THE DOE THAT GOT AWAY
I wanted to teach my daughter to deer hunt after years of yummy venison steak and deer burgers. Eager to learn, on the last day of rifle season two years ago, she got her first lesson. B efore we stepped foot in the timber, she and I came across a dead 11 pt buck lying in tall icy grass. This buck was frozen solid. F reshly preserved. There was nobody to call to find out about it. I had to explain the morals of hunting she'd never experienced. Deer run off all the time and this one hadn't escaped the bullet, the hunter lost track, maybe too dark to see it, frustrated and tired, gone home. It’s only speculation. Being frozen now, the meat would still be good. We left it overnight, returning at daybreak, put my husband's strong arm to use. I tagged it, checked it IN via my phone app. Ed and I cut it and carried it 1/4 mile to the truck in sections. 'My' buck would not go to waste to feed coyotes or a big kitty. In following years, Ed and I drove t