Day One of the Hunt.

These pictures are from my perspective, as Cerwin did not take any pictures while out in the field. He was on Farm N – Stand #2 – while I enjoyed the comfort of the hotel and the fellowship of the other ladies.

The ladies enjoyed a meet and greet breakfast in the hotel restaurant. I took most of these pictures without flash – the reason for the soft focus.

One of the hunt organizers showed us a quilt that will be given away at the banquet on Monday night. A similar quilt will be given to her dad (hunt co-owner) at the same banquet.

Each lady was given a gift bag which included small gifts from local merchants.

After breakfast several ladies went shopping for the day – some with one of the hunt vans, while others went on their own. Many ladies stayed at the hotel. Some enjoyed the quiet of their room to read or watch TV. A few of us stayed in the lobby where there was a lot more activity.

It was a windy, cloudy, rainy day in the Ozarks – not particularly good for hunting. Deer are not comfortable walking around when it is windy because they cannot pick up the scent of danger.

This was the view above my head where I sat in the lobby doing my counted cross stitch next to the large window overlooking the lake.

It was a great place to get some stitching done, talk to other women, and hear what was going on out in the 30,000 acres of woodland where the men (and a few women) were hunting.

This is what I am working on right now – a picture of our grandson Ian. I stitch photos of our grandchildren when they are at a preschool age. As you can see, it is done in quarters as the pattern comes in four pieces. I will finish the third quarter today. When  I finish the final quarter, I will get it professionally framed.

I have finished 14 pictures – as I have also stitched one of our grandson Elijah who only lived for 5 months. Ian is #15, then I will do Jared and Jesse. After they are finished, I will do some creative pictures for our children.

The ladies who sat at the far left were the ones who took the phone calls when someone harvested a deer – and his farm location. I could hear the conversations, so that was fun. As ladies returned from shopping (center) they looked over the list of those who had gotten deer – hoping to see their husband’s name.

Toward evening I moved away from the window to one of the well lighted tables to continue stitching. (It is more comfortable in the chair next to the window, but this works for a short period of time.) Next to me a lady was working on the puzzle, and at the next table they were deciding what game to play. One of the women bought three new games while out on her shopping excursion.

By 6:15 p.m. the unsuccessful hunters began coming in, and checked the successful hunt listing before going to their room.

It was difficult to pick out Cerwin because the hunters were all dressed alike. 🙂

This was the final listing for day one. Chris – #12 on the list has the largest scored rack so far (see below).

All twenty racks were hung in the banquet room.

It was a fun day.