First Buck

Okay, I'm fixin' to get all redneck (and a little romantic) on y'all!  

I must document this wonderful memory- taking my first buck with my hubby in the woods the day after Thanksgiving.   

I'm sure I've written several times about how Jimmy and I enjoy hunting together. He bought me a rifle when we first starting dating. I was a junior in high school.  I acquired confident aim with my gun, soaked up wood-sense passed on by Jimmy and my brother, and determined to be just as independent as the next guy when it came to hunting and the like, even insisting on sitting in my own stand for years.  

My time now is so much more precious and priorities changed. I would rather paint faces with the man below, snuggle up silent next to him for hours in the woods, and share every possible memory together, including this one.  

We actually walked up on a buck coming to the stand that evening, but couldn't get a shot.  I must admit, I was disappointed, but we decided to sit anyway, hoping he would come back. Less than an hour later this fine fella approached us about 100 yards away. Jimmy has a sick ability to see in the woods and spotted him way before I did. If you've ever seen a hunting show on the Outdoor Channel, imagine that. The whispered excitement and all. Talk about a couple goofballs. 

My sites were on this deer for five minutes before he finally turned broadside and I got a shot. It was super-quick, through some dangling moss, a little forward, but a kill shot.  He didn't make it more than 20 yards. And I totally cried like a girl when Jimmy said, "You got 'em!" 

Pure awesomeness. For the next 24 hours we etched this neat memory in our minds, retelling the story to each other over and over. And watched this experience and those like it, knit into the fabric of our little family as we involved our kids.

Blessed.  Blessed to share such cool experiences with my man. Blessed to harvest a buck that Jimmy has been intentional about seeing come to full maturity on our lease. Blessed to once again fill our freezer with healthy meat for our family.