In the Orange

The deer hunters are doing awesome up here this year.  It seems like everyone is shooting some very nice bucks.  Our friend’s daughter shot a huge 10 point buck, Shari’s counterpart Bob got a nice 8 point, and their friend Mike shot a very large 10 point this evening.  The deer population has exploded up here and they seem to be running everywhere.  My Mike is a happy hunter since he shot his buck on Tuesday morning.   I actually bought a license this year and decided I would go out on Tuesday afternoon since Mike was done hunting.  He suggested I use his tree stand that was in the middle of a clear cut area.  I climbed up the ladder, barely able to step from rung to rung because my snowpants were restricting my movement.  I finally got to the top and it felt like I was in the St. Louis Arch.  The wind was blowing and the tree was swaying so much I got dizzy sitting on the chair.  So, I moved down to where my feet would usually rest and there I sat, near motionless for 3 hours.  That is an amazing feat for me, just so you know.  The wind howled and then the rain started to come down.  I began to shiver and then I thought to myself, "What in the heck am I 10 feet up in the air, freezing my butt off, waiting for a deer to come when I don’t even know if I would shoot it if it did come?"  That’s when I crawled back down the ladder, got in my car, cranked the heat and decided I had enough deer hunting for this season.  The deer are safe from me and I will be content to hike in the woods and look for the antlers that are shed each year, that will be my trophy buck!