i find myself eagerly awaiting the start of deer season like i did when i was a kid yet for many more different reasons then before. although i hunted, longer, harder and put more meat on the table as a youth i now yearn for the sights, smells, and overall peace that the woods offers. i look so forward to melting in and becoming part of something that has for so long been a way of life and living to so many. words can not describe what the woods, waters and this time of year mean to me. i feel alive and accepted as a predator. i look forward to hunting with new faces and making new memories. i would much rather see a youth or a good friend make meat rather then myself. i have taken my share and have been rewarded with fond memories or great hunts. i believe i am at a point in my life when the little things are now big and the big things as a youngster are greatly remembered. i will never give up the hunt but i do enjoy slowing down. do you ever notice how beautiful the voice of the cardinal is? how strong and pure the smell of a fresh rain? the innocence of playful fawns? the graceful flight of the hawk? the swirl of smoke from a good pipe? the thunderous gobble of a boss tom at daybreak? the sight of blooming trilliums in a place you never expected to see them? this is my trophy 10 point, this is what i call a succesfull hunt, this is living!! yes i have slowed down but you wouldn't know it if you checked my heart beat at this time of year!!! good luck to all!
Adirondack Mountain Ken