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Living up on the foothills was fun because of the wild animals that lived there, Raccoons, Fox and Deer to name a few. The Deer were a real pain. They are beautiful animals and they like to eat just like any animal. The problem though, is the Deer eat the fruit trees in the yard. Now this was not a real bad problem most years. But because Steve lived up on the mountain, out of heavy residential areas, Steve’s dad was able to acquire a permit to shoot the Deer that raided the orchard of fruit trees at the top of the property.
Late at night, with a high-powered flashlight and rifle, Steve and his dad would climb up the mountain along the ridge above Larry’s house. Sometimes Larry would tag along with Steve. The idea was to shine the flashlight across the valley on the opposite ridge. The Deer’s eyes would shine back when hit by the light. That was all you could see, just two eyes, two little dots. Steve’s dad would kneel down and aim for the Deer’s eyes while Steve held the flashlight. Steve couldn’t hold still for longer than a few seconds, so sometimes that meant no Venison in the freezer.
One night Steve was out in the dog kennel playing with Tommy Dog and Steve spotted a Deer up on the ridge. He went inside to tell his dad. His dad was in bed. Still in his underwear, shorts and shirt, he grabbed one of the rifles from the cabinet and they both left to get the Deer.
They climbed up the ridge above Larry’s house. Steve shined the flashlight through the dark and scanned the side of the opposite ridge with the flashlight. There it was, two small glowing spots frozen in the light of the flashlight surrounded by the black night.
His dad kneeled down and started to take aim at the two small spots. “Hold still” he commanded. Steve concentrated on holding the light flashlight still. “Christ. Can’t you hold still for a few seconds?” His dad got up and shoved the rifle into Steve’s hand and grabbed the flashlight away. “OK. We’ll be out here all night. I’ll hold the damn flashlight. Aim for the eyes and slowly squeeze the trigger.” Steve crouched down in a sitting position and took aim at the glowing spots on the other ridge. He slowly squeezed the trigger and the gun went off. The two glowing spots disappeared in the darkness.
“OK Steve. Now let’s go see if you hit anything.” Steve and his dad climbed down the ridge, across the valley and started up the ridge where the deer was supposed to be. As they got close to the top, Steve spotted the Deer lying on its side, still alive. He was gut shot. “Hand me your knife Steve.” Steve took out his knife handing it to his dad. He bent over and then slit the Deer’s throat, and then he handed the knife back to Steve. “Field dress it and take the meat to the garage. I ‘m going back to my bed.”
Well, there he was with the flashlight in one hand and the knife in the other. Steve had watched his father field dress a lot of Deer over the years. So he knew what to do. He had just never done it before. This was a real honor.
Steve got down on his knees and rolled the Deer over on its back, then he set the flashlight down to shine across the belly of the Deer. It was kind of cool out that night and Steve’s hands were a little cold. Carefully he drew the sharp knife down the Deer’s belly, cutting it open in a straight line. Then he stuck his hands inside the Deer to pull out the guts.
Steve quickly jerked his hands back out startled. The inside of the Deer was very hot and actually burned Steve’s hands. This was a real surprise. Steve had forgotten that living animals had body temperatures that get hot. He opened up the belly to allow the steam to rise and the guts to cool.
That was lucky for Steve. He discovered that the bladder and large intestines were open and leaking. The Deer’s stomach had been torn open and there was chewed green stuff all over. Steve knew nothing could ruin the meat faster than the juices that were beginning to flow from the ruptured organs. Careful to keep the juices confined, he started from the rear and carefully worked his way to the front cutting and pulling out the organs.
That’s not how he saw his dad do it, but he decided that the ruptured organs demanded attention first. Steve dressed the Deer, hoisted it to his back and took it to the garage. Steve was very proud of what had taken place that night.
Venison was one of Steve’s most very favorite kinds of meat, especially fresh Venison liver, which was strange because Steve wouldn’t eat Beef liver. Steve got a little carried away after he hung the Deer.
Steve didn’t stop at hanging the Deer to “cure the meat”; he should have. Steve decided to skin the Deer as well. This was a mistake. Steve didn’t know the first thing about skinning any kind of animal, except a Rattlesnake. He figured he did such a good job field dressing that he could skin it as well.
Steve ruined some very good stakes that night. He put deep cuts through the meat where he slipped with the knife. And he put short cuts through the hide, which meant that Steve’s dad would have a fresh supply of chamois to wash the car instead of a nice tanned complete hide.
His dad was proud Steve took the initiative and skinned the Deer, but was not happy at all with the mess Steve made of the meat and hide.
The next day Steve’s dad made him take a shovel and go up on the ridge and bury the Deer guts. That’s when Steve discovered he had left behind two very important items the night before, his knife and the heart. The knife would go home with Steve, but the heart had to be buried along with the rest of the mess. That was a shame, because Steve thought the heart was one of the tenderest parts of the meat. More important though, was how great the meat tasted from the very first Deer Steve ever killed, field dressed, hung, skinned and literally butchered; and it meant that come next season, there might actually be fruit on the trees.
Not much ever went to waist when it came to utilizing most every part of the wild game brought home to eat. Steve’s dad had collected all the deer hides and had them tanned. All the fur was removed leaving a very smooth surface. The Deer leather was soft and warm when held next to the skin. It had a smell that was kind of warm. Does that make any sense? Steve’s dad had a jacket and pants made out of the tanned hides for Steve’s mother. His mother looked beautiful in the custom-made leather suite. Feathers from the Pheasants and Quail were used to tie flies for fishing Trout and Bass. Times weren’t the same as they were before modern tools and stuff, but Steve’s dad usually found something to do with the left over parts. Fact was, since man invented the steel needle, it wasn’t necessary to save the bones.
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