Election Day, Buck Deer and Wild Trukeys

Today is election day. A lot of self important people will be on TV over the next few hours. I'll find something better to watch. November is an exciting month, not because of elections but because deer season comes in! The leaves have turned, the air is crisp and clear. In the woods you can feel the onset of winter. All of God's little varmints are busying themselves getting carb loaded for the winter. In NC deer season is just coming in. Its my favorite time of the year. Its not about killing. Its about being outside. I use a deer blind. It's sort of a tent used for hunting. Its camo and its also a great place to watch the forest. People tend to think that the forest is quiet. Hardly! The forest is alive! It moves. I leave my house about 400 am and get into my blind about 445. Its cold, last Saturday 22 degrees! Right before day break its deadly quiet. But as the sun rises in the east over the hills in Rowan CO, something flips a switch. It starts slow, a chirp here, a rustle there. But then before long the whole place is alive with movement, scurrying. There are squirrels hard at work gathering acorns and hickory nuts. The chipmonks are so loud too. They chirp like birds. The birds! Oh man, at least 20 species fluttering about singing the mornings praises. Then Saturday a flock of Wild Turkeys came right up on me. My Grandaddy used to say that if you ever saw one shoot it, becasue it would be the last one you'd ever see. But, the population has come back, they are everywhere. My son and I will go out Saturday for his first hunting trip. He's 8 years old and it should be one of those watermark days for him. My mom has a book about children that are nature deprived. In this techno/suburban/plastic culture that America has embraced, I do beleive we are raising a generation of nature deprived kids. I find that my relationship with God grows in intensity in the woods. Its not the forest itself, but its the solidtude, the being away from the world that I love. Its like coming out of the Matrix. Its where I feel most like a man. I've given you some pictures of where I hunt ((on my buddy Keith's property), including the turkeys. Hope you like them. Hey, if you get a chance today, take a walk in the woods and sit and listen, you'll be glad you did.