a hunting trip

yes, that's right. i went hunting. i know several of you are shocked and appalled. some have even threatened to withhold their friendship. perhaps i was channeling my inner redneck. maybe i lost my mind for a few hours ('cause it was COLD!). or maybe i just wanted to hang out with some of my favorite people, and they wanted to hunt. 

our day started at 0430. not because it had to, but because my mother can't seem to set an alarm clock properly. her "phone messed up". uh huh. sure it did. an hour later, when it was actually time to get up, i put on my five layers, coat and gloves, got my chapstick and my hand warmers and waddled out the door into the crisp, dark morning (i feel certain that my comma placement in that sentence is lacking, but i just don't care). 

we were in boze hollow, a magical place that my grandparents own. my grandfather built the cabin himself, years ago, then added on to it later to make it a perfectly livable place. there's electricity, heat, running water, two lofts (so fun to sleep in), a king-size bed and even a jacuzzi tub and washer/dryer. it's down in a valley (the "hollow") surrounded by beautiful, deer-laden hills. he has tree stands and blinds built all along the property. you can actually even hunt from the front porch if you're so inclined. my grandmother has made it beautiful with plenty of warm and cozy things, cabin-appropriate decor, and yummy food. my mom and step-dad had decorated it for thanksgiving and the big stone fireplace had been roaring all week. 

stepping out into the hollow is one of my favorite things to do. it's just really such a beautiful place. on this morning, it was still dark, with thousands of stars shining brightly in the sky. we walked in silence, the three of us, towards the deer stand, our boots crunching softly on the frosty ground. we squeezed ourselves into the tall stand, arranged ourselves and our gear, and we waited. i think i fell asleep at one point; i'm not very good at waiting. then my mom and i got the giggles and couldn't stop. by that point, we had only seen a couple of young does (which we decided not to shoot at), our giggles had likely scared away every animal within a few miles, and we were freezing, so we decided to pack it up. 

no sooner had we stood up and started moving our gear around did we hear a rustling down below us. we all froze in our tracks and looked out of the stand. the two does we had seen far off in the distance earlier had returned, and were standing just below our deer stand. they were prancing through the grass, picking their feet up quickly in a staccato-like movement, to avoid the cold ground, something i have never seen. they looked right at us and just stopped, their fluffy white tails raised high (in what i am told is preparation for something fairly PG-13). they pranced around for a few seconds, stopping to look our way a few times, and then they were off, bouncing through the woods. i'm sure there was a buck nearby, but we never saw him. we got back to the cabin, warmed our bones by the fire and with strong coffee, and haven't been able to stop talking about the beautiful does we saw. so near to us. so quiet. 

i went hunting to be with people i love. it isn't something i thought i would enjoy, but i actually kind of did. it was cold, and early, and maybe i'll take a book next time, but i'd like to go again. maybe one day i'll even learn to shoot and grow a beard.