Tammi's World

In The Back of the Memory....

I was reading about T1G's adventures and observations from yesterday and it brought back some great memories. Some things I hadn't thought of in a while.

Hunting. Yeah, Hunting. Now, I'm not even going to try and ask you to picture me, in my camo, sitting in a treestand, waiting for just the right buck to come along. No, that's not me. But I've always been around hunters and had to do my fair share.

Daddy loved to hunt. And fish. I remember as a little girl, hearing him get 'round early in the morning on those fall days. He'd be gone til about noon, but he always came back empty handed. I just figured, much as I loved him, Daddy had to be the worst shot in the world to never get ANYTHING! It was only after he was gone that I found out, he never took any shells for the shotgun. He just enjoyed being out in the woods!

He used to take me along, for the planning. We'd walk through the woods, early in the fall - before season - trying to decide just where he was going to put that tree stand. He'd point out all the different birds and trees and plants. Since I was a Girl Scout and spent so much time camping I just ate that stuff up! I looked so wise to the other girls, but I knew it was all learned from my Daddy.

Oh, and he'd take me fishing to. But only a couple of times. We get out on that john-boat and sit there all morning. Never catch a damned thing. Later, when Daddy's best friend took me fishing I kinda figured out why. I never realized until then that you need to put worms on your hook! Worms! Imagine that!! Now, I'm sure he used bait when I wasn't there. But I was a young girl, kinda hyper, so it was all about teaching me to enjoy being out, and to stay still for a while. No sense wasting good bait on that!!

When I got married my husband and his boys were big hunters. They hunted for everything. So.......I learned to cook it. Let me tell you.....I can do things with Venison that would knock your socks off! In fact, Mama had me write a cookbook on how to fix many different wild game. Damn, wonder where that is.

But I wasn't just regulated to the kitchen then. The youngest boy would usually come and drag me out to help track a deer. I got really good at spotting the blood trail and catching the trampled brush.

Sitting on the bank of the lake in the backyard, watching the deer in the field over yonder, drinking my coffee - starting my day. I don't get that down here......I hadn't even realized I missed it. I do. Thanks for the reminding me T1G!

Posted by Tammi at December 26, 2004 06:28 AM