Oh Deer, Oh Deer, Oh Deer

Yesterday in the early am hours my husband hit a deer while driving my little Toyota Echo.   He was going to work beet hauling and a large doe jumped out of a deep slough point blank in front of him.   He called me at 2 am to come and get him.  I drove his pickup truck to rescue him.  Harold said the doe was alive but bleeding badly as he moved it off the highway.  Sadly the poor doe raised her head a couple times and then died.  He felt bad for her.    Thankfully my husband was not hurt!!   Here is what my car looked like after the deer hit:

My Toyota Echo after being hit by a deer.  

Another view

This is the third time the Echo has been hit by a deer, but this third time did the poor girl in I'm afraid.   The first time the car was hit was in 2006 when a deer ran into the driver's side door as we were driving to Indiana.   The second time was here in the neighborhood when a deer only caused minor damage to the hood and broke a headlight.   This third and last time was at almost 60 mph and quite damaging.   I will miss the little car, as I have driven it since 2002 (I bought it new then) and put over 284,000 miles on it.   After almost 18 years a car becomes sort of like a friend, ya know?
     We needed to get something quick, because we must have two vehicles out here in the country.   Many times Harold and I  have to be in separate places at the same time.   We can't always drive each other to places because sometimes the distance is 75 miles apart.  Out here in the country it seems like every place we need to go is about 40 miles away.     Our budget is pretty tight right now, so we were at a loss as to what to do!  A friend from church suggested that her son had a vehicle he was selling and the price was reasonable.   We took a look at it, and decided it would be a good car for right now, especially with winter approaching.   He is an auto mechanic and kept the car running smoothly over the years.   Here is what we bought today:

My new wheels.  It's a 2005 Chevy Uplander.  

This new car has some rust on it, and a few things that need to be repaired (but minor).  But considering that we only had to pay 700 bucks for it, it's a good deal.   This vehicle will be good for hauling veggies to the Farmer's Market, too.   Until we can get something a little newer and better, this is a good substitute car.
     Sometimes things just happen, I guess.  Harold has a new nickname now:  the "deerslayer" !