OMG OMG OMG - A WHOLE DEER!!

A WHOLE DEER - Whoo Hoo!

OH YEAH... FEAST YOUR EYES ON THAT!!

Yes -that is a WHOLE DEER in a cooler.

One of our neighbors is an avid hunter and even though here in NC rifle season doesn't start until the 16th, he's used a bow and arrow to already bring down several deer.

They called me today and asked if I wanted this one, and I was over there so fast I left cartoon-like swirls of dust hanging in my wake!

I suspect that they get so many deer that butchering them starts to feel like a real chore, and having done it myself only once before I can attest that it is quite a bit of work, but it is SO TOTALLY WORTH IT.

Venison roasts!
Venison jerky!
Ground venison, which can be turned into juicy venison burgers!
Venison STEAKS!

My mouth is seriously starting to water as I think of all the possibilities.

I do plan on hunting this year - in fact, it'll be my first year as an active hunter!  I've gone out before, bringing a 'gun man' (somebody who was actually licensed to hunt) to do the real shooting but we didn't manage to get anything.

But this year I have a deer stand all ready AND I got my hunting license last year!  Even thought we have this deer, I'm definitely still going to try to get my own.  It feels like a rite of passage in a way.  I really want to create a lifestyle of living closely with the seasons and eating 'real' food, and a big part of that is going through the preparation and work it takes to acquire that food.

The way I think about it, venison is one of the healthiest meat options we have.  It's local, grass-fed, and lean.  Not only that, but it's also delicious and cheap.  I seriously want to get to a point where I shoot enough deer each hunting season to last us the rest of the year.

Well, I guess I know what I'll be doing the rest of the weekend.  But a weekend's worth of butchering and packaging for the freezer means months of delicious venison, right at our fingertips.  In fact, I might just have to start with the meal planning......