Strange Trucks are driving by slowly, Folks pull into the second driveway and sit with sun glinting off their funky looking eyes, trucks and vans are parked into cut lines up and down the big forest, and bright sign’s have appeared on many a fence post, and I am giving the eye to my sheep and making sure that enough of them are wearing their bright red or orange collars.

Yup, its hunting season in my neck of the woods.. you can expect to hear shotguns going off multiple times each morning from between 4:30 to about 9 am each morning, you can expect to hear rifle shots at any time during the day and more often at dusk/evening then I like..

Only once so far this year have the hunters broke the rules, I don’t mind them hunting around me, I was raised in a hunting family and I have great respect for those that step out and spend the time and hard work that can go into it, while there are a few times that folks get their game on the first morning of the first hunt, it rarely happens that way.

I am greatly looking forward to adding some wild game meat to my own freezers soon enough however, when it comes to hunting by the farm, I like them to hunt in the second back fields, not in the front field which is very close to my livestock, honest to goodness there are time where they look at my fawn colored hair sheep in the fog, as a easily found Bambi. So NOT!

Its tradition if they get to close to the house when hunting or setting up their gear, that I go out every half a hour or so and run the hounds, giving them the cue to bark their fool heads off, The first time this happened, farmer R stopped by to ask me if I was against hunting, I said, no hunting is fine, but twits that shoot that close to my barns/pastures, that is a issue, he just laughed and told them to move back, but it seems like every now and again someone thinking they should move up, I guess cuz its easier to haul the equipement in.

Farmer T was having a fit last year and again this year, her land is hunted but only by her and her family and for the second year in a row, she has found blinds set up for deer hunting in a clearly posted area, Last year she pulled it all down, I joked that she needs to set up a paint bomb but in the end we decided that it would be more effective to put up a trail camera hidden on the blind and see if we could catch the sneak on film! Ah and the hunter becomes the hunted.. deep booming chuckle comes out of Farmgals chest..

Here is a interesting way to use some of your Canadian Goose that you hunted..

Goose Neck Sausages,

Very carefully remove the skins from the goose necks so that you have tubes of skin, (remember to use the neck bones and meat to make stock with or give to your hounds to give them a great natural way to clean and floss their teeth and gums)

Cut about 2 and half pdsof fresh goose meat along wth up to half a pd of goose fat into 1 inch cubes, Chill your meat until cold and firm to the touch before grinding.

Combine the goose meat, fat, 1 tbsp of course salt, 1/2 tsp of white pepper, sage, marjoram, and allspice, Grind it though a fine disk of the meat grinder.

Then cook till no pink, allow to cool.. Oven at 375, Tie off one end of your neck skin with butchers twine, stuff with meat mixture and tie off the other end.. Bake the sausages in a single layer for about 45 min or until the skins are crisp, serve warm.  I like these with a little blueberry or saskatoon compote on the side. Fussy they may be but its a once a year treat!

So are folks hunting in your neck of the woods? Are you going to be hunting yourself, what is your favorite game, got an amazing recipe to share with me? Given the rising costs of meat, I can imagine that a good number of folks are hoping to fill their freezers with game this fall, and so I will wish you the best of luck if this is the case in your home.