Please excuse all of my pictures.
I really have to thank you all for the kind words, I shared this with my Mom, who is NOT a social computer person, and it made her feel good. My mom was the one that I actually elk hunted with for the majority of my first two seasons. My Dad was on other hunts out of state or packed in to wilderness areas. She went through a lot to take me and my brother hunting. Boy...if I had the experience I have now we could have done well. I remember staring at a squirrel with a blunt nocked and looking up to see a few spikes ten yards away. DOH! Another morning I fell asleep on her lap only to have a bull walk up and almost step on us. Very fond memories.
She was a good hunter before kid activities took over and her knees gave out.
(note, this is a compound kill and I understand if the mods take it off, her last season before switching to all trad)
We cut up my bull the other night and I told my Dad how the smell of the meat really takes me back.
This is me looking on as everybody cuts up a bull that my Mom shot.
Doing the same thing over twenty years later.
And I hope to do the same thing with my boy when he's older. My Dad, myself, and my son.
The talk of doing this as a family got us talking last night and my Mom dug out these old pictures. Hunting, specifically traditional archery since that is all I have ever known, is a big part of the reason I am so close with my parents. I feel strongly that it is one of the best tools a parent can use to spend time with their children. And I will certainly raise my kids in the same manner.