Francie got her first buck last weekend, on the last day of the season! We harvest very few deer on the ranch so this was a special day and kind of a rite of passage for Francie. She worked hard at every stage of the process and harvested it herself, providing us with a winter’s worth of venison.

Francie and Brian have been two peas in a pod lately. They have been hiking the hills on our ranch together the past few weeks, scanning for deer and enjoying the time out there together.

She started calling him “Fossil” on his last birthday and it’s the most unlikely term of endearment, but somehow so sweet. Now, it’s morphed into “Foss the Boss,” which is way cooler.

Brian has always enjoyed hunting, mostly for being in the outdoors and hiking. Now, it’s a special time to spend together with his daughters.

Francie earned her hunter safety license a few years ago and learned all about hunting practices and wild game hunting…. and, yes, she’s barefoot in this photo by the Can-am! She field dressed the deer and was hiking in her new Ugg boots from Jannie and didn’t want to get them bloody!

She and Maisie were not shy about jumping into the skinning and butchery process from start to finish. Hanging the deer makes it much easier to remove the hide than if the deer were on its side. To make good use of the meat is an important life skill and life lesson if you are going to be a hunter.

We decided to vacuum seal the venison, as it extends the freshness and freezer life by protecting it from freezer burn and sealing in the nutrients. We will all enjoy the wild game to mix up our dinner proteins this winter!

The first recipe that we’ll make for dinner is ‘Pan-Seared Venison with Rosemary and Dried Cherries.’

And don’t worry… she cleaned my kitchen well after this! 🙂

This is the Vac-Seal drawer we built into the kitchen, from our friends at Riggs Distributing. It was SO helpful for this job and ensures the freshness of that hard-earned venison meat for a long time in the freezer!