The Stag symbolises a person's longing for liberation. Aggression. Strong male influence. The stag is seen as a noble masculine animal. The stag is also a medieval symbol of Jesus. There's a lot of mythology surrounding this magnificent animal.

He travels to the high, wild places. He disappears into the dark forest, where occasionally I may dare to follow. To me, he speaks of a journey.

And there have been some major journey preparations going on around my house this week with my two men preparing for their week-long deer hunt beginning this Friday. Such cooking as I have never seen. Although I did manage to get a bowl (or two) of the savory and hot hot hot green chile stew, because Dennis made something like three gallons, it seemed. I was not invited, or, quite frankly, allowed to help with any of the preparations. This is the staked-out territory of the males in my house. (Although I did talk Dennis into taking the horse trailer for sleeping in vs. a tent, not quite as macho, but infinitely warmer and drier. So see, there's a bit of female influence in the mix after all...)

This is 10-year-old C.'s first hunt. And actually, he is accompanying Dennis, not hunting himself. He hasn't done the hunter safety course yet.

Having kids is a series of little letting goes, it seems. And that's as it should be.

I wonder how different my little boy will return to me? The one who still lets me kiss him bye (every now and then, if I'm really fast) on the top of his blonde head in the mornings as I drop him off at school. The one who still reminds me of a puppy? How can a little boy hunt the stag, hind, roe, without something growing up just a little more inside?

Well, I'll be happy to welcome my little hunter home. (And my big one too. One of these days I'll tell you the story about his standoff with a black bear over an elk. Which he won, with nary a firearm and what I'd call sheer force of personality. It's legendary. At least in my house, and around a few campfires over the years when we cajole him into telling it.)

Anybody have any good deer recipes?