Skunked

Obviously, being the obsessive hunter that I am, I'm passing on my wisdom of the outdoors to Ridge. Since he's only 16 months old, I'm starting with the basics-being able to properly identify animals that a hunter may encounter in the woods. He can accurately ID and pronounce the words buck and doe and being a true Bryson he overtly prefers the ones with the big racks to the slick-heads.

I've also taught him the word skunk, which is good because as any deer hunter will tell you, more times than not when hunting you get skunk-ed. Which is exactly what happened to yours truly yesterday in the deer woods.

I had high hopes of putting a hole through the side of Mr. 8 Pointer after our little run-in three days ago. But unfortunately he was a no show today. It was however a good day to be in the woods. I played hooky from work and headed down the the hunting land in the wee hours of the morning. At 5Am, coffee cup in hand, I was cruising south on I-85. I was shocked at the amount of traffic at such an early hour. Does Atlanta traffic ever stop! 45 Minutes later I was climbing into my stand a good hour before daylight. I couldn't have asked for better conditions-temperatures in the low 50's, low humidity, and no wind. The woods that morning were still and calm.

But unfortunately, the deer, unlike myself, decided to sleep in that morning and skip the hearty breakfast of shell corn and golden delicious I had laid out for them. It wasn't a total waste however. I did see a pretty red-tailed fox, which marked the second time I've seen him. I think he has a den in the base of an old tree on the creek bank.

Even though I wasn't able to introduce Mr. 8 pointer to my good acquaintance, Mr. Fred Bear it was a great day to sit in the woods. In my opinion, there is isn't anything finer thing in the world than to be in the woods before daybreak and experience the forest come alive with the day.

I felt blessed to just to be alive on God's Earth, to paraphrase Capt. Agustus McCrae.

Since I was spending the entire day in the deer woods. I came down from my sniper perch around 11 AM and drove into Newnan for lunch. I dined in Newnan's finest eating establishment, the Chick-Fil-A, and after my exequisite meal of chicken nuggets and waffle fries, I passed the time writing and reading the paper.

I returned to my stand around 3PM to see if the evening hunt brought any action.

Well, it did, but not much. Right around dark, a big doe and her two twins came into the bait pile to feed. I watched them for a good 45 minutes or so with was pretty exciting. It's always fun to watch deer, no matter how big they are. It gets my blood pumping. However, they did start to annoy me after it was getting dark, to dark to shoot, and it was obvious the big boy wasn't going to show, and they wouldn't leave. I always like to let deer leave on their own without me spooking them. Normally I wouldn't mind sitting a little longer but tonight was the season premiere of The Office, my favorite show and I really wanted to get home.

Finally, Ms. Slink and the twins ate their fill and crossed the creek and I was able to climb down and head for the house. Not sure when I'll be able to get back in the woods, but I'm hoping Mr. 8 Pointer is there when I do.