We were already in bed when...

Dad checked the temperature last night: 55 degrees outside. That is way too warm for a deer to be left hanging all night. So Dad went to the store and got ice to stuff in the chest cavity. As Dad and T.J. were starting to put the ice in place, they heard a very disturbing sound. Coyotes. Not a pleasant sound to hear coming from your neighbor’s yard when you have a huge buck hanging in your tree. That is why, at midnight last night, we started butchering a monster buck in our garage.

We finally finished that gory process around 2:00 a.m. (At least we are done with most of it – we still need to grind the hamburger.) Needless to say we are all really tired, especially Dad and T.J. since they were pushing 22 hours straight at two in the morning.

Here are some more pictures from earlier in the day.

After five days...

Dad finally got a deer this morning, not just any deer - a NINE-POINT BUCK! Needless to say, everyone is really excited around here. Deer season started last Wednesday and both Dad and T.J. have been going out to a friend's property everyday, but they haven't seen or heard anything.

Last night after they came home, they were really discouraged. Dad accidentally left his watch out in the woods last night, so they decided they would go out this morning, mainly to retrieve the watch (and hunt too) before it rains later today.

After separating from T.J., Dad went to the general area where he had left his watch. Sitting down, he leaned back against his backpack. Snap! Dad realized that the animal making that noise was a lot bigger than a squirrel. Dad slowly stood up and waited. The noise sounded close, but it was still dark. For forty-five minutes Dad listened to this deer circle him.

Finally, as it was getting light, Dad saw him come through some firs. Problem. When the buck stopped, his heart was behind a big tree. "No problem," Dad thought. Raising his gun, he got the chest in his sights, put his finger on the trigger, and prepared to wait until the buck took a step forward. BOOM! Oops! The trigger was more sensitive than he thought.

To make a long story short, Dad broke the collar bone, a few ribs, and got the lung.
After the buck died, Dad whistled for T.J. who was axiously awaiting a call.

"Hi, son. So, do you think I got a doe or a buck?" Dad asked nonchalantly.

"A doe?"

"No, it's a buck-not much."

"How many pionts?"

"Nine."

"NINE POINTS!!!"

So, anyway, after field dressing and getting him into the car, they called us. Mom answered and Dad just said it was worth going back for his watch. After Mom hung up, we all asked, "Did they get anything?"

Mom said, "Well ,they didn't say they didn't. But Dad sounded so tired, I don't think they did."

So we waited...and waited...and waited.

It was way past the time they should have been home. So, we were all speculating that they did get something and had stopped off at Marlow White to show it off.

We were so surprised when they finally arrived with a HUGE buck!