#deer hunt

[c0zmozys]

hai deerhunt medkit hai

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Deer Hunt

Judson Jerome

Because the warden is a cousin, my

mountain friends hunt in summer when the deer

cherish each rattler-ridden spring, and I

have waited hours by a pool in fear

that manhood would require that I shoot or that

the steady drip of the hill would dull my ear

to a snake whispering near the log I sat

upon, and listened to the yelping cheer

of dogs and men resounding ridge to ridge.

I flinched at every lonely rifle crack,

my knuckles whitening where I gripped the edge

of age and clung, like retching, sinking back,

then gripping once again the monstrous gun –

since I, to be a man, had taken one.

"Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle... And Other Modern Verse" - compiled by Stephen Dunning, Edward Lueders, and Hugh Smith

[pestilentia-play]

Охота на оленей

[lovz2hike]

Montana Deer Hunt 2022

Our second year applying for Montana and we didn’t get a tag for the Mule Deer Buck so we each got a tag for a whitetail doe.  Our plan was to go no matter what even if we didn’t get drawn for a buck because they such an amazing youth program. So we loaded up the kids and headed to Montana.  This would be Alyssa’s 4th year hunting and Reagans 1st ever big game hunt.   The drive to Montana from…

[backroad-life]

Credit: Backroad-life

[illustratus]

The Vision of St Hubert by Richard Lorenz

[allastoredeer]

Ya'll want to know the funniest shit?

I'm researching the era when Alastor was alive right now to get a better idea of both his character, the life he lived before Hell, and to hash out a backstory for him.

And so, apparently, Alastor lived through the Prohibition (which was basically the United States government illegalizing the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol because they thought it was the cause of a lot of domestic violence and child abandonment).

Alastor canonically died in 1933.

Do you know how long the Prohibition lasted?

From 1920-1933.

ALASTOR LITERALLY DIED THE SAME YEAR ALCOHOL BECAME LEGAL AGAIN. CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW BITTER HE MUST'VE BEEN?

The Prohibition officially ended on December 5, 1933, and now my headcanon is that Alastor died December 6, 1933. Literally the day after he could legally drink all the booze he wanted.

I am learning a LOT about New Orleans and the era Alastor lived through (including the gay community in the city at the time) which has been a lot of fun, and I just wanted to share that tidbit because it is so fucking funny to me.

[uncertain-tay]

The hunter brought his rifle to rest on the edge of the deer blind's window. Two young does stood frozen in the floodlight's beam, framed by tangled oak and kudzu... Wait, was it two, or three? There were three pairs of eyes. But what was... Was he seeing things?

[sentientglue]

Roe deer remains in Haukijärvi, Hämeenkyrö, Finland - January 2023.

[lazypapers]

Blooding Rite

Like Hosea had done with young Arthur, he did the same for little John on his first kill.  At least John didn't use a shotgun to obliterate a rabbit. 

[eagleseyeobelisk2]

[vintagecamping]

A group of longtime friends play poker while waiting for deer hunting season to officially open.

Leakey, Texas

1972

[an-albino-pinetree]

Here’s my oc Wren! From @sm-baby ‘s new ‘The Eyes Of Cats’ story!!

Yes, I’m aware this just looks like a more feral Tree in a jacket- (this is essentially just Tree, but in TEOC), but I wanted to give her a name, and an “apocalyptic” personality, to separate her a bit. <:]

“Cat breed”: Blue Somali

When people say “Oh, my cat is a real mouser” that’s the kind of “cat” she is. She has a very high “prey drive” (She came from/grew up in, a big hunting family, before the apocalypse)

She’s very skittish and defensive, personality wise. Untrusting and flighty.

Pros: Highly skilled in survival/street smarts/hunting.

Cons: Trust issues/doesn’t get attached readily. Will possibly screw you over, if it means she gets to remain safe.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Unsurprisingly, a lot of the commentary I'm seeing about this has been of the "But--but--I would do the same thing because I don't want anything bad to happen to the deer!"

Look. I love wildlife, and I love getting to see deer, coyotes, and even the occasional black bear in my neighborhood. But they are here because there is good habitat nearby with lots of natural food sources, not because I deliberately put out food for them to eat. I respect them as wild animals with whom my relationship is very different compared to the domesticated animals I take care of every day. A deer is not a sheep or a horse; a coyote is not a dog.

People who do things like try to tame deer or, worse yet, try to raise a fawn or other young wildlife like pets are robbing those wild animals of their natural existences. We've already wrought our own preferences on the landscape to a severe degree, tearing the wildness out of it to create lawns and farms and subdivisions and strip malls. When we then dismiss the wildness of these animals and impress our own desire for connection on our terms on them, we are harming them.

I've already written elsewhere about the difference between "tame" and "domesticated". No matter how docile that deer seems, it is never going to be as (relatively) safe and tractable as a domesticated sheep or goat. It will always be more unpredictable, and more likely to lash out suddenly at a person due to fear, or hormones, or protection of young.

These animals need their wild instincts to be intact if they are going to survive without being dependent on us. They need those instincts in order to find mates and keep the gene pool stirred up. Their instincts keep them safe from danger, including humans. And their instincts never totally go away, no matter how much we may try to tame them otherwise.

This is why a good wildlife rehab is going to minimize handling of the wild animals they care for, especially those that are going to be able to be released back into the wild. The less comfortable these animals are with humans, the better their chances of surviving in the wild and having fulfilling, natural lives. Wildlife that retain their wariness of humans are less likely to end up falling prey to hunting, or being killed as nuisance animals when they get too aggressive in seeking food or otherwise coming into conflict with people.

The person who painted "pet" on a fully grown white-tailed buck and put a collar around his neck may have felt like they were doing that deer a kindness, but they have likely robbed him of the chance to just live a natural life as his own, independent being out in the woods and fields. He might be out there, sure, but perhaps he won't mate because he imprinted on humans. Or maybe he will end up shot by a hunter in spite of the precautions because he's just too friendly and those antlers are worth taking the shot.

There will always be something missing from this deer's life because of the arrogance of someone who thought they could own and keep and control a wild-born animal for their own enjoyment, instead of allowing him to come and go as he pleased. Honestly, it reminds me of King Haggard from Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, whose response to seeing something beautiful was to capture it and keep it rather than simply enjoying and remembering that magical moment:

"I like to watch them. They fill me with joy. The first I felt it I thought I was going to die. I said to the Red Bull I must have them, all of them, all there are. For nothing makes me happy but their shining and their grace. So the Red Bull caught them. Each time I see the unicorns, my unicorns, it is like that morning in the woods and I am truly young, in spite of myself."

That's how I feel about people who are willing to drastically alter a wild animal's behavior for their own selfish benefit, even if they think they're being kind. I know I'm fighting a bit of an uphill battle in this, but I'm rather stubborn that way.

[sbeep]

hunter & gryphon

[cupcakeshakesnake]

Storyboarding assignment.

In which a hound is torn between his loyalty to the hunter and his pity for the fawn.