I Love Fall, but...
I hate going hunting before deer season. We went down around Rushford and hunted the three big state forest areas, Hanging Bog, Rush Creek, and... some other one I don't remember the name of. We ran about seven drives, which meant I was standing around all day and my dad was walking all day. I'm not sure who had it easier; standing sure sounds easier but it's not easy at all to just stand still, not daring to move because turkeys have vision that's ten times better than yours. My feet were killing me after the first two drives because I wore the wrong boots... I thought they fit my feet better. So, I can see how walking the 10-15 miles my father had to walk on those drives is tiring but I'd probably rather do that than stand.
What did we get? I almost got slaughtered by a pair of deer, a large doe and what looked to be a yearling doe. I was standing there minding my own business when these two deer jumped over the log right next to me and almost landed on me from my left flank, literally landing about a foot away from me. That encounter left me kind of shaky because they scared the living shit out of me, but if it was deer season I would have bagged the big doe easily. She stopped five yards in front of me, perfect broadside shot, with her head behind a tree so she wouldn't see me move. Best shot I'll have all year, I'm sure. Other than that, I saw a single squirrel well outside my range and a flock of turkeys a good hundred yards away, and I didn't have any calls or anything so I couldn't even try to call them in. My father saw the same turkeys on his drive, a few squirrels, and a few deer. We brought home one squirrel.
I do love fall in the woods like that, though. For a while it was very pleasant: good wind and dry air, no bugs out trying to eat me and the sun behind a cloud most of the time. Then came the heavy rain, humid air, and mosquitos. Bastards.
