Random Thoughts of Hunting Season

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.
Psalm 18:33

(Random deer-related Scripture passage for your reflection.)


Its hunting season in the Northern Tier.
This means that school is closed, and we have a number of out of town 'guests' hoping to bag a deer and take it on back to the Main Line or wherever.
They come with their rifles and half the Cabela's catalog, but around here, sometimes you just need to be at the right place at the right time.
The owners of the company where I work are here to hunt on their property behind the building with their kids. Which basically means I run for my car at lunchtime like I'm trying to make the last chopper out of Saigon. A far cry from my previous workplace, where the one (1) guy who hunted would be away for a couple of days and then come back with photos of his prize buck, only to have the girls in the 'pit' look on disapprovingly and say "Oh, its so saaaad....why did you have to shoot it?" He'd then roll his eyes and spot me some venison jerky, which is delicious enough to convert the most hardcore vegetarian. Hope you had a good season, Mark.
They say the herds are healthy but there are less of them this year. I don't know what counts as a herd but I've only seen 4 or 5 at a time this week. Only once did I ever see a true deer herd.
I was in Bradford County, travelling up to see Bryan when we were just engaged. I drove in the cold, clear night down a twisting country road that opened out on a small valley just below Route 220 and there in the field was a herd of deer. I stopped. They were far below me and unconcerned with traffic on the road. I couldn't begin to count them. A few larger ones on the periphery were not grazing, just standing there as if they were keeping watch over the rest, the bright moon shining silver on their backs. All at once a few in the back reared up and stamped the ground and the whole group took off running in the same direction. I could hear their hooves pounding the ground as they ran, and in moments they were a memory of wind and silence.

Good luck and safe hunting, everybody.