The Annual Hunting Trip

Second week of December 2006:

Winter is moving in and the camping and sailing gear has been put aside. Now it is time for our annual deer hunting expedition.

Each December we travel with Sharon's father to New Jersey and go deer hunting while visiting Sharon's sister and her family. We are meat hunters --- not trophy hunters. We love the taste of wild meats and each hunting season we replenish our chest freezer so that we have venison to eat the rest of the year. Venison is leaner and is not contaminated with any hormones, etc. so it is just about the only red meat that we eat.

Because deer have become a nuisance in New Jersey due to increased population densities they consequently have fairly liberal deer harvesting regulations. You can basically shoot as many does (female deer) as you need and up to two or three bucks. With the help of Glen (our brother in law) who is our resident expert hunter and guide we do our best to satisfy our needs. We usually hunt from tree stands. We harvest and process all the deer ourselves. Nothing is wasted. We even donate the hides to a fellow who processes them. We return home with enough roasts, venison hamburger, and stew meat to satisfy the needs of two families for the year to come.