[My big brother, Will, and me.]
I’ve been playing hooky…from the real world, from parenting, and from writing. I took a whole week and went with my favorite people to my favorite place in the world. I haven’t hunted with my brother for over 20 years. When I say that I’m shocked because the antics of our youth, lived out in the red dirt around Electra, Texas on our Guide Mound Ranch, seem like yesterday. We hunted and fished together just yesterday…only that yesterday was over two decades ago.
And I had never before hunted with both my brother and my husband, let alone my brother’s wife, which brought me great joy. Will’s wife, Amy, formerly Amy Morrison, is also a Wichita Falls expat, and one of the finest of them, at that.
But here we were in South Carolina, quail hunting with our spouses and friends, and I had to put a number on it and I was sobered by the swift passage of time. But it caused me to take a moment to celebrate what a great moment it was, to be back together, with birds and dogs and wide open nature and the people we love.
Because, as always, hunting is not only about food. Though, we ate like kings and queens last week. Hunting is also about people and beauty and the most basic things in life. I have around 1000 photos from the week, but I will only be sharing these. It is a private spot. I was with private people. But, what an exceptional week. Will might be mortified to have his photo on a food blog…but he’s my big brother, so I get to brag about being his sister in any forum I like.
[Top Left: Pitts, me; Top Center: Julie, Breon, me, Will; Top Right: Pitts; Bottom Left: Breon, Julie; Bottom Center: oysters at lunch; Bottom Right: Will, Pitts, Amy; Not Pictured: Bob, Michael, Jane, horses, countless dogs, many hardworking horse and dog handlers, the peerless cook, and the ladies who took care of all of us.]
A few years ago, I did a post on the Low Country Oyster Roasts that are such a fun part of this trip. So if you want to live a little of the food of this great spot with me, visit that post. But I stuffed myself all week on French toast, wild turkey (the food), fried chicken, quail, dove, snipe, lamb, roast beef, baked leeks, collard greens, corn fritters, coconut cream pie, and a million other simply prepared but outrageously good dishes. I am inspired. One other hunting post that might be of interest to you, if this one is, is about cooking dove: Dove with Minnesota Wild Rice.
CP: Thank you for introducing me to this. I miss you.
I remember hunting for dove/quail with friends west of Ft Worth when I was a freshman in college. We had a couple of guys from Louisiana along and when it was time to cook, they seared the birds in butter with some onions then added red wine and a lot of spices. We were shocked at how gourmet and delicious it was, never having had cooking like that on a camping trip (or anywhere else) before. I’ll never forget that experience. – Jack
loved reading this. Love sweet memories made with big brothers. I have lots of those too- most of mine include getting body slammed on our make shift wresting matches on Friday nights while my parents were out to dinner. Ricky and Robby always had to make sure that my face was wiped free of tears , usually by bribing me with ice cream, before my parents came home. Thanks for Sharing!!!! Hope all is well! Richelle
Sounds like a wonderful escape from the real world! South Carolina is my favorite state outside of Texas; we were stationed there for 4 years and still go back to visit. Gotta get our fix of Lowcountry food and culture!
Ms. Kelly,
I’m crazy about your blog! I’m so happy that my dad (Mike from Good Hope) introduced me to it. You are such a great writer, I’ve been reading past posts and articles that you’ve written for other publications (HuffPost, etc) and I just can’t get enough. Hope your trip to the plantation was great & hope to see you soon. Tell Pitts hello for me! :)
Crystal, Seeing your name pop up honestly brought a tear to my eye. You have no idea how deeply thankful I am for you. Acts of kindness in tough times mean the most. You stepped up to bat for my little family when we ended up out in SC with an infant in tow, so unexpectedly. I still don’t know how you managed to give us that whole week, watching Lily while we were out in the field. Can you believe that she is 9 now?? I ask your dad about you every time I see him and he always tells us what an extraordinary woman you have turned out to be…which is no surprise, of course. He is very proud of you. Although I saw photographic proof that you are now a bona fide adult (and a lovely one at that) I will always remember you at 16. I’m so glad you are on board with PIE. I hope to see you hanging around here (and commenting) often. I’m glad your dad told you about it.
What a sweet message. Thank you so much! I just loved spending the week with baby Lily. and no, I can’t believe she’s 9 years old. I saw her picture on here and it blew me away. What a beautiful child! I would love to see all of you soon. I’ll be reading! :)