So grateful...

...to my dad for letting me hunt in his blind

...to God for bringing in a spike after only 45 minutes of sitting, and for a quick kill

...to my husband for gutting and hanging and skinning this deer

It was the first deer I've ever taken with a bow, and easy to remember the date, 11-11-11.  I was shaking so badly from nerves I thought I'd never aim straight, but thankfully it was a nice double-lung shot.  After Dad told me I could take any of the spikes on his property that he and my brother didn't have licenses for, I started studying up on my deer anatomy and shot placement again.  It definitely paid off.  He presented a nice 20 yard broadside shot and paid no attention to me because he was checking out the doe behind him. 

This is going to sound like easy-peasy hunting because after waiting about 20 minutes, I headed inside for a meatloaf and baked potato dinner while we waited for him to bed down (Dad said later that he had probably already died during those 20 minutes).  Matt and Clare drove out and my parents watched Clare while Matt and I tracked.  We followed the trail for less than 150 yards before we found him.  Then we headed back inside for apple crisp and ice cream.  It would have felt easy if I hadn't already spent so many days this fall in the woods, hoping to see a deer within shooting distance.  And if I hadn't spent the ten minutes leading up to the shot with hands shaking, heart pounding, and so worried I'd miss or not make a quick kill.