Happy Monday, dear friends! I hope everyone had the best Thanksgiving – I know I did! I have to say, I really love getting to hang out with family (including soon-to-be family!) and friends, and having a few days to take it easy (sort of) and do pretty much anything! The past few days were so much fun, and definitely filled with lots of activities. I also think I might turn into a turkey if I eat one more turkey sandwich…
What a happy Friday, indeed, friends! Perusing the calendar earlier this week, I realized that today marks the one-year “birthday” of the bright side of the road! My mind is torn – I can’t decide if I feel like it has been much longer than one year, or just a few short months. But, with 87 posts, nearly 15,000 {just looked again we – are at nearly 17,000!!!} views, and a whole bunch of happy, happy news in between, I guess a year really makes sense! Didn’t we just reach 10,000? Gahh I feel like that was just last week, and that was the end of September! Well, let me just throw in another big THANK YOU to all of you readers! This has really been such a fun experience for me, and I look forward to delivering more stories and more recipes in the upcoming months. {Duck season is oh-so-close…!!!!}
Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a good week so far… I have to say, it is hard sitting in an office after spending a weekend outside in beautiful weather! We headed up to Georgetown Friday evening, although we didn’t make it there in time to get in the stand before it got dark. No bother! There’s always Saturday, I told myself. Besides, who would want to miss this sunset view as you arrive?
Trailing a wounded deer (or hog), that is. I can definitely recall quite a few hunts where I just knew that I was not going to be able to find my animal, only to follow a few simple steps and wind up just feet away from that tell-tale white belly or that giant {motionless} black mound atop crunchy brown leaves. Of course we’d all prefer the “drop it where it stands” kind of success, but that can’t always be the case!
Do you ever hear things while you are in the woods hunting? Like, things that the person sitting in the stand next to you doesn’t hear? That’s definitely how I am. About 8 years ago, my dad and I were deer hunting, and I kept hearing a specific noise that I just knew was some animal walking through the woods. My dad kept telling me that a.) he couldn’t hear anything and b.) I was probably hearing squirrels… Or nothing, that my ears were playing tricks on me. But, I stood by my conviction and sure enough, not 5 minutes later, 7 turkeys came strolling out of the woods in a line. Hah! Told you I wasn’t crazy, Dad. Even after seeing them, he still hasn’t heard those turkeys. Bottom line – trust me. When I think I hear something in the woods, there is something in the woods. Regular every day life? Not so much. But in the woods – bionic ears.
That sounds dramatic, but it’s really not. I’m not joking – best. weekend. ever. In the history of weekends! Oh, where do I begin? Remember last week when I said I was planning on sitting in the stand some over the weekend? Well… I did. Trusty John knew how anxious I was to bag a deer, so he got me in the stand to start off our weekend in Georgetown. Despite running late, and a rainy front moving in, I entered the woods at 5:30 Friday afternoon/evening to begin my first official deer hunt of the season. I always sit down with too much adrenaline, often finding myself moving around/making far more noise than intended, so I made a point to chill out sit still and just enjoy being in the stand. Aaand 45 minutes later I found myself taking a plethora of photos to pass the time more quickly.
So things have been a little slow around here on the hunting front, and I know the bright side of the road has suffered from boredom as of late. I genuinely have not had time to sit in the stand. Meh. Anyone out there want to hire me to hunt and fish and test recipes and pay me for it? Pleeeease?! I promise I’ll be the best you’ve ever seen!
Ahh… Digression aside… I saw this photo a little while back and literally giggled out loud. I just couldn’t help it. Now that the weather is cooling off a bit, I am working to make more time for a few hunts… Hunts that will hopefully lead to something like this.
Even though duck season doesn’t officially get started until November around here, I figured this would be as good a time as any to give you your essentials list for those fun-filled months. October 1 has brought with it the most glorious reprieve from South Carolina summer heat, and I know the next few months will be fantastic. What about early teal season, you ask? I had plenty of questions, as you know. To answer yours, no, I did not participate in teal hunting that weekend. Why? A casual afternoon 4-wheeler ride (more on that later… eeeeek!) down to the duck ponds to scout where we were going to hunt the next morning left me with one image. Well, 3, really. Alligators. Three of them. Right. Where. We’d. Hunt. I am talking like right where we would be standing in the water, trying to hide amongst the phragmite. I will admit it, I am that big of a wuss when it comes to large-ish alligators. A little small one? I have no problem holding him in my hands like a new pet. BUT WHERE IS HIS MOMMA? Exactly.
Now gear yourself up before November, friends, and enjoy!
Wednesday morning I headed up to Columbia to visit dear Dad, as it was his 64th 50th birthday… Just kidding – I know he wishes it was, though! We had been planning to hunt on his birthday for a few days, and I wasn’t going to let the weather forecast (rain) stop us from enjoying the day in the field. All in all, I would say it was a fairly uneventful hunt. We came out of the field with 6 birds between us, and damp clothing from the cool rain. I was even chilly at one point – a welcomed rarity in the usual heat of a South Carolina September! We got to spent some quality time together, nonetheless, and I wouldn’t trade an uneventful day in the dove field for a day sitting in the office, that’s for sure! Speaking of making sure to spend time with those you love…
Wednesday was also the morning of the Georgetown fire that tore through Historic Front Street. It is disasters like this that make you want to stop and think about everything that is the most important to you. The 9 families (13 total people) whose homes were destroyed by the fire lost more than I can fathom. Remember the Rascal? The captain’s parents lived on Front Street and lost literally everything. What was their home overlooking the water is now barely a building facade. John’s mom lost her store, Goudelock & Co., along with everything in it. John immediately rushed to Georgetown to see what he could do to help… Thankfully, no one was hurt. Such devastation to a place that has become so near and dear to me, and affected people so close to me and the ones I love, is just heartbreaking. I have to admit – I felt a little guilty enjoying a day of hunting and celebrating when there were so many people watching their homes and livelihoods smolder in ashes. But it did make me feel better knowing that I was spending time with my parents, who I could not imagine life without. {Don’t either of you go anywhere, ya hear?!}.
Without getting too cheesy or cliche, take a minute to appreciate what you’ve got. While “things” aren’t the most important part of life, it is important to be thankful that you at least have a roof over your head and clothes on your back. I know I am guilty of forgetting that from time to time, and unfortunately it is tragic events like this that force us to bring everything into perspective. For more information on the fire, click here.
DON’T FORGET!
To donate to the Front Street Fire Relief Fund, call 843-546-8591 or visit any First Citizens branch in South Carolina. For more information on how you can help, click here, here, and here.
