Hunting season is over

Bub hasn’t hunted for 6 years, until recently.   He got a buck back in 2000,  and then in the early winter of 2002 he landed a #10 common nail in the center of his right eye.  He was building a supporting wall in the basement, was tired and miss hit the nail above his head.  Not wearing safety glasses, it went straight in and bounced back out after trashing the retina.  When he first came out of reconstruction surgery, he said that he thought that the corneal transplant was from an older black women.   He doesn’t remember saying that to us, he was still pretty drugged up, but given that the cornea was from a deceased donor……..

Bub’s vision in his right eye is pretty bad.  He has not shown any interest in hunting since the injury.  He shoots using his right eye, and shooting lefty for him feels odd he says.

However,  Vivian called and reported on his 8 pointer and Bub caught buck fever.  His hunting blind was our kitchen.  We have a good view of the pasture below and without the sheep in residence,  several deer have come up to nibble. You don’t need a hunting license to hunt on your own land, or to hunt out of your kitchen.

Buck fever is such a strange disease.  A generally normal adult man, who has good logical thinking skills looses all common sense and sensibility.   The general etiquette and behavior around the kitchen changes as the day’s light begins to fade and the kitchen becomes his hunting stand.

No talking aloud and no going outside, which will startle the deer.  Also, don’t honk the horn as you are driving into the driveway.  Also, keep the lights low and don’t distract him while he is on stand. ( actually he is standing at the sliding glass door to the deck, which is his stand. )

Bub did get two shots off on a buck and missed.  He brought his rilfe up to his father’s on Thursday to site the scope and discovered that the scope was not off, but his shot was.  Buck fever.   You see the buck, bring it up in the cross hairs, then yank at the gun as you fire off a shot, causing the gun to jerk and the bullet to sail off the intended mark.  That was a few days before Thanksgiving.

We had a second Thanksgiving on Saturday when the kids were home.   Bub did well to let us get the dinner all cooked and served.   He had a bit of a fit when I suggested that the little kids go out for a walk with Jesse and lulu after the meal.  Bump and Screech had been so good for the afternoon a bit of fresh air for them and a bit of quiet for the adults was needed.  Buck Fever means that one is very sensitive to the amount of light and time left a the end of the day when the deer might be moving again.

Hunting season, specifically rifle, is done for the year as of tonight.  Bub has plans for next year and is dreaming of apple trees and alphafa. I have plans of helping him build a blind somewhere other then in the kitchen, especially while Thanksgiving always falls in hunting season.

He will come to his senses in a few days.  Now he remains abit touchy about it and sees me as being unflexable in terms of not wanting him to have target practice off the deck this winter, shells flying all over the kitchen.  Go figure.