A Family Heritage: Hunting

Hunting.... so controversial..... I know some of you who dislike the practice, and I know some of you who are avid hunters, and others who dont care one way or another... this post is for all of you.

The men in our family have been hunting together longer than I've been apart of it. Prior to opening day, they sight in their rifles, load bullets and scout. It is of utmost importance the animals taken do not suffer. Being a good shot is imperative. Opening day they have their plan set, their routes chosen and they work together to bring the beasts down. They laugh, work hard, play, bond and strengthen their relationships by hunting together. I have a sign in my bathroom that says "this marriage has been interrupted for hunting season"..... its funny but true. Lol!!!! Do I mind? Doesn’t this “hobby” cost a ton? Nope and nope. When one of the guys gets an animal down, they work together to pull it out of the woods, clean and hang it. Some of my very best memories with this family have been made over a table full of fresh elk meat being cut and wrapped and readied for the freezer. The hunting has evolved over the years and the participants vary... there are always adventures and stories from each season. No two are alike. Where does this leave the women and children?

Well... if you think we are gonna let the guys have all the glory, you are wrong. When those fellas get the beast down, the kids and I get our coats and boots on and we go check out the kill. We congratulate the hunters and make plans for a celebratory meal... a big breakfast or a warm, tasty dinner.... we pet the animal, answer the kids’ questions and inspect the beauty of the creature. We give thanks to God for the provision of meat for the coming year and we thank the animal for its life sacrifice to feed us. Meat in the freezer is cause for great celebration in this house. It means we don’t have to buy beef for at least a year!

After the animal has hung for whatever length of time the season's weather allows, it's our turn!!! I am partial to cutting up my own meat. I can control the cuts and amounts per package. It’s tailored to last us the longest and I waste as little as possible. The work keeps my children and I connected with our food. The butchering process (which can be traced in my own family for generations back) is amazing. The way God knits each muscle together… I love it!!!! I work in my kitchen - and make an effort to keep the house cool.

The name “Horse” was given to this elk by our daughter.

Packaging the meat is the most fun. I cover the table with freezer paper and the kids get the art supplies out. They color and sing and draw. They help decorate the packages and also do school by learning to write words on the wrapping paper. Its homeschool and homesteading all in one!!!! We always name our animals....even the ones that live in the woods. We write that name (rather than its boring generic name like “elk”) on each package that way when we open them through the year we remember the story of the animal. Everything we do is aimed to honor God and the animal.

In this day and age, where our food is handled by processing lines and machines, kept in stock yards, shipped thousands of miles and fattened on “who knows what”, we have so lost contact with our food. Children no longer know that chicken comes from chicken. How can we monitor the way the animals we eat are treated with such distance between the farm and our table???

I encourage you all this year to make a change. Get connected with your food. Take one step closer to a farm near you. Hunt. Purchase local meat. Buy your meat directly from a butcher instead of a large grocery store. Learn to process your own meat, if you currently hire a butcher.. Visit the farm you purchased your meat from. Make a commitment to step up your meat choice. It is the only way to hold people accountable for how they’re treating the animals that are raised for our food. They are first animals that God created. He beautifully knit them together and breathed the breath of life into each one. We are commissioned, called and privileged to care for the animals of this earth.

I pray you are all blessed as you make this move toward local, well-treated and loved meat.

Thank you Jesus for a full freezer!