Winter has arrived here in Saskatchewan, Canada (The big prairie province in the center of Canada on any map), it actually arrived last Monday but only an inch or 2 of snow fell, along with the freezing rain which made the roads a real joy to drive on
Anyway we are getting another 2 or 4 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow (so says the weatherman), I dont mind the snow, its the stupid rain that comes with it that I hate.
I have readied the house and property for winter, I began doing so near the beginning of October as I am old enough to feel it in my bones, that and I observe nature to see what the plants, birds, and animals are doing, they are a good indicator of weather be it good or bad.
A Canadian winter is brutal, but I tell you this.... you havent truly lived until you have survived a Saskatchewan winter! ( those of you in Alaska would be the only other folks who could relate, and those in various areas of Russia as well ), Saskatchewan has 2 seasons , Hotter than Hades or Colder than a Witches tit on Sunday! there is no gentle reprieve between the 2, its either 1 or the other.
I have prepared my family for the next 6 months of brutal winter storms, I have winterized the house by shoving expanding foam into and all cracks,cleaning the furnace and ducts,stocked up on furnace filters,put poly over all the windows (outside),stacked 90lb square hay bales around the foundation perimeter,insulated all the water pipes and sewer lines, I also stocked up on essentials like Crap Wrap!!(toilet paper), nothing worse than running out when its 40 below zero during a winter blizzard and you have to drive 26 miles to the nearest Walmart or Costco to get more!!
I finally made it out hunting and have a chest freezer full of half a deer (I split it with my sister), 4 ducks and 2 geese, theres enough room for about 40lbs of store bought meat, I plan on heading out to the Hutterite colony next week to buy some of their chickens and a couple turkeys as well as 50lbs of taters. Hutterites are like Amish only they do use electricity drive cars and use modern farm machinery, they dont how ever have television radios and such, no individual owns any property or money they share among the colony , they do believe any outsider is doomed to eternal Hell but are always happy to sell their goods to us damned sinners, they have great prices too, far better than retail stores or warehouse stores, so I do business with them quite often.
I took our 12 year old son "Hammy" out hunting for the first time, the killing of the deer disturbed him enough that he had us bow our heads in prayer for it and say thank you to the deer for giving its life to provide us with meat throughout the winter.
I am so very proud of him and his insistence taught me a lot about the kind of man he is slowly becoming, of course cleaning the deer almost made him pass out, but nothing went to waste, the innards that cant be used were left for the turkey vultures, coyotes, and foxes, the antlers I will mount and varnish so my son can use it as a hat rack ( he loves his ball caps), the hide will eventually be sold and the meat I divided between my sister and her family and myself and my family.
Some folks would argue that its wrong to take a 12 year old boy hunting and to teach him how to hunt,kill,and clean an animal...those people are what I like to call moronic busybodies who would (if given their way) put every kid in bubble wrap and make them watch barney all day, totally out of touch with reality. you teach a kid that killing is serious and not just a video game they will develop compassion and empathy for the animals and they understand the food chain better, it also teaches them ethics and makes them look at the food industry closely.
Will our son grow up to be a hunter? probably not, but he will have the ability to do so to provide for his family should he ever in his life have to, most likely he will get his food from the store just as the vast majority do, and like I usually do, I hunt for a few reasons, #1 it culls the herds so there is less starvation during winter (means more deer survive the winters to have baby deers in the spring), #2 I supplement our grocery store food with wild game which makes my grocery bill less expensive (handy when finances occasionally get tight), #3 its bonding time with my male friends who hunt, we have something in common and do it for the same reasons, and this year the new reason #4 was to teach our son about life and what it means to take a life. you just cant teach that sort of thing in school, its something you need to learn and experience first hand. (PETA is gonna be up my ass for this blog entry)
guess thats all for now
Butch
easy wood projects to build
