Deer Hunting Widow

-

I have a strange appreciation for this time of year.

Starting in September, Hubby goes out to his camp almost every day. It's about a 15 min drive from our house, maybe a little longer now that we've moved, and it's where he's been preparing and watching for his prized deer to kill. This year has been a quiet one, and he hasn't seen many. On October 1st, bow season started, and I've become what locals jokingly call a "deer hunting widow".

This year I've been much less a widow than last fall, since we just finished moving, but now that we've finished that project (thank heaven) he's started disappearing at dawn and dusk, or over night on the weekends. Should deer hunting ever make me an actual widow I'd be devastated, but I actually really like this time of year. I enjoy having the house all to myself, being able to watch whatever I want on TV, get cleaning projects done uninterrupted, and in general have alone time.

I love my alone time.


Right on cue this year, winter weather showed up in force for the end of Halloween and kickoff to November- we got plenty of fresh snow. Hubby woke up on Saturday like a kid on Christmas morning. He'd missed the sunrise hunting and paced around the house like a fidgety kid who had to wait until Grandma came over to open his presents.

First sticking snow this year


He eventually got to go out into the woods this weekend, but he hasn't shot anything yet. That's okay though. Bow season is still on-going and rifle season starts November 15th (it's practically a holiday around here) and runs through to the end of the month. He still has plenty of time to get his buck.

I'm not the only one who enjoys my husband-free time during November. It's celebrated by locals everywhere. Local downtown businesses host 'Ladies' Night' where they open their doors and have specials to draw in customers. I don't normally attend, since I'm not a
'shopping' person, but they seem to draw decent crowds of women out enjoying themselves.

I'm much more a homebody. I like being all snuggly and warm in the house during these wet and chilly transition times as the seasons change. I make myself a warm cup of tea, curl up with a good book or a knitting project, and just enjoy my peace and quiet. Of course, there's still the kids on the weekends and I usually start making dinner as it begins to get dark- that way it's ready right when Hubby gets home from his hunting.

And like any good Yooper girl, I do eventually make it out to camp myself. My family has celebrated Thanksgiving at our deer camp for many years now, and I usually make a trek out that way for the holidays. I'm not much for hunting myself, but I usually pack up my warm clothes so I can wander in the woods with my dad, and just enjoying chatting by the camp wood stove with my mom. She also enjoys deer season for the solitude, and uses it to get deep cleaning done at her home.

Fireside relaxing at camp


Deer Season in my family has been as much a holiday season as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It's the next logical step as the days get shorter and the weather turns cold. And if Hubby gets lucky and shoots a deer- it stocks the freezer for the next year.

So to my hunters out there- best of luck and be safe.

Until next time,
Emma Leigh
Location: Upper Peninsula of Michigan, MI, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why I Write Letters to my Stepchildren

-
I write letters to my stepchildren. My stepchildren live with their mother, 3.5 hours away from us, during the school year. There's not much we can do about that since they need to attend school, but keeping in touch with their day to day can be hard. Last year I started writing them 'snail mail' letters, complete with self-addressed, stamped envelopes. While I've never gotten a reply from either child, I know they are at least getting my letters and they know that their dad and I are thinking about them. It's my own little way of showering them with love from a distance. Phone calls with kids are awkward. I don't know if you've ever tried to talk to a kid on the phone but they're easily distracted and it's not always possible to follow their train of thought. Talking on the phone with our kids has the added 'fun' of their mother hovering in the background, listening to every word and interjecting into the conversation when she's
Read more

Loving Through the Mess- Painting

-
Image
Hubby and I have almost finished painting at the new ho use.  We've been living here a few weeks now, but it's starting to finally feel like ours and not just someone else's place we are squatting in. As I mentioned in my previous post about moving while pregnant , we bought our new family home from smokers- who were gross enough to smoke indoors. Which meant there was no removing the smoke from some things. After lots of cleaning (hello vinegar), throwing away of window treatments (they were ugly anyway), odor sealing primer, and fresh paint you can't tell there were once smokers here. And damn was I shocked at how much the smoke residue was stressing me out. I haven't always been such a neat freak. I used to spend a lot of time in places that reeked of cigarette smoke in college, and didn't think twice about it. But when I got pregnant, the reading material about foods I couldn't eat sent me into a spiral about all the poisons out there that we can
Read more

River Fishing With Hubby

-
Image
Otter River, Michigan My husband has been trying for years to get me to go fishing with him on the Otter River. I really have no interest in fishing, so I usually turn him down. However, every time I ask him to join me at an event that requires a shirt with buttons, he says I owe him a fishing trip. My number of trips owed is quite large, as this summer was my first time on the river. I have so little interest in fishing that I didn't even bring a fishing pole with me, but I did like the idea of tagging along and spending the afternoon outdoors with my husband. Hubby in the river We had a gorgeous day as far as the weather was concerned. It was about 70 degrees and sunny, one of very few such days each year. It was a decent trek into the woods before scooting down the steep and wooded embankment into the river. We weren't in the water more than 30 seconds and Hubby had already caught a fish, but it was too small to keep. Water was only knee deep most the way, but varied between
Read more

Christmas Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

-
Image
Yesterday was the winter solstice, the darkest and coldest time of year. Well, it isn't really the coldest. Earlier in the week would have been the coldest. Wednesday's windchill was a balmy -25°F. We've been having a warm snap rolling in to the weekend (it's currently 42°F). Heck the sun is even out right now. But the days have been undeniably short. Hubby and I both are shocked when we want to crawl in to bed but the clock only says 6pm. We've also been up to our eyeballs in snowfall and are measuring in at a little over 110 inches already this year. #winterproblems Christmas is right around the corner. In preparation, Christmas cookies are on the to-do list. I'll likely make others yet before the week is up (the step kids will be here soon and I have to find something to keep them away from screens for the next 7 days) but the Peanut Butter Blossoms from the back of the Hershey's Kisses bag- they are my to-die-for cookie. As a kid, ever
Read more