Deer Season in Indiana

My husband and I have lived in southern Indiana for decades, and in the same town for the past ten years. We have traveled the same roads from this tiny burg to the "big cities" for many a mile. What is the scariest thing we have to contend with living in the boonies???

The FIRST DAY OF DEER SEASON!

Driving home from an auction, we were heading south on Indiana Highway 59; a route we've traveled a million times. But this day, about dusk, we popped over a hill to see three deer bounding through a newly harvested field towards the highway. It was the first day of deer season, and hunters had them spooked. We slowed down in order to give them time to pass, but the momentum was too great. Two of them cleared our path, and the third, a doe, COULD have made it. But just when we rounded the top of the hill, she turned TOWARD us and jumped right on top of the van.

BAM - just like that. Her head hit the top of the van, her body wrapping around the drivers side windshield, her hips knocking the side view mirror through the drivers side window, shattering glass everywhere.

The mirror hit Joe in the face, forcing a trip to the ER for stitches; and glass rained down all over the place. I even had it down the back of my shirt, in my bra, embedded in my scalp, etc. If you look at the photo, you will still see fur in the windshield. Of course, she didn't make it.

This is the first time either of us had ever been in a deer accident, which (considering where we live) makes us a select few. I've known people who've been in two or even three related accidents, some in the same year even.

So I've got to warn you out-of-towners to be careful driving the beautiful hills of southern Indiana during the lovely months of fall.