November...

Another hunting season is over.  The weather was nice and sitting quietly in the woods just watching the world go by was much needed.  Now the freezer is full.  We have nine lbs. of summer sausage.  I think it was one of our best batches.  I mix everything up and my husband nurses it in the smoker.

I have a good batch of jerky.  I don't think there is anything more flavorful than venison jerky.  I also canned 7 pints of stew meat.  No photos of this as it is still cooling in the pressure cooker.  The freezer if full of roasts and steaks.  Butchering is exhausting, but it is worth it to have fresh meat that isn't dyed, processed, and who knows where it came from.  

I also removed the seeds from our pumpkins and fed the pumpkins to the deer.  I will make pumpkin seeds sometime this week.

Here are a few photos from hunting out on the prairie.  We saw several coyotes and they kept the deer on the run.

Here is a picture from the prairie looking at the Black Hills.

Here is a picture from the Black Hills looking at the prairie. 

This photo is a tad blurry, but it reminds a person just how peaceful life can be.

Then, of course, you have the cattle and the sunrise.

I quietly followed this sharptailed grouse around trying to get a photo.  She stayed right in the shrubbery, but I finally got a running shot.  So much for sitting still.

I needed some peace.  Hunting makes you get up early, sit quietly, and observe the world around you.  When you do that, it is amazing what you can see. 

Where do you find your peace?