Hunting and Baking Bread

Walking and Hunting

Today Naomi and I took a walk to the marsh at one of the corners of our property. I decided to take the gun along for the walk since hunting season is open. I figured that if a buck was willing to stand and watch us long enough for me to take a shot, then I should have the gun along just to oblige him. Naomi is fond of venison and tolerates the killing part that is necessary to indulge her fondness. She is not at all squeamish and has helped skin all sorts of game including a bear I shot a number of years ago.
I was looking for deer sign, of which there was the usual amount for this time of year in my neighborhood. Most of the sign is near the fields and house where the deer like to eat the crab apples, flowers, and the clover from the lawn. It's better eating than in the woods.
There was no sign, along the path we took, of the coming rut. The rut makes bucks careless and less risk averse, which increases the odds in the hunter's favor. Bucks also create an assortment of rut specific sign that is pretty easy to see in the woods and indicates their presence and patterns of their behavior.

Baking Bread

When we returned from our walk, I decided to bake some bread. My favorite is something called "Posy's Russian Black Bread". It is made with cornmeal, chocolate, molasses, mashed potatoes, whole wheat flour, and rye flour. It is a little complicated to make and remains quite sticky during the kneading process but is well worth it because it is so delicious! There is something very sensual about the smells, texture, and resiliency of the dough as it rises. It becomes firm, elastic, and very responsive to each push of the heel of my hand. Yes, that is flour on my stomach and I should wear an apron!