Dreams Grow On Winter Barns

Mule deer.

Hunting is food, but it’s also thrill and drive and fun and competitiveness.

Cali Mule deer has been on the hit list for a while but, it was never really made a hard priority. Since in the last couple of years we have really leaned into the field to table lifestyle and making large strides to make this our only source of meat- this year was different.

We took a drive this past weekend about 45min - 1 hour North of our home in the Sierra’s and stopped about three hours shy from the Nevada border. There was a little spot we discovered and had been scouting over the summer just off the highway, down a random little road, tucked behind a lodging building for what looked like out of area Caltrans workers. We knew other people were aware of this place but figured it wouldn’t really interest many.

Yeah, we were wrong.

On arrival, we were met with a dozen or more trucks filled with hunters.

Thats the draw back of living in this modern world. Quite places like these are plastered all over social platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and others, expelling and turning out directions to every serene mountain location. This is why I never discuss in detail where my photos are taken over my social platform. It’s not a snub attempt at keeping photo ops and big game to myself, but a motion forward, inviting you to discover it for yourself. Earn it by seeking it out. Thus is the code of most hunters.

We decided that we would skip the hunt that weekend. Having Fox with us, it would have been pretty grueling how far we would have needed to hike out to ditch the load of other hunters, especially with no plans or prep on staying overnight.

The day however was not a loss for how can it be, if you’re in the mountains?

It was a cool 31 degrees with a pretty good gust but oh, those winteresk colors against an overcast sky! There was an amazing trail to an open meadow with an old feed barn at it’s center. Being there in that cold air, smelling the damp wood so moist with the dew lingering in the air, re sparked a fire so deep in my heart. Peace and excitement spontaneously dwelled in one place within me. We’ve been saving for years, looking into all the different states and how well they represent our beliefs as a family. Montana was chosen years ago, and we’ve had our noses down to make this move happen. It’s now closer than ever but, I’ve noticed sometimes the calm before the storm can feel like the dream never happened at all. During all of the sudden peaks and valleys that can occur in parental life, sometimes the dream becomes a foreshadow in the back of your mind; never truly gone, but not able to take it’s place as the primary thought. My hands running down the barn side, seeing my son running through the brush and the freedom in my husband’s eyes… It brought it all back for me.

As if I could have asked for a more perfect day … it began to snow.

For those who doubt it -

Run into the wild.

Dreams do grow on winter barns bathed in mountain trees.

Let the woods whisper what you thought was lost within you

Let them show you what you need