Standing at the window, peering into the first traces of daylight and a new morning, it was hard to decide. There was a little cold snap earlier in the week, but today it was supposed to get into the 40s, so the temperature really wouldn’t be too bad.
Still, it was very tempting to think about just walking back to the bedroom and getting under the covers. No one would know. He was at camp alone, and nobody was waiting for him. Going to the front porch, he stood for a minute and let the cold air wash over, pulling him away from thoughts of sleep. He watched a little gang of crows fly over, chattering about where to go to breakfast.
He decided to join them. He would get a biscuit, pull on too many clothes, grab the little .450 rifle and go for a slow walk in the woods. “Why wouldn’t you?” he thought to himself. The season is in for a few more days, you probably won’t see another soul, and the bucks will have settled down from their jitters when the crowd was here. Then he had a thought about where to go — a lofty ridge that eventually flattened out a little, and walking it wasn’t too bad, not too bad for this country anyway. It was up high, and he hoped the wind wouldn’t be too bad today …
Does any of this sound familiar?
As hunters, we are often faced with a strange scenario. We seem to wait and anticipate all year for the coming of our favorite seasons, be it for deer, turkeys, squirrels or whatever we think of as favorites. Then time goes by, and before we know it the season is here, but often we are not ready as it just seems to sneak up on us.