I had one of those days where the quality of my friends shone clear and obvious today.
I usually have a sense of how great they are, but today was one where they really stood up for me. It wasn’t anything major, just picking out skis, but it felt great.
I have a confession: I don’t ski. I’ve lived in the Kootenays since May 2007 and I haven’t skied or snowboarded.
I know, right?
I’ve put off writing about shooting my first turkey for weeks now. I should’ve written about the hunt right away, but I wanted to wait until the bird was cooked so I could share some photos of the end product: turkey dinner.
I wanted to wait because people seem to get hung up on the killing part of hunting, missing the real point: food. I thought if I waited until I could show photos of the cooked bird maybe some people would understand why I and many others choose to hunt.
Here’s dinner, which fed my wife, mom and two friends (OK, there was a ham in there too, but still, my bird – all six pounds – was the centre piece).
If you’re not comfortable with descriptions of the slaughtering process you might want to move along. I spent yesterday with blood-stained hands and now I’ve got the hankering to write about it.
I spent yesterday pretty much attached at the shoulder to a 70-year-old slaughter master, trying to absorb a lifetime of knowledge about turning a living animal into a side of meat. It was inspiring.
The master’s name was Glenn, a wiry fellow no bigger than me with a bad back who used a walking stick to move about. Jim Ross, the blogger behind the Accidental Farmer, hired Glenn to run the slaughter at his Slocan Park farm. We had seven pigs destined to become chops, sausages, hams, ribs and bacon.
Pigs. Photo courtesy of Jim Ross.
This was my second day helping out. The first was a couple of weeks back and Glenn ran that day too. This time around I was more keen to learn from Glenn, so I was at his side, handing him knives, saws and lending a hand where I could.
I quickly remembered the steps involved and felt great satisfaction as I was able to anticipate what Glenn needed, having the right tool ready when he needed it. Over the rumble of the Bobcat (used to hoist the animals which averaged out at 235 pounds) I’d ask Glenn questions as he expertly cut out the organs.
The skill and knowledge contained in Glenn’s mind is something fewer and fewer have, which is why I got so involved. I want to know how to do what he does and I think I’ve got the steps down and I’m going to record them here. The real learning comes when you wield a knife, said Dave, another helper yesterday. I have no doubt he’s right, but having this part down in writing is a good start.
I think it’s important to do this. The fact is someday Glenn won’t be cutting meat and when that happens, a concrete, valuable skill will be harder to find.
Juliet (of Romeo & Juliet) wondered whether a rose would smell as sweet were it called another name. I don’t know if I’d smell any different under another name, but I’ve been thinking about nicknames lately.
It came up the other day when I got a call from Ian. Ian was the best man at my wedding: a buddy from high school days, we went to UBC together, swam varsity and drank more than we ought to have (or maybe not, we both survived into adulthood after all).
Ian called and I answered it as I usually do: “Chris speaking.”
“I’m looking for Sheps, not Chris,” Ian replied.
The usual BSing and catching up ensued.
To him, and everyone from those swimming days, I’m Sheps. Not Chris. One of them called me Chris on purpose, just to sound weird. It was very weird.
I took my rifle out to the range yesterday, working to get familiar with this new tool before deer season opens up.
I’m new to firearms and hunting and don’t have any family to guide me through this fascinating new process. Yesterday I made a comment on Facebook about how my shoulder was a little sore from shooting the rifle, a 30-06 Savage. I videoed the process and was amused at the way you could see the rifle slam my shoulder.
The thing is, I thought I had it snugged against my shoulder already, but watching that made me think I need to press harder.
I’d be curious to hear any other feedback you hunters might have.
