We met in Atlanta at a Halloween beer festival in 2014; I was dressed as 1970s Cher while Devon was dressed as a lumberjack. It wasn't until much later that I found out he was was actually dressed as himself. 

 

An arborist by day, Devon is prone to waking up as early as 3am on the weekends to venture into the woods, find a tree, not to be heard from until dinnertime. This is near habit-form, as Devon has been conditioned to these seasonal circadian rhythms since he was a child. He grew up shadowing his grandfather, Dale, whenever he took to the woods for his hunting and fishing trips. Picture a 3-year old Devon with his Grandpa's boots on, an oversized camo vest, and a Red Ryder in his left hand. That was Devon! Learning from the best and applying his grandfather's teachings since day one, Devon pursues it all. Be it squirrel, rabbit, deer, he's hunted it and if he hasn't yet, it's next on his list. Though his interest in hunting wild game is scattered, his prowess is in duck and turkey hunting.

 

Meanwhile, I grew up in a literal log house in the middle of the woods, just outside suburban West Central Georgia. Climbing trees, collecting bugs and getting lost in the Georgia pines were second nature to me. A tomboy at heart, my poor mom would attempt to dress me up in cleaned and pressed girl clothes, only for me to dirty them up as soon as I could get outside and climb the nearest tree I could find. That was me!  

 

I cut my teeth fishing bass and bream on my Nana's 400 acre property in rural Mississippi. My brothers and I would spend several summers here exploring the wilderness and biding our time through fishing, since my Nana only had 3 local channels on the TV and there certainly was no internet. An action-packed day meant we went swimming at the nearby community pool or taking my uncle's pontoon boat out to deep pockets in the pond where beds of white perch would hungrily take the grubby white worms at the end of my spin cast.

 

Thumbing through my tackle of brightly colored jelly worms, I had no idea that natural imitations of flies existed and that anglers attempted to "match the hatch." Later in life, I knew fly fishing was a thing but it was foreign to me. I didn't think of ever pursuing it until I met Devon.

 

Here I am in now (2019) with 3 good years of fly fishing experience under my belt and I am nearly as obsessed with it as Devon is with hunting. 

When we are not completely immersed in the woods and streams of North GA, we are tying flies, watching hunting videos, skeet shooting, or training our duck dog Chip. I also dedicate my time to teaching other women fundamentals of fly fishing or coming up with recipes for the fresh game that Devon brings home. Devon's also actively involved with the arborist community here in Atlanta.

 

Though the majority of our time in nature is spent separately, we come together at the end of our journeys to exchange stories all while savoring fresh game and fish tales.

This blog is dedicated to capturing our outdoor lifestyle in addition to bringing our knowledge, both novice and expert, to others in hopes that they will benefit from our experiences. 

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-Liz Lucabaugh