Deer Hunt...

I have no clever title to name this post, because the deer hunt is what it is.  Not in a bad way... in the best of ways.  I went through phases of my life with regard to this annual tradition; sometimes I was less fond of the outing in the mountains, and the early morning wake up calls, and the self-imposed pressure I felt to have a successful outcome.  Other times, I took the season as a chance to get out and see the fall colors, stuff my face full of pine nuts, and laugh at my Dad and crazy uncles and all their crude jokes and funny "isms".  

And now... I get it all.

It's literally like a seasonal jackpot around here.  My husband.  My boys.  My Dad & Mom.  My uncles.  My cousins.  My brother & sister.  My people, you know?  All together, all hiking through the trees and taking in the colors and scents of fall in the mountains as we uphold a tradition called,

"The Deer Hunt".

I've memorized many of the old bumpy roads.  I've carved my name in trees year after year as I have had successful kills.  I have heard story after story about my Grandpa, the logger, the miner, the builder of roads and things.  And you know what... I'll listen to them twenty-nine more times because these textures of the deer hunt make me who I am and will forever be a part of my fiber.

To share that with my crew is the ultimate.  It's like they're enrolled in "Who I Am - 101" and I'm one of their adjunct professors and every other family member that takes the time to load up and pack coolers and hike along with my little blaze orange wearin' crew are the tenured crowd, dedicated to showing them the veins of the leaves, and the way the fog rolls in off the rim, and how to roast and crack peanuts for the road.  

These early years of going on the hunt represent their first wobbly steps in what will hopefully turn out to be a lifelong stride of getting to know who they are through their family's traditions, ideas, stories and sparks of talent & passion.  I love that.  

Did we get a deer?  Yep.  Is it the biggest take away of our time in the mountains together?  Not even close.  But these little faces... they learned a whole lot.  Saw a whole lot.  Heard new stories and walked through patches of trees that filled with fog and dew.  

And that... that constitutes a trophy hunt, right there.