Why do I hunt deer? It’s partly an excuse to . . .
Watch a brown creeper fly down, then creep up the tree trunk –
Be amazed at how efficiently a pileated woodpecker can chisel apart a boxelder log –
Hear several other pileateds chattering and flying in woods –
Chuckle at the commotion gray squirrels make when chasing each other around woods –
Blink my eyes, as deer seem to appear out of thin air – and disappear just as quickly –
Be happy to see a bossy blue jay, who ads a bit of color to the otherwise –gray-brown woods
Admire too-small bucks calmly browsing in the brush near my stand –
“Dee-dee” an answer to the ever-present chickadees that keep me company in the woods –
Listen to a buddy’s tale of the ghostly “monster” buck that eluded both of us –
Ponder a fawn intently munching grass a few yards away, oblivious to my presence or my scent –
Welcome “our” eagles as they daily circle, soar, and screech –
Savor a December sunrise, and the following December sunset –
Share the excitement of 6-year-olds as they get to sit in the blind with Papa –
Commend a normally fidgety 13-year-old on his patience while watching a deer trail –
Bring the entire, orange-clad crew into the woods to fetch a deer after a successful hunt –
Smile at the exuberance of an 11-year-old future hunter, as he hugs the deer carcass hanging in the shed –
Cut and process our own venison, while planning meals of tasty loins, versatile burger, and delicious stew –
Await the unseen coyotes, raucous crows, and hoped-for eagles that may come for a feast on the bones and scraps, to be sure nothing goes to waste from our harvest –
And to sleep well, after a day watching and stalking the deer trails of our Turkey River bluffs.