Excellent. I've got a few years on you, and I've laid a lot of things aside, sometimes for years. There are worse things than not going somewhere or doing something. Going and doing when you are not so inclined is wasteful of peace of mind.
Raising a family of five there was never enough fish or venison in the freezer. Now, as an empty nester, I find myself having very similar thoughts. When it is cold and raining out at 4 am I am now more inclined to roll over and dream about great hunting days of old. Where I live in New York you get a buck tag and four doe tags which I used to fill and my family would enjoy for the year. Now the freezer is full and I only settle for a nice buck. Similar with fish....I had so much trout and salmon that I used your smoking recipes to smoke at least a dozen fillets and gave them away to friends as a holiday gesture. It is also a different sort of energy when you have family with you cleaning fish and processing dear than doing it alone. So many good memories I think reduces my desire to fight the elements for deer and/or fish. :-). Great read~Thanks
It will be nteresting to see if the passion to hunt is reignited as you grow older and your life becomes more "uncluttered". I have been struggling with the same issue since moving back to California from Montana and dealing with a much bigger workload. I have been trying to figure out how to reduce stress and hunting seems to aid that, but ironically contributes to the stress too as the tasks being ignored stack up.
Thanks Hank. I too have been feeling like steping away not because I don't enjoy it but because I don't cook that much anymore and have always held the belief that you eat what you kill. But hunting has always also been a connection for my younger son and me and he is cooking more. So for now I'm doing a couple of hunts a year and maybe hunts in more comfortable settings. Hang-in there buddy; its been a strange couple years. Be well.
Appreciated seeing this today. I've had a crummy year in the midwest as well - my closest and well known areas are dried up, and I have not felt like dedicating the serious hours that would be needed to scout and drive and beat other hunters to the remaining spots. And when I'm not hunting, I start thinking that I don't like killing things anyway, and I don't need it. I think the biggest downfall to that thinking is that I just don't get as much time outside, by myself - and I need that more than the hunting; the hunting was just the excuse or the vehicle. Perhaps I'll pick up a bow and get a new hobby excuse.
So totally get it. This year my son and I were lucky enough to draw a Maine moose tag - and we shot nice bull in October. My freezers and his freezer are chuck full of moose, deer and bear (from last year). Even eating it several times a week, we can only eat it so fast.
Needless to say, when deer season rolled around this year, we weren’t trying too hard... plus the weather stunk. No point in being greedy after all. Maybe some bunnies over the winter.
I'm a landowner and grew up hunting and fishing - yet for a time I too set it aside. I raised my kids hunting and fishing. I was a competetive shooter for a number of years. Then came a time when my wife fought cancer (she's a survivor), a family member had mental issues, other "life" issues piled on - and hunting became less important. The thrill was gone. Some of my gear lay idle for 10 years.
I'm happy to say though that those old passions never die. My life situation improved. I am now back in the woods doing all the things I enjoyed previously, with one exception. I too sometimes wake up and hear the wind howling and think, "No. I'll just nestle in and enjoy a warm bed." As far as I'm concerned, that's ok.
I find that I get the same way when my freezer is full, particularly with fish. Why go out fishing if I don't have the time to cook them all? I find myself going hiking, or foraging, or canoeing instead when the freezer is full, and I find that I actually enjoy it more since I don't have that nagging feeling anymore that I'm "wasting time" and should be hunting or fishing!
Excellent. I've got a few years on you, and I've laid a lot of things aside, sometimes for years. There are worse things than not going somewhere or doing something. Going and doing when you are not so inclined is wasteful of peace of mind.
Raising a family of five there was never enough fish or venison in the freezer. Now, as an empty nester, I find myself having very similar thoughts. When it is cold and raining out at 4 am I am now more inclined to roll over and dream about great hunting days of old. Where I live in New York you get a buck tag and four doe tags which I used to fill and my family would enjoy for the year. Now the freezer is full and I only settle for a nice buck. Similar with fish....I had so much trout and salmon that I used your smoking recipes to smoke at least a dozen fillets and gave them away to friends as a holiday gesture. It is also a different sort of energy when you have family with you cleaning fish and processing dear than doing it alone. So many good memories I think reduces my desire to fight the elements for deer and/or fish. :-). Great read~Thanks
It will be nteresting to see if the passion to hunt is reignited as you grow older and your life becomes more "uncluttered". I have been struggling with the same issue since moving back to California from Montana and dealing with a much bigger workload. I have been trying to figure out how to reduce stress and hunting seems to aid that, but ironically contributes to the stress too as the tasks being ignored stack up.
Thanks Hank. I too have been feeling like steping away not because I don't enjoy it but because I don't cook that much anymore and have always held the belief that you eat what you kill. But hunting has always also been a connection for my younger son and me and he is cooking more. So for now I'm doing a couple of hunts a year and maybe hunts in more comfortable settings. Hang-in there buddy; its been a strange couple years. Be well.
Appreciated seeing this today. I've had a crummy year in the midwest as well - my closest and well known areas are dried up, and I have not felt like dedicating the serious hours that would be needed to scout and drive and beat other hunters to the remaining spots. And when I'm not hunting, I start thinking that I don't like killing things anyway, and I don't need it. I think the biggest downfall to that thinking is that I just don't get as much time outside, by myself - and I need that more than the hunting; the hunting was just the excuse or the vehicle. Perhaps I'll pick up a bow and get a new hobby excuse.
I appreciate your honesty...both yours and Holly's. And excellent writing, as always.
So totally get it. This year my son and I were lucky enough to draw a Maine moose tag - and we shot nice bull in October. My freezers and his freezer are chuck full of moose, deer and bear (from last year). Even eating it several times a week, we can only eat it so fast.
Needless to say, when deer season rolled around this year, we weren’t trying too hard... plus the weather stunk. No point in being greedy after all. Maybe some bunnies over the winter.
Excellent writing!
Oh, that Spoonie hen decoy looks good enough to pluck and eat!
I'm a landowner and grew up hunting and fishing - yet for a time I too set it aside. I raised my kids hunting and fishing. I was a competetive shooter for a number of years. Then came a time when my wife fought cancer (she's a survivor), a family member had mental issues, other "life" issues piled on - and hunting became less important. The thrill was gone. Some of my gear lay idle for 10 years.
I'm happy to say though that those old passions never die. My life situation improved. I am now back in the woods doing all the things I enjoyed previously, with one exception. I too sometimes wake up and hear the wind howling and think, "No. I'll just nestle in and enjoy a warm bed." As far as I'm concerned, that's ok.
Love it and totally get it. Be well!
I find that I get the same way when my freezer is full, particularly with fish. Why go out fishing if I don't have the time to cook them all? I find myself going hiking, or foraging, or canoeing instead when the freezer is full, and I find that I actually enjoy it more since I don't have that nagging feeling anymore that I'm "wasting time" and should be hunting or fishing!