Deer season has arrived here in Kansas. My parents have always been against the idea of leasing ground out to out-of-state hunters, getting big money for hunting, etc, etc. In fact, my dad never allowed ANYONE to hunt grandma’s ground (except one older man who hunted there when my grandpa was alive), and grandma has always respected his wishes. My cousins from California began to show an interest in hunting, so Dad allowed them to come out and hunt. Well, then other cousins wanted to hunt and cousin’s spouses wanted to hunt and it kind of snowballed from there. So, Dad decided if he was going to go to the trouble (and expense) of tents, blinds, vests, and all the fun hunting stuff he might as well make a little off of it. So, he has started buying out-of-state licenses (it’s a raffle, so there are not guarantees you will get the number you apply for or any for that matter. Because these hunters pay top dollar for their license and a chance to hunt in Kansas all hunting is now prohibited in an effort to not scare the deer away before the paying customers arrive.
Although the hunters that come in are absolutely fantastic people, hunting season is a dreaded time for us. Lots of illegal hunting goes on. My parent’s neighbors hunt dad/grandma’s ground illegally. They even had the nerve to confront the hunters dad had in and then call mom to make sure it was okay. Our hunters said he was in camouflage and on Dad’s property. Hmm, why would he be traipsing across our property, in camo, during the prime hunting time of the day? Interesting. We have seen people spotlighting from their trucks on our way to work. Dad said our neighbor and a friend of his stand on his own property (they own 3-5 acres, not exactly prime hunting ground) looking out onto dad and grandma’s ground and lay their guns down whenever they see dad drive by. Hello, they are in camo sitting on the boundary of their property. I love it!
Mom had a big dinner last night since the hunters who are here are friends of the family. They are from Texas and absolutely wonderful guys. We could listen to them talk for hours with their Texas accents. Today is their last day here, so we are really hoping one of them (or both of them) get what they are looking for. I think one of the guys is coming back later in the season, but it would still be nice. Dad’s neighbor took the liberty of telling them there isn’t any bucks on the piece of ground they’re hunting. How would he know, he isn’t allowed on the ground, nice of him to volunteer that information, but the hunters told Dad they saw some smaller ones and there are rub marks all over the trees from the bucks. Basically the neighbor was trying to get them off the ground, so he could get back to his trespassing.
As I said before hunting seasons is splendid. The littering is one of my favorites. Could there be a filthier thing to do? To come out to the beautiful countryside and throw out your city trash, soda cans, beer boxes, and McDonald’s bags. I have a huge, and I feel well deserved stereotype for people who litter. I’ll keep it to myself though. : )
Randy and I saw two very small does (just lost their spots a week or two ago, small) on our way to mom and dad’s for dinner last night. They were confused and alone and couldn’t get over the fence to safety and looked so scared. It was so sad. I have a special place in my heart for animals. They just don’t have room to live anymore.
A Simple Prairie Life 