October: A Blog Post

"I am so glad I live in a world where there are October recaps on blogs" -Anne of Green Gables kinda

If you haven't heard that quote that's probably not funny to you but let's get right into October anyway, shall we?!

I took my mom up to Flagstaff in early October so she could see the magic that is Lockett Meadow in the fall. YELLOW THINGS EVERYWHERE. Word on the street is they're leaves. Fall leaves. I know not of such witchcraft and wizardry where leaves change color in the fall. Such sorcery.

We knew rain was forecasted so we came ready with our rain jackets and hand/pocket warmers. It drizzled all morning and if Lockett Meadow was not magical enough, a thin haze of clouds and mist all around is enough to feel like you're legit walking through the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. Although the Forbidden Forest in Harry Potter is dangerous so maybe that is not the best comparison here on second thought. See look, we do not look as though we are in danger:

We didn't make it too far along the Inner Basin Trail before it started raining harder and getting colder so we decided to turn back. But please just look at this stunning blend of fall and winter as snow (snow!) was leftover on the ground from the weekend before:

 Arizona, you guys. I love it so much.

Our other October highlight that we (read: Nate) have been preparing for like, all year long, was our rifle deer hunt. The October rifle deer hunt is the hunt that Nate puts in for, and looks forward to EVERY. YEAR. And this year he invited me to come along and it couldn't have turned out more perfect.

Nate and I killed deer bright and early opening morning from the same spot, at the same(ish) time. My first deer ever!

I will not pretend that I am good at this or that I have any clue what I'm doing - I literally just do what Nate tells me and, only because he is a literal expert on Coues Whitetail and has them down to a science, was I able to take my first deer.

I joked with Nate that the dream would be to fill both our tags on opening morning and be able to take a picture together with them and I would frame it and hang it on my wall.

While the dream was realized, after I made my shot Nate said, "We just killed two deer why did we do that??" I replied enthusiastically, "'Cause that was the plan remember!!" I now know that packing out two deer with only two people is HARD and in fact, not actually possible for me unless I am on flat ground and not the steep face of a mountain.

We loaded up my pack with my deer and while I felt like I could carry the weight at that moment, once we started downhill it literally toppled me over. Twice. One time I landed right on top of some some shin diggers and they stabbed my ass and my hands and I started bleeding everywhere. And one time I landed in some dead Prickly Pear and bruised my knees and almost fell head over heels down the entire mountain. There were tears shed I'll be honest (shin diggers fracking huuuurt). We ended up switching packs - I took Nate's with no meat in it, and he took mine with meat in it and dragged his deer down the mountain until his brother Dan finally found us to help us the rest of the way out. So basically, Dan is an angel and saved our asses, and Nate is Superman and can carry two deer down the side of a mountain. The Townsend's are wonderful humans I tell you.

Hunting is literally nothing but work - hard work and hard hiking; but the reward is so awesome and you make memories that you can tell over and over again. Like hey, remember when I killed my first deer and we almost got stuck on the side of a mountain because I am apparently weak and couldn't carry it all the way down without falling into some species of cacti?! Good times.

 Truly.

Last but not least, the last day of October gives us Halloween. The gateway into "the holidays." Usually dressing my dogs up in costumes is my absolute jam but this October was so busy getting ready for the deer hunt that I ran out of time to find any good ones before 1.) they all got picked over, or 2.) couldn't be delivered by the 31st even by Prime standards. So, we settled for some Harry Potter themed bandanas ('cause remember I am HP obsessed right now). Gunther's says, "Gryffindog" and Maycee's says "Slobberin."

Here's the thing though - I am 100% sure that Gunther is a Hufflepuff (the bandana said "Hufflepup" and I really wanted it for him). He is loyal, kind, patient, and 'unafraid of toil' - literally all of the qualities of a Hufflepuff. But Nate likes to talk shit about Hufflepuff (literally not even an HP fan and tries to talk shit) and insists that he is a Gryffindor. I made Nate take the Pottermore Quiz and just because Nathan is a Gryffindor doesn't mean that Gunther is. And just because Nate thinks Hufflepuff is lame doesn't mean we are (WE ARE NOT). But whatever, that was not a battle I was willing to fight so I got Gunther the Gryffindog bandana. (also side note: I keep having to reread this to make sure I am not making any typos because 'bandana' looks an awful lot like 'banana')

Maycee on the other hand, is 100% Slytherin. She is cunning, ambitious, and will do anything to get exactly what she wants. 

So, happy Halloween from this motley crew of Hogwarts students!

Whew! And that, my friends, brings this 'ol blog up to speed. If you stuck around for all these recaps - my thanks to you. If you did not, that is totally cool but it is now safe to come back.

See you soon for a non-recap post!