It’s that magical time of the year when rain turns to snow, lakes are freezing over, forests are bare of leaves and most humans are less than half prepared for the winter ahead. I think our fall-winter harvest season does something to the brain.
Most of us in this area of the country harvest our own meats this time of year. Venison, waterfowl, various small game and fish stack the freezers to last through the next few weeks or months. Early ice fishermen must have strange DNA as it’s possible to take a (non-photoshopped) picture of an ice shanty (with one or more fishermen inside) out on the thin ice and open water with a fisherman in a boat a stones throw from the ice shanty. Self proclaimed sensible people might have a lot to say about how much is wrong with that picture, but the rest of us might wonder which one is catching more fish? after all, we are in harvest mode here!
My neighbor has an odd tradition going; he spends bu-koo bucks on food plots and fancy condo deer stands with heaters, nice windows, a stash of food, cup holders and a place to put the thermos full of coffee. Most years all his deer are harvested quite close to the door of the cabin. I told him it would be more comfortable in his condo deer stands than sneaking out the back door and around the cabin in the snow with his bare feet to harvest the deer taking the last frozen apples off the tree.
Me, I’m normal. I get my deer walking through the woods or from a simple stand. This year I only had one cup of coffee and was in the middle of contemplating life from a deer stand (a good book title by the way) when a nice buck interrupted me. So now I am looking for my long cross country ski stuff as they distribute my weight better on thin ice.
My wife has a strange tradition going as well. She seems obsessed with life insurance quotes about this time of the year. I found her stash in my ice fishing bucket. don’t tell her but with all the money we saved by tossing those quotes I am getting her own set of skis and ice fishing stuff as an early Christmas gift.
Meanwhile I’m still looking for my ice scraper as my eyebrows and cheeks freeze sticking my head out the truck window going to the lake.
Happy Thanksgiving Deer
Gary
garyfultz 