Hunting that is. (Note the fashionable duct tape fastening the orange vest together. This boy has style.) I know there are those who don't believe in hunting, but we have at least two hundred turkeys on our three hundred acres. (They gather together in the winter and we count them so we know.) The two or three a year that we roast will not be missed...and they are fat from eating our corn and alfalfa.
Partly because he is an avid hunter, this boy knows every inch of our land like other kids know the ins and outs of video games. In this picture he was showing me where he shot three turkeys with one shot one time (quite by accident). He loves to take me out to share his special places...an old pallet leaning on the rocks in the Sixty-Acre Lot hedgerow where he can hide and watch the wild things go by, a puddle where a dozen green frogs lurk, waiting to plop into the water with a startling splash. The old dam, the owl tree, he leads me to them proudly when we have time. I have visited all these places before when I was young and eager, but it is good to see them again through his fresh, fervent eyes. He is a capable tracker and so keen of nose that he can SMELL where the birds have been. My nose isn't sharp enough to notice until he points it out to me, but he is generally right.
It is comforting in a way to realize that the nature walks we took the kids on when they were little, turning over rocks to look for salamanders and spying on birds, have come full circle. Now we are the ones being taken.
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7 comments:
I envy you and your 300 acres! Here in Iowa, I dream of someday owning that much open land. I bet it wouldn't look all that different from the pictures I see on your site. Your kids are lucky!
What a great place for a kid to grow up and how nice to take a walk with someone else who appreciates your piece of land.
I love this post! I, too, have enjoyed learning from my kids. It's fascinating to have our instruction returned to us through their eyes, perspectives, and experiences.
I'm not too much in favour of hunting but hunting on one's own property for food is definately OK. The boy will know where the cows are and not mistake one for a turkey.
Hi privatepigg, thanks so much for visiting. The kids ARE lucky, although when they are working every Sunday morning and afternoon, you would be hard pressed to get them to admit it.
I wanted to live in the country SO bad when I was a kid....took a while, but I finally do. Hope you realize your dreams as well.
FC, yeah and he takes good care of the old lady when we are out there too. It is amazing (and delightful) to be babied that way. lol
NW, there are so many things we did when they were small, like teaching them Latin names of stuff just because it was fun, that have borne fruit in lovely ways. We like them....most of the time.
Mr. Fab, even we farmers can make a fashion statement now and then. Thanks for visiting.
Ontario wanderer, I am in the middle on hunting. I love to eat venison and turkey; I love to go in the woods and stalk food for our table on our own land...it seems to fill a very basic sort of need. But I HATE the irresponsible idiots, running amok in a haze of buck fever, shooting everything in sight and abusing land owners. They give the whole concept a bad name.
Love venison if it's cooked right....how does wild turkey compare to commercially raised? They are common around here too.
Friends of mine back in Colorado got an elk once...had a bunch of summer sausage made from the meat. It was awesome!
Weird!!
Haven't a clue why my name showed up as "travelling." I don't have any other Blogger accounts....this is Carina.
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