[CD1]

I went bow hunting on a friends farm Sunday. I stalked and shot a doe that morning with my new bow. I was very happy with the way the hunt went (short version for the sake of brevity). After I heard her drop and retrieved my arrow I went back to the house to tell my buddy, and get his boys (kindergarten and first grade) to come help track the deer. They had never touched a deer or seen one up close. They were fired up to go out and help.

When we got out to the start of the blood trail, I explained what we were doing and how we would do it. I picked up a bloody leaf for each of them so they could use it as a reference. The blood trail was not difficult to follow. never-the-less, they were as excited as they could be and showed great enthusiasm the whole time. We found the deer and I introduced them to gutting. I got all of the faces and phrases one would expect from kids their age...and I loved it.

My buddy told me that after I left, they hounded him all day to drive by the gutpile again. They would get out and inspect, note what the buzzards had eaten, then go back and tell their mom all about it. He told me that they both wanted to wear their camoflauge to school the next day, and that his boy in kindergarten told in "show and tell" that he held a warm deer heart the day before. I bet the kid next in line took a seat after hearing that. My boy is almost two now, and I can't wait to pass it all on to him.