This afternoon was one of the best hunts of my life and I did not release an arrow. I walked down a dry creek bed where I have seen a lot of activity and scrape action already. I came upon a tree that looked inviting, cut a hole in the brush at the base and sat down on the ground. An hour later I heard a faint limb crack, deeper in the woods followed by the rustling of leaves that is a signal of several deer running down the hill toward an alfalfa field that sits 100 yards north of the creek bed. the doe family group, five in all fed within 5 yards of me for ten minutes. the wonder of the moment prevented me from loosing an arrow. Here I was,in my ghillie, in the deers world, beating five sets of eyes, ears, and noses. I sat quietly as they passed by, almost close enough to touch reveling in the moment. That however was not the end of the action, fifteen minutes later I looked through the brush, and saw a 2 year old eight pointer coming along the same trail. He passed slowly and started working one of the scrapes that I had seen.He entertained me for ten minutes, scraping, licking branches and rubbing his preorbital glands on the branches until he slowly moved on to the alfalfa field. Hunting to me is not always about killing, I revel in each night in the field, and tonight will be remembered as one of my best. Thanks for letting me share. Jim