Deer Camp

Last Friday, we (again) hit the road right after school. Rudy dropped off Caleb and me at Mom's in Hot Springs and continued on down the road to deer camp in Fordyce. Saturday morning, Mom, Caleb and I got in the car and drove down to meet the boys there.

When we got to camp, Rudy was still on his stand, but some of the guys (Mr. L. included) were back at the camp. Everyone was talking about what they saw and didn't see in the woods that morning and making plans for the afternoon hunt. Caleb was thrilled to see "Pops" and we quickly got him changed into his deer camp clothes - Carhartt overalls, and orange shirt and a camo jacket. He was awfully cute...as deer camp attire goes. We roasted hot dogs for lunch and never even considered trying to get Caleb to take a nap. He rode the 4-wheeler with Rudy and again with Pops...and again...and again...and again. We also took Caleb's mini-4-wheeler and he enjoyed riding it all over camp. One of the guys brought his first grade son and he had a real 4-wheeler, so Caleb was enthralled with doing whatever Matthew did!

Rudy also took Caleb and I for a family ride through the woods, which was a nice getaway for us all. We listened to the Hogs lose yet another football game and spent the evening around the firepit and roasted some marshmallows for s'mores. It was nice to have Mr.L's new camper to sleep in - plenty of room, a bathroom and even a fridge. When we got up on Sunday, the guys went out to hunt again and Mom, Caleb and I took our time getting up and around. When Rudy got back from hunting, we started packing up our stuff to hit the road.

Before we left, Jessica and Jason brought in the does that they had killed. Caleb wasn't so sure about that. Of course, he had no idea that the deer were dead. He wanted to feed them, because we had told him that the grain in the shed was deer food. We told him that he couldn't feed them because they were sleeping. He was okay with that, except that their eyes were open. I tried not to be squeamish as he petted the deer's back (far away from the bullet wound!). Then he told us all that one of the deer had a "boo-boo." That was the end of that. Mom and I distracted him and moved him on to other things.

Neither of the guys in our family got a deer this weekend, but that wasn't really what it was about this time...at least not for me. On the other hand, Mr. L. got a 9 point buck this morning - the biggest deer he's ever gotten.