Woman Midwest-style

Calhoun, MO My mom knew I loved the woods and she knew Jesus watches over her little huntress... as I venture out every fall. I miss her.  Everyone had eaten Christmas dinner, I was ten or so, six inches of snow on the ground.  Iowa white Christmases were as common as cardinals calling outside my bedroom window, their red a vibrant contrast to a snow-topped evergreen tree. My brother and sisters chased each other in the snow. We were happy to be outside with all the grownups inside. My memories of those frigid Iowa days make me miss the woods so much, my foot hoisted on top of the sofa. I longed to to go hunting and fishing this year more than ever. I missed hunting for three years while recuperating from reconstructive surgeries and my foot in a cast in 2015. Hunting and the woods is my church.  Anyone who loves and respects God's green earth knows what hunting does for a person's soul. It's not the thrill or bang of a powerful rifle... Winter h

       A boat ride in pitch dark across the coves, a rocky hillside climb was the start of our deer season open...      Cold water chopped at the hull as we raced through the main channel. Ed's DIY boat headlights shone along past the cold waves, revealing jagged stubs of trees. In the summertime they are connected by jugs strung on trot-lines, bobbing with an occasional Channel-cat on, suspended in the deep water.      We skirted past those wooden stalagmites left standing when the channel was flooded, forming the lake. My quilted vest collar wrapped snug against my neck, I braced against the chilly November wind that hugged the shoreline. Fun memories of summer fishing quickly subsided in hopes of a shot at a good deer beyond the boulders, and tree limbs strewn en masse that made my climb difficult with a backpack and rife strapped to my back. I felt more like a pack-mule. And just as stubborn.      My husband guided me, shone the mega flashlight along the rubble t

GREAT FOR DIGESTION, CALMING, ANTIBIOTIC  Sensitive tummy?  Has your buddy eaten something that gave him diarrhea or vomits on your carpet?  Eeeeew.  Here's a Pepto-doggie-dinner.     You want to use every morsel of the deer but the family just can't do deer organs?  So you make dog food.  It's veterinarian approved too.  This can be made in increments, as time allows.            This recipe: Cook meat and rice.  A dd all raw ingredients and herbs, bag up later.     DEER HEART 3 cups  white  RICE( apx.)* 1 T. GRD. CINNAMON HANDFUL CUT STEM PARSLEY} CHOPPED FINE}  A FEW LEAVES SWEET BASIL}              "                 } MAKES 1/2 CUP 1 T. RAW HONEY HANDFUL DRIED APRICOTS, CHOPPED  SMALL SCOOP (1 T. MELTED) VIRGIN RAW COCONUT OIL 3/4 C. COTTAGE CHEESE 1/2 C. (MIX)GRAVY OR 1 SMALL JAR 1-2 SECTIONS FRESH GARLIC    1/2- full deer heart cooked in slow cooker: start on high covered w/water, till water dissipates.  Add more water o