Tribute to a hog hunting Woman

[harbison]

Tribute to a hog hunting Woman

Be sure to watch the video at the end. It's a good one!

It's Christmas time. A time to join family in remembering days long gone and even better days to come. Time to give... Thank you darling for being my wife, the mother of our three daughters, my hunting partner, my everything.In remembering days long gone this picture of Thelma and our daughters was taken as we celebrated Christmas at our hunting camp many years ago:My wife and our youngest daughter, Betty, are now celebrating Christmas in heaven. I love sharing this picture. It's one of the only pictures left of Thelma and the girls. They will be with me until the end of time.Dee & Barbara are now grandmothers. Thelma and I were both very serious about hog hunting. Our vehicle of choice was a 4X4 diesel powered Land Rover. We put it through its paces:To say that Thelma was good at hog hunting would be a gross understatement. She often filled the pages of Florida's best magazine, Woods'nWater:Thelma loved her Florida Holly Tree. Talk about Christmas spirit:'Thelma and I were both very serious about hog hunting.'Our 'Christmas spirit' was to exchange hogs. Only one problem; she always shot a bigger, meaner, hog than I ever did. As a, 'Tribute to a hog hunting Woman' let's go hog hunting. The Land Rover, charging through swamps, days days are long gone; being alone and age took care of that. I now hunt with an outfitter. I have tried many, but have found Perry Florida's Two Guys And A Hog to be the best of the best. Darling, this hunt I dedicate to you. Once again, as we so often did, let's exchange hogs. On out trip from our home in Tampa we pass a part of Florida as it was decades ago, Otter Creek. A Post Office and a small family owned store is Otter Creek. Ever try smoke mullet, conch, or alligator? Visit Otter Creek and you can:Next stop:Our home for the remainder of the day:Small meat hogs are relatively easy to harvest; BIG Boys are a complete different story. In Thelma's honor we will be...This is not going to be easy, he's...He is following the well established game trail along that long fence line. Francisco, my guide, a man I admire greatly, wants to do a skull mount. Bob, 'Please don't shoot him in the head!'With a mighty roar I unleash the awesome power of that .45-70  405 gr weapon. My heart-lung shot is a couple of inches off; hog on the run:He is a big one. Honey, you can be proud of you husband:In our quest to 'exchange hogs' let's go after...Let's share the moment with fellow sportsmen/women:A major problem it's:My Marlin Stainless Guide Gun does it's thing:His & Her hogs:In keeping with the season. Smoked turkey leg, mashed potatoes, Florida's best orange juice, Claxton fruit cake, and egg nog. This roughing it is really hard. Some how, some way, we will make it. Think the hunt is over? No Way!Guys & girls, this is the last picture ever taken of my beloved wife and myself. We were married on Christmas Eve. After spending two months at our Buck & Boar camp we went into town on Christmas Eve to celebrate:We spent another month at camp before returning home. Little did we know it would be our last hunt together. Cancer took her shortly after we returned. It's Christmas time. A time to join family in remembering days long gone and even better days to come.
A video of our hunt: