regional "holiday?" For the next 10 days, unless someone comes in from another area, the real estate market is dead. I guess that's okay, since I will be out in the woods for a good portion of that time anyway!