Well, That Was A Letdown...

I have been hunting now for four years. And I use the term hunting very seriously here because I have HUNTED with ferocity in hopes of at least SEEING something worth shooting at in the bush.

But I've yet to see a deer.

I fought tooth and nail to get two consecutive days off of work so I could go hunting. I dressed up in my Blaze orange and put my gun in Da JEEP and loaded down my pockets with slugs. I had a cup of warm coffee, a knife clipped to my belt, and my trusty hound dog at my side.

AND I DIDN'T EVEN SEE A DEER.

I'm feeling a little deflated about the whole situation.

Dixie, however, had a grand time chasing a rabbit. This is a terrible habit for a deer hound (As her time is better spent chasing deer) but I figure out of hopelessness, she just wanted to chase something. I feel for her and several times contemplated shooting at a squirrel, or a tree, or into the open sky but chose not to as this is considered poor hunting etiquette.

She did chase a deer today, howling her way through the forest like her beagle-y little self, but sadly she took it about eight thousand miles in the opposite direction of us, so no deer was to be had.

Da JEEP made it through with flying colors. I was so pumped to get to use the four wheel drive for real, to tear it through the mud and laugh in the face of other hunters who would surely be stuck in the mud.

This was not the case and after driving a little ways with the 4X4 turned on, I stopped and turned it off because all it was doing at that point was burning gas. A person could probably make it in with a Honda Civic if they so desired, that is how dainty the road has become.

But, if nothing else, I braved the four a.m. alarm clock ring, the freezing elements and the whipping winds to bond with nature and make some decisions about my life while hoping that the elusive ten point buck would walk out in front of me.