My son Travis has gone on the deer hunt with us for many years. But this year was the first year Travis had his own tag and his own rifle. Bryan got a spiker, I can't wait to eat that one. It's little, so it should be really yummy. Travis's deer is a 3x2. It's pretty big too. Remember Travis is almost 6 feet tall. Then you get an idea of how big this deer is.



I'm so happy that Travis is a hunter. Because now Bryan has another hunting buddy. Bryan likes to hunt really hard, and I am more of a casual hunter. I like to stay in camp and read books for a good portion of the day. I also feel like I have less pressure to shoot a deer myself. I do enjoy going on the hunt, because I think it is good family time. And I don't have a problem with shooting a deer, although I do think they are pretty cute. I just have a problem shooting a running deer, or a buck with a bunch of does around it, or a buck hiding in thick trees. And the perfect shot just never seems to happen for me.

Bryan processes the deer himself. He bought a meat grinder today so we can try grinding some up into burger. I've never had venison burger before. It should be interesting. We thought we'd try mixing venison with some ground beef, since the venison is so lean. It needs some fat to make burgers with.

The Flying Dutchman

Last night Bryan and I went and saw the opera "The Flying Dutchman". It was a nice evening. We went to dinner first at the Olive Garden, then we walked over to the theater.

The opera was an interesting story. It was about a sailor who had been cursed to sail the seas and could only go on land once every 7 years. The curse could only be broken by finding a woman to love him, and be faithful to him to her death.

The opera was good, but not one of my favorites. I think the orchestra was the best part. Especially the overture. You could almost feel the rolling ocean in the orchestra music.

You can tell the story was written over 150 years ago. A ship's captain meets the Flying Dutchman and agreed to arrange a marriage to his pride and joy daughter, Senta, for a shipload of treasures. Senta was going to sacrifice her life to save the dutchman who she never met, and was also going to be an obedient daughter and pledge her love and life to the dutchman. To add interest to the story, a hunter also loves Senta.

Fun at the zoo

This last year we took my grandson Gabriel to the zoo. He has a lot of fun there. I think Gabriel likes snakes more than his Papa does.



There is a nice little play area at our zoo. Here is how Spiderman probably got his start.



Have you ever seen a cuter turtle?

We had a bunch of fun.