A Good Year for Hunting

by almost_rosey // 21Dec2015 // 1 Comment

I had a lot of hope going into this deer season. I had gotten pulled for a turkey tag and harvested my first turkey in the spring, maybe I would get to harvest a deer this fall. Perhaps this was my hunting year. Unfortunately I didn’t get a doe tag, but my hunting guide and I found a new hunting spot and there was plenty of deer sign. It was close quarters, pretty much bow hunting distances, with my possible shots being anywhere from 40-70 yards at most. I was a little worried about this at first, but when you don’t own land those 100+ yard shots in open fields just don’t exist. My hunting guide put in a lot of work finding this spot for me and it was starting to feel right.

On deer opener I saw the northern lights. I know it sounds crazy but this too gave me hope for a good hunting season. I can’t explain why. Maybe it’s because I rarely actually see them. Maybe I was just looking for any sort of hopeful sign. I needed something to hope for after last deer season, my first deer season. Last year was a terrible year for deer. It was cold. Brutally cold. It was windy. You wouldn’t have been able to hear a deer if it sat down right next to you. I barely saw any deer. I really just wanted to see some deer this year even if I couldn’t take a shot.

Walking to my stand I saw a shooting star. I thought, this is it. This is my year. I’m going to harvest a deer. I was sitting in my stand and it was about 15 minutes before shooting light and what do I hear? Not a deer. It’s some bozo that was walking through the woods waving a flashlight. He was literally stumbling and charging his way through the trees. I’m sure he lost his path but what concerned me most was where he was going. He walked by and I found out he was hunting about 50 yards away from me. I couldn’t believe it. He then had the audacity to say, “good luck” to me. I was horribly discouraged. This isn’t the cities where people hunt on top of each other. How could this be? I tried to tell myself it would be OK. Then I saw another shooting star. Maybe it would be OK.

At about 8:30AM a spike buck was walking towards where I would actually be able to take a shot. I’m watching him come down the trail that leads to a perfect shooting lane for me. I couldn’t believe it. Was I going to tag out my first morning? My heart was beating through my chest. Then he stopped, turned, and took off in the other direction. Of course. He wasn’t downwind from me but he was directly downwind from the bozo 50 yards off of me. I didn’t see any more deer that day or the next. I also found out that the guy who was hunting off of me had built a permanent stand on state land and was driving down a 4-wheeler trail to get to our hunting area. Not only that, he was smoking in his stand because there were cigarette butts all underneath it. No wonder we weren’t seeing deer. I was just hoping he wasn’t a local or that he was just a weekend hunter.

I’m lucky enough that I can hunt during the week. One of the benefits about where I live is that I can hunt in the morning or afternoon and adjust my work schedule accordingly. I went out Monday morning and about 15 minutes before shooting light I heard a good sound. Instead of some guy crashing through the woods it was a deer. I don’t know if it was a doe or a buck because I couldn’t see anything, but I it walked by me by probably only 30 yards. I was once again hopeful.

Tuesday afternoon we went out to see if there was more activity during that time. I saw two deer. One was a doe for sure and I think one was a buck but it was too far away to be sure. I was so relieved to actually be seeing deer. The weather looked like it was about to change on Thursday. The temperature was dropping and it looked like snow was possible. My guide said that Wednesday afternoon might be a really good day to hunt due to the weather moving through.

Walking to my stand on Wednesday afternoon I could smell a doe. It smelled like the drag we had been using but obviously more fresh and a bit more skunky in my opinion. I was hoping that a buck would also be in the area. I got to my stand and felt really hopeful. It was November 11th. Eleven eleven, make a wish. As I was sitting there I kept thinking that this was it, this would be the day. I could hear a deer all over the place. It was over here and then it was over there. I thought I was going crazy. Was this one deer or a few deer?

My guide then whispered to me that there was a deer. I looked straight ahead and saw a doe at the edge of the thick woods. I looked at him and said, “It’s just a doe.” He then looked at me and said there was a buck behind her. I looked back at where she was standing and she was still staring at me. Assessing the situation, so I thought. She then darted out and I saw a buck coming out after her. Initially I tried to bring my gun up quietly because I’m thinking I don’t want him to hear me and turn back. So silly. I could have had bells on and he wouldn’t have cared. He just wanted one thing. I was shaking like a leaf as I tried to bring my gun up to look through my scope. At first I couldn’t see through it but I shifted, I got my sight on him, and found what I like to call the deer square. I call it that cause we have a deer target for shooting our bows at in the yard and there is a square where you aim at. I locked in on his deer square and moved my rifle along with him as he walked. My guide said he was going to try and stop him. I didn’t respond. I just stayed locked on his square. My guide yelled at the buck but he kept moving. There was a moment where I thought about taking a shot when he was still walking but I didn’t. My guide then yelled again. The buck stopped dead in his tracks, he looked right at me, and I pulled the trigger.

What happened next was almost like a cartoon. I swear it looked like his legs got kicked out from underneath him and he hit the ground hard. I quickly ejected my shell and put in another round thinking he was going to get up and run. I took a breath and exhaled. I was shaking. I couldn’t believe it. It all happened so fast. It was a matter of 2 minutes at most that all this happened in. It was like the hunting shows on TV. My buck didn’t get up. He tried, but I had essentially spined him and he couldn’t get up. I went over to him after a few minutes. He looked at me as I stood by him and then he layed his head down. I think he knew what was about to happen. I fired the finishing shot and then he stopped moving. My guide went to grab some things so we could field dress him and I thanked my deer. I thanked him for his life, for this experience, & for the food that I would get from him. I felt terrible. I felt exhilarated. It’s a very weird feeling to take another life. Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up hunting. I never got desensitized to it. Maybe you never do get used to it.

This year has been a good year for many things. It has especially been a good year for hunting.

Pork & Zucchini Meatballs

by almost_rosey // 6Oct2015 // No Comments

I’ve always been a baker. I started baking brownies after school in fourth grade which may have been a contributing factor to my fourth grade chubbiness. It’s only in the last few years that I have actually started cooking.

I do almost all the cooking in my household. I enjoy it. I like to make dinner and meals for other people. With that comes the task of meal planning. I probably take this way too seriously. I will spend 1-2 hours on Sunday and plan meals out for the week.

I live in Almost Canada where a well stocked pantry & freezer is a way of life. I’m usually cooking for two so coming up with meals that use common ingredients is a necessity. In the summer months that means using the garden’s bounty.

Zucchini is one such ingredient. The little zucchini are great for side dishes or replacing noodles. It’s those big guys that hide in your garden that become breads, cakes, fritters, etc. I decided to use them in a meatball instead of onion to keep them moist. The worst kind of meatball is a dry meatball which is probably the most common problem when it comes to making them. These are divine. I also used homemade tomato sauce which makes any dish that much better.

Pork & Zucchini Meatballs (serves 2)

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1-2 tsp minced garlic
1 egg
1 slice bread, torn into small pieces
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp onion powder
salt & pepper to taste
tomato sauce (store bought or use this recipe Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce)

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Mix all the ingredients together except for the sauce. Form into meatballs (roughly the size of a golf ball). Place on baking sheet and bake in oven for 8 minutes or so until browned. Place in tomato sauce and cook for at least 20 minutes until cooked through (preferably longer for deeper flavor, turning occasionally). Serve over pasta, or if you are like me, sautéed zucchini.

Tomato Sauce

by almost_rosey // 5Oct2015 // 1 Comment

I might have been a little too ambitious when it came time to plant the garden. Last year we had two tomato plants. This year we had 18. Yes 18. This included 6 cherry tomato plants which is way too many cherry tomato plants by the way. Next year we are only doing 2 of that variety – one yellow and one red. We also had 6 Roma tomato plants and 6 early girl tomato plants.

I have been working through my tomatoes like crazy. I have made numerous batches of tomato sauce for various dinners as needed and I have frozen about 10 pints of tomato sauce for the winter months. 10 pints really isn’t that much if you use a pint at a time for recipes. I probably use a pint a week for spaghetti or lasagna so I really only have 10 weeks worth of sauce.

Everyone has their favorite recipe. I always change the amounts of seasoning depending on my mood. The only thing I keep constant, the key ingredient for me for a good tomato sauce, is the bay leaf. This is absolutely essential for all good tomato sauces in my opinion. This is probably because my mother used to make tomato sauce and she used bay leaves in her recipes.

I don’t remember many things she made. This is because she wasn’t the best cook. Sorry mom. She wasn’t terrible but I don’t have any fond memories or favorite dishes she made. The only great thing I remember was her long, slow simmer of tomato sauce with a bay leaf.

Tomato Sauce (serves 2)

If you have dozens of tomatoes to work through feel free to double or quadruple this recipe & freeze it for when your garden is covered in snow.

10-12 ripe tomatoes (I prefer a combination of roma & vine-on)
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1-2 tsp garlic, minced
salt & pepper, to taste
1-2 tsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper or more if desired
1 bay leaf

Score an ‘X’ on the top of each tomato.

Blanch in boiling water for 30-60seconds until the skins split. Remove from the boiling water and add to an ice bath.

Remove skins. Remove the core portion on top. Roughly chop the tomatoes if you want it to cook down more quickly. Otherwise just cut them in half or so if you don’t care how long it takes.

Saute the onion in olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 2-3 more minutes.

Add the tomatoes and the seasoning. Simmer, covered, on low for 2 hours. Remove the bay leaf. Leave as is if you like your sauce a bit chunky or puree with an immersion blender.

The 2015 MN State Fair

by almost_rosey // 19Sep2015 // No Comments

The Minnesota State Fair came and it left. I attended with my fishing guide. It is something we do every year. Every year is almost the same, yet we keep going back. I am not sure how to explain that.

We always eat a corn dog

Cheese Curds

Pork Chop on a Stick

And Ice Cream from the dairy barn (sorry it got half eaten before the photo)

Normally we try to find new foods at the fair. Generally this has been New Fair Foods for the year. This year we weren’t that impressed. Instead we decided to just try some things we don’t normally eat.

We got mini donuts. I haven’t had these in years but they were perfect at 8:30AM for breakfast with a coffee. The sugar was all at the bottom but just give them a shake and they are good to go.

We also tried an egg roll. It doesn’t look like much but for $2 it is a nice snack.

Later on we ended up going back to the same place as the egg roll and considered buying chicken on a stick. The guy in front of us heard us and turned around. He gave us the most serious look and said, “you better do it.” The tone in his voice was grave. If we didn’t get this chicken than surely there would be hell to pay. We did and it was one of my new favorite foods! I am looking forward to eating it again next year.

We also walk around the same places. We look at the same things: ice castles, snowmobiles and ATVs, crafts, baked goods (I almost always buy some local honey which I did this year), and the animals. No birds this year due to the bird flu. We also people watch. There are so many “interesting” people at the fair.

We always end up at the craft beer flights.

They have tables outside and you usually end up sharing a table with others. We were able to get a table for just us initially but then two couples that were there together asked if they could join. We of course said yes. Then the state fair craft beer conversation starts.

Where are you from? What do you do? Everyone is always amazed we live in Almost Canada. The people you encounter at the craft beer area are different yet the same. Many are pretentious (if you do not mind my quick judgement) and many are weird.

I’m sure they think various things about us, but it doesn’t matter. It’s fun. It’s interesting. It’s always an experience at the craft beer booth. You never know where the conversation is going to go. It’s like going to the bar but better because it’s at the fair.

Seeing those two couples together at the fair made me reminisce of years past. It goes without saying that my fishing guide and I haven’t always been together. We have known each other since high school but only in the past few years did we end up together.

Before we were a couple, we were in relationships with other people but friends. Couple friends like these two couples we saw at the fair. We actually used to go to the fair together as couple friends.

Those days seem so long ago. I’m not saying I want those days back but seeing those couples together just reminded me of where I was and where I am now. It makes me wonder where I will be in the future. How will I be different? What will next year bring?

Almost certainly the next year will bring the Minnesota State Fair. If for some reason we don’t end up going it doesn’t really matter. I know it will always be there for us. It is full of fun, food, activities, and memories. Old ones, but more importantly, making new ones.

Beer Cozy

by almost_rosey // 13Sep2015 // No Comments

About two years ago I was in the process of buying a house and thus had no money for presents, or rather, not a lot of money for presents. I wanted to buy my guy something special since he had been so good to me during that stressful process.

I decided to try and make a gift. I was searching online for homemade gifts which is how I found the idea for a Beer Cozy or Coozie, Koozie, Coosie, or any other spelling you prefer. I thought, I could make that. I didn’t know how to knit in the round at that time, but they don’t have to have a bottom, they could be sleeves. So I figured out the measurements and went to it. Basically you just figure out how big of a rectangle you need (long enough to cover the majority of the can and wide enough to wrap around it) and knit as normal. Once completed you just thread some yard through the edges to cinch it tight.

I bought four different types of yarn so I could make a few. I made two for bottles (or large cans) and two for regular 12oz cans. For the bottles I went with a camo & blaze orange and the cans I made a cozy that resembles a football and did one in the Vikings colors. I am quite pleased with how they turned out. Some fit better than others but overall I think they turned out quite nicely considering I hadn’t knit in a long time.

They don’t get used much during the summer months but now that the weather is cooling down and football season has started, they are actually being put to good use again.

Seared Ahi Tuna

by almost_rosey // 16Aug2015 // No Comments

I moved to Almost Canada two years ago this fall. Making the decision was easy but involved a lot of sacrifice. My guy sacrificed everything to move with me. One of the things he gave up was his career as an accountant.

The job opportunities are bleak to say the least where we live. They basically include the company I work for and a lot of dead end jobs. Since he has moved with me he has been on unemployment, worked at a bait/outdoors store, he became an ice fishing guide, & he has been doing lawn care/landscaping.

He often used to talk about how this town was eating him alive. That he didn’t have any chances to succeed.

He ended up pursuing one of the only opportunities here which was becoming a boat captain. Something that is not that easy to do. The application is rather extensive and it takes quite a bit of time & cash. When it came down to it, he made it happen.

He got his Captain’s License!

I couldn’t be more proud of him. My fishing guide is now a professional fishing guide.

This is something he has talked about for awhile and it is finally a reality. He has even gotten some experience on the lake and has taken people out a few times on his own despite the season being half over.

Even though this has been a long time in the making, and he is thrilled to be able to do this, being on a boat is no walk in the park. It’s hot, it’s windy, people get sick, the fishing is slow & your customers are upset, the list goes on.

Despite the list of negatives this isn’t the worst job in the world & it is a consistent seasonal position. It’s one of the few seasonal opportunities around that actually pays OK & there might be some chances for growth. Life doesn’t always give you the best opportunities but it’s how you deal & what you make of them.

The same is true for grocery shopping in this small town. It’s impossible to get anything here so you have to adapt. I cannot get many items here. I most certainly cannot get quality sushi, but I can have it overnighted by a company to my door! Sushi grade fish delivered right to me. An opportunity that I simply could not pass up.

Seared Ahi Tuna Salad (serves 2)

11 oz sashimi grade ahi tuna
salt & pepper
oil
salad of your choice (I used a salad kit with sunflower seeds and a citrus onion dressing)

If the tuna is frozen allow it to come to room temperature in the fridge. Do not let it sit on the counter. Cut the tuna into two pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and sear the tuna on all sides for 1-2 minutes per side until. Slice and serve over salad of your choice.

Spicy Pickled Green Beans

by almost_rosey // 10Aug2015 // No Comments

This is my second summer in Almost Canada. My first summer I was able to have a very small garden. This year it has quadrupled in size. I ended up planting green beans & wax beans where my garden was located last year.

Right now I am trying to deal with a surplus of beans.

I have eaten them raw, roasted, blanched for salads, and even frozen some for later when my garden is covered in snow. I don’t have a pressure canner or cooker so my canning abilities are basically non-existent (at least for low acid foods like green beans). I decided to try and pickle them. They turned out fantastic. These can be eaten a week after processing and have plenty of flavor or should keep for about one year.

While they are delicious plain, they are amazing in a Bloody Mary.

Spicy Pickled Green Beans (Recipe is for 2 half pint jars or 1 pint sized jar. Adjust as needed)

1/2 pint or pint sized mason jars & lids
fresh garden green beans, trimmed & washed
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled & lightly smashed
1 bay leaf
1-2 dried hot peppers (chili, serrano, etc)
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4-1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp honey

In a large pot bring enough water to cover jars to a boil. Submerge jars and lids in boiling water and boil for 12 minutes to sterilize (keep pot with water for processing later). Remove jars & lids with tongs. Fill jars with green beans that have been trimmed to the size of the jar (leave at least 1/4 inch space to the top of the jar).

Meanwhile, bring all other ingredients to a boil in a medium pot. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Poor brine (including garlic & peppers) over green beans in jars. Leave 1/4 inch headspace to the top of the jar. Apply lids and wipe rim clean. Screw metal band on tightly.

Place sealed jars back in the pot of boiling water (make sure jars are submerged at least 2 inches but are not covered). Boil for 10 minutes. Remove with tongs and place in a cool & dark place. Once cool, check to make sure all jars have sealed properly*. Open in as little as 5-7 days or jars will keep for about 1 year when properly stored.

*Note that if a jar does not seal correctly place it in the fridge and use within 2-3 weeks.

Bulgur Vegetable Salad

by almost_rosey // 4Aug2015 // No Comments

I feel that people associate Minnesota only with heavy comfort foods. Hot dishes and meat & potatoes. In actuality, gardens are quite prevalent in Minnesota, resulting in many veggie based meals or at least veggie filled side dishes.

In my household, it’s rare to have a vegetarian meal. My guy is a meat & potatoes man & believes veggies are something to be used as a side dish. I, however, have never been a meat & potatoes girl. Don’t get me wrong, I love meat & potatoes. I love them together. But I love all food and vegetables have always been one of those foods. Since meeting me, my guy has probably eaten more vegetables with me than in his entire life before living with me.

I try to come up with tasty ways for him to eat them (as well as myself) even if it is just for side dishes. This isn’t a crazy vegetable dish by any means but it does incorporate the veggies from our garden this year in a way I haven’t made it in years. It’s sort of like a tab(b)ouli or tab(b)ouleh salad – pick your fave spelling – just modified for what I had on hand.

This can be eaten by itself or paired with some sort of meatball or yogurt chicken if you have a meat eater in your household as well.

Bulgur Vegetable Salad (makes 4 servings)

1 cup bulgur
2 cups water
olive oil
lemon juice
1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, sliced into half moons
1/2 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp each dried basil & oregano
salt & pepper to taste
dash onion powder
1/2 a cucumber, chopped
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup feta cheese

Place bulgur & water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer & cover. Cook for 20 minutes or until water is absorbed.
Meanwhile, in a skillet sauté zucchini & onion in a small amount of olive oil until tender & slightly caramelized. Add garlic & cook for 2 minutes more.
Drizzle the cooked bulgur with olive oil & lemon juice. Add the cooked vegetables & spices & stir to combine. Top with the raw vegetables & feta cheese. Drizzle with more olive oil & lemon juice if desired.

Thai Turkey Noodles

by almost_rosey // 28May2015 // No Comments

I went turkey hunting for the first time this year and ended up with a turkey! Now the fun of getting to cook with it begins. I had two bags of breast meat and one of dark meat.

My plan is to turn the dark meat into sausage or jerky. The breast meat was very pink so I decided to actually make a dish with it as I didn’t think it would be too gamey. I came up with Thai Turkey Noodles. It is delicious and if you didn’t know it was made with wild game you would think it was chicken.

Thai Turkey Noodles (serves 2)

4 oz spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained
sesame oil
1 turkey breast, cubed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup water chestnuts, sliced
1 tsp garlic, minced
pinch each ginger & red pepper flakes
1 tbsp flour
1.5-2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
green onions, optional

Heat a small amount of sesame oil in a large skillet. Add turkey and cook & stir until just cooked through. Remove from turkey from skillet & set aside.

Add onion, red bell pepper, water chestnuts, garlic, ginger, & red pepper flakes. Sauté for about five minutes until slightly softened. Stir in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in chicken stock. Stir in soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and oyster sauce. Add turkey back to skillet.

Heat to boiling and then cover & reduce heat to simmer. Stir occasionally until mixture is thick and bubbly (add more chicken stock if needed to thin sauce or more seasonings if desired). Stir in noodles.

Garnish with chopped green onions if desired. Feel proud that you provided this meal.

My First Turkey Hunt

by almost_rosey // 27May2015 // 2 Comments

I’ve mentioned before that I did not grow up hunting, so the fact that I started when I was 30 is quite surprising. It started with deer hunting. I did not harvest a deer but I ended up with some grouse which was fantastic. After that experience I knew I could at least hunt birds (I am still unsure about the furry critters), so my guy/guide and I decided to apply for turkeys in the spring.

We applied as a group for the ‘A’ season for turkeys in an area he knew well and we got pulled! The first step was a success. Now we just had to hope we would see some turkeys and get them close enough to ‘shoot em in the lips’ as my guide says. He set up a ground blind the night before so we could arrive bright and early and wait for the turkeys.

We walked in on the first morning and got situated. We waited a little bit for the woods to quiet back down after we disturbed it and then he started calling.

Can I just say that he is so good to me! He was willing to sit with me and call for the turkeys as I had never done it before and couldn’t work the mouth call for the life of me.

Anyhow, he called out for a turkey and one gobbled right back! It sounded like he was right on top of us. It turned out that he basically was. I looked out the blind and saw a tom sitting in a tree about 30 yards away.

I couldn’t believe it. My first morning out, the first call out, and there is a trophy tom right there. My guy kept calling and he kept gobbling back. He was fluffing out his feathers looking like he was doing some morning stretches.

He evemtually jumped down from the tree and started walking right towards our decoys. I was struck in awe. This was not happening. My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking. I tried to quietly and slowly maneuver myself in the ground blind to take aim. I shot and the turkey just stood there. I kept waiting for him to fall over but he then turned around and ran. I tried to get off another shot but it was awkward leaning out of the blind. I tried to get out of the blind as quickly as I could, but by the time I did the turkey was gone.

I was dumbfounded. I hit him! I knew I did. We tried looking for him and found blood & feathers but no turkey. I felt terrible. Was he nicked or was he dying somewhere. I had no idea. I felt bad for the turkey and bad for me. I was super grumpy. I knew it was all my fault that I had not sealed the deal. He was handed over on a silver platter and I screwed it up. A trophy tom no less.

I knew exactly what I did wrong. I didn’t have a very good angle to take the shot with how I had maneuvered in the blind. I didn’t take enough breaths to calm myself. I’m not sure I took a breath at all. I definitely didn’t breathe with my shot. My inexperience showed when I didn’t try to take another shot immediately when he just stood there. We went back to the blind and tried to call in some more turkeys.

We saw lots of turkeys that day. We saw another trophy tom. We saw some jakes and some hens. It was incredible seeing all of these birds but none were close enough to take aim at.

The next day we tried moving the blind to where they seemed to be walking but they didn’t come near us. After looking at the blind and the woods it was painfully obvious why. Our blind was bright green and the woods were still very brown.

All I could think about was how I had screwed up my turkey hunt. My guide was a bit frustrated with me.

‘This is what hunting is dear. Most of the time you don’t see anything. Then when you do they have to be close enough to shoot. Then you have a chance of missing. You have to take away the good things.”

He was right. I needed to take away the good things. We had seen lots of birds. Even though I messed up and the turkey ran away, how cool was it that we walked right under him and he jumped down right in front of us. The weather was amazing: sunny, 50-70 degrees. You couldn’t have asked for a better hunting season. Plus, there was this squirrel that was running all over the place. He dug in the ground and looked like he discovered the jackpot because he quickly covered the hole back up and patted it in with his paws while looking around to make sure no one was watching him. Too funny.

I had finally come to terms with this experience and had told myself it would be OK if we didn’t get on any more turkeys.

We decided that for the last day we would hunt off of the ground with our backs to the trees, which is how I always envisioned turkey hunting in the first place, since our blind stood out like a sore thumb.

We were covered from head to toe in camo. We walked into the woods. We sat about 20 feet apart so he could call in the turkeys and we waited. We heard some far away so decided to move.

We set up against some different trees and started calling again. We were in a clearing at the top of a hill. I was sitting there & enjoying the great outdoors when a turkey walked up over the hill. My heart jumped into my throat and my stomach turned upside down.

Was I really going to get another shot? The turkey walked towards our decoy. I couldn’t tell if it was a jake or hen. I looked to my hunting guide and he shook his head signifying he couldn’t tell either.

The turkey started chirping at the decoy. I sat still. At the very least this turkey might call in some toms and act as a real live decoy for us. I kept looking for the beard but the angles were terrible as it stayed behind my decoy while walking around.

It looked like it was going to walk away and then it turned around. I saw the beard and I knew I had a jake. I looked to my guide and he was nodding at me.

The turkey puffed up his chest and started walking towards the decoy. Apparently the sweet talking hadn’t worked so now he was going to show her how big & manly he was. I slowly started to raise my gun. I positioned myself so that my gun was resting on my knee. My heart was beating fast & hard. I paused and looked to my guide and he nodded. His expression was telling me I could do this. I took aim. I breathed a couple times. I gripped my gun firmly, pulled the trigger, and he fell down instantly.

My guide yelled out a hunter’s cry of success. He came over to me and I was staring wide-eyed at the turkey who had stopped twitching almost as instantly as it had fallen down. It was a great shot. He asked me how it felt. I don’t even remember what I said. I’m assuming something like, that was crazy, that was amazing. My first big game kill.

I carried my turkey out of the woods. I registered it. The guy asked if it was my first. I’m sure it was painfully obvious I was a novice hunter by my facial expressions. Once we got back to where we were staying, my guide showed me how to clean up the turkey and we vacuum sealed it up. Now I get to cook with the wild game that I had provided. Bonus…I had barely ruined any of the meat! Hardly any of it had to be cut away so the shot really was as perfect as it could have been.

This hunting experience was incredible on so many levels. Yes, I could have had a mountable turkey, but I ended up with so much more. Hunting is more than the harvest. It’s about taking away the little things. It’s learning new skills. I gained a lot of valuable hunting experiences. I gained life insight. I left the woods that day with more than a bird.

Feeling Almost Rosey

Put Those Glasses On

Being Minnesotan