They’re giving me their sad eyes. But babies, you need to be clean!
My neighbor wants me to kill a deer
I just looked up when deer season begins because I wanted this post to be timely. You know what’s going to happen now, right? Any advertisements that pop up on my Facebook page or other websites I visit are going to be about hunting, camouflage, or deer jerky! Oh, great. Maybe I’ll do a quick search for vegan mayonnaise, that’ll fix it!
Anyway, I have a neighbor a few houses down that loves to hunt. He’s schooled me on when to go, where to go, what to wear, and he’s very kind to offer me a spot next to him in the deer stand when he goes hunting. Once he even showed me what a successful trip looks like. In his backyard, a tarp was hanging from tree limbs, constructed to block the view of a deceased deer hanging by his hind legs because… I guess that’s what you do after you’ve killed a deer?
So the first time he asked me to go hunting with him, I struggled to come up with a way to say no (because I have a hard time saying no to almost everything). But in the subsequent times he’s asked, and it’s an ongoing thing, I’ve found it’s easier to decline by saying something like, “I don’t eat meat,” or “There’s no way I could kill a deer,” which are both true.
His response, “Don’t eat for three days.”
He explained that if I skip eating for the three days leading up to this hunting trip, I’d be more willing to kill because I’d be so hungry. Maybe that’s true. I can imagine that anyone who thinks they’re about to starve to death would be willing to do things they wouldn’t normally do. The plot of Alive* is now floating through my mind. Uhhh, gross!
But here’s a glimpse into my personality…
We were on a family road trip and I was sitting in the back of the van. I must’ve been 11 or 12. All of the sudden a bird slammed into the windshield and I started bawling.
A few years ago, a friend of mine lived with me as he searched for a home to buy. During this time, whenever my dogs dug up a mole, my friend was the Undertaker. I just couldn’t exterminate the moles myself.
A few weeks ago a small spider inside my car descended directly in front of me as I was driving. I was able to get him to land on the steering column where I slapped down, trying to squash him. He looked dead and I immediately felt terrible about it. I wondered why I thought he should die?
I reference those stories to show you how much of a weiner I can be when it comes to killing animals or even insects. I never want to, nor could I, kill something as beautiful and harmless as a deer. I feel bad when I kill things I don’t even like (spiders)! Well, snakes? I’m typically not as sad when one of those dies 🙂
-Out of the Wilderness
*As an Amazon Affiliate, I receive a percentage of any completed transactions through the Amazon link on this page.
Fall, almost my favorite time of the year
The leaves here in Nashville are turning to bright yellows and vibrant reds as the temperature drops, signaling a season so many people love, fall.
I love this part of year for the cool nights, the leaves changing, and knowing that Christmas is right around the corner.
What do I not love? The cold days, September allergies, and knowing that as far as temperature goes it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
I already can’t wait for summer 🙂
-Out of the Wilderness
Kid Rock’s new video, and other puppets in country music
Kid Rock’s new video for “Tennessee Mountain Top” features a raccoon named Jackson. This is one of the better country music videos I’ve seen that feature puppets. Take a look:
But Kid Rock is not the first to join up with puppets. Take a look at the following collaborations with puppets and/or music videos that feature puppets. First up is one that was considered a swing and a miss, from Trace Adkins.
More recently you have Brad Paisley portrayed as a mascot among quite a few mascots from college sports.
Kacey Musgraves is accompanied by a puppet playing the violin in “Biscuits.”
Elvis Presley acted in many movies, one which included a song called “Wooden Heart,” in which he appears alongside a puppet.
This next one isn’t exactly country music, but in the Miley Cyrus video for “Younger Now,” she has a scene a lot like the Elvis clip above.
The Cadillac Three used puppets to announce their new album. Click here for the video.
And you can’t have a list like this without including the Muppets. So here are a few notable performances featuring country stars along with the cast of the Muppets.
Loretta Lynn…
Willie Nelson…
Kenny Rogers…
Johnny Cash…
-Out of the Wilderness
The Fiesta test drive, and advice on car searching
Hello and thanks for reading about this journey to find my next car! My Nissan Versa is swiftly nearing 200,000 miles so (I haven’t told her this yet) there will come a time when she’ll need to be retired, sent off to the Nissan nursing home where she can play shuffle board and eat supper at 5.
A few weeks ago I test drove a newer Versa at a local Nissan dealership, where I learned some pro tactics of a car salesman. I left without succumbing to the pressure to buy, and then a few days ago I did a test drive with a Ford Fiesta.
Am I the only one that thinks of this 80s game show when I hear the word Fiesta?
If only I could win a Fiesta, my car search would be over! Where are you when I need you most, Alex Trebek? But back in real life, I met the car salesman and told him what I was looking for. He was a nice guy with a style that went heavy on “be your friend” plus a dose of “I’m new here but…” We took a 2017 hatchback off the lot and I liked this car much more than the Versa from the last test drive. Part of the reason is that it was a manual transmission (which is also available in the Versa). I forgot how much fun those are to drive. Very responsive, great interior style and accessories, and I was sitting higher up than I would guess for a compact car.
So the hatchback stick-shift Fiesta is currently sitting at #1 on my list but I’d also still like to test drive a few other cars, including a Fiat, and maybe a Mini.
I’ll wrap this up with a piece of advice I’ve learned the hard way. If you’re out there car shopping like I am, do NOT give out your phone number unless you’re ready for 10 calls a day. I made the mistake of submitting my info to a few dealerships online and now my phone lights up throughout the day. I guess I could answer but now I’m just annoyed when I get a call from a number I don’t recognize.
Most of all, though, have fun looking! For the majority of us, it’s not often we’ll be in the market for a car, so let’s make the most of it this time around.
Having a fiesta in Nashville,
-Out of the Wilderness
Out of the Wilderness 