With this past winter’s weather being such a roller coaster of cold to warm then back to cold days, I was beginning to suffer from cabin fever. That’s when I decided to do a weekend get away for Wildlife Women. I called Big Branch Cabin Rentals in Knott County and booked a cabin for the event, scheduling it for the second weekend in March, hoping by then the weather would be warming up and we could do some outdoor activities. I called my Event, Cabin Fever Reliever! Now I had to decide what activities I could do, that would educate, encourage and inspire the ladies that attended, so I called up my good friend, Tina Thornsberry that owns Beaver Creek Outfitter, and we decided on some things we would do if the weather permitted.
The night before my event, the weather forecast was giving one to three inches of snow for our area and higher amounts for different parts of the state. I thought about rescheduling my event but decided to go ahead and have it. I’m so glad I did because the snow had missed our area and the weather was cool but nice.
The First Lady to arrive had driven from Morgan County, And the second one to arrive, my friend, Danielle Dietz, had driven from Lexington, both stating they had left about 5-6 inches of snow at their homes. This was the first Wildlife Women’s event for both of them. I had invited Danielle to teach a class on survival for the ladies. The other ladies arrived and counting myself, I had 10 in attendance.
With turkey season being about a month away, I began the event by talking about what I knew about turkey hunting. I discussed my calls, what all I take to the blind with me, gun safety, what gun and shells I use when I turkey hunt, and placement of my blind and decoy. After this we all took the blind and put it up and placed our decoy out and put up a target with a turkey silhouette on it. All the ladies took a turn shooting 30 yards at a turkey target from the blind. Some of the ladies had never shot a gun before and enjoyed shooting at the targets.
After we finished shooting, Tina was familiar with the area and took most of the ladies for a long hike. After they returned Danielle taught the ladies how to start a fire using flint and steel and then she taught the ladies how to put together a survival kit to carry with you when hunting or hiking. Then all the ladies made their own survival kit to take home with them.
For supper, Tina and I made a big pot of homemade chili, using moose meat, from a moose I had taken in Maine. Most of the ladies hadn’t eaten moose before. After a hearty supper it was time to rest, relax, visit with and get to know each other, until bedtime. Everyone stating they had enjoyed the day and the event. The next morning after breakfast, the ladies traded e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and face book pages , the ladies packed to go home, taking with them new found friendships they all had made this weekend.
By Chapter Leader
Linda Campbell