The End of the Season

Activity at the farm was very light this past weekend. There was one flurry of shots right at sunrise on Sunday-- about 5 in less than a minute. Then KY Modern Weapons season ended with rain moving in late in the afternoon and settling in to a steady pour-down that lasted all through the Ohio Opener on Monday. We'll go back this coming weekend and finish pulling out for the Winter.

I was left with one treat. Mind you that I had given up all pretense of hunting by Weekend #3. I was just out sipping my coffee at the Thoughtful Spot Sunday morning. Sunrise came and went in gray gloom. There was on-and-off graupel and snow. Just as I was patting myself on the back for having the sense not to be out there, a doe ran out from the old well at the top of Hootin Holler and crossed the pasture towards the first barn. I went in and got my good binos, and settled back in. It was not long before I found what she had been running from.

There he was, the buck with the chandelier. It was at least his younger brother. His rack was hard to pick out, because of the distance. However, he was a handsome sight with a long-tined rack and a proud gait. He kept on the doe's path and disappeared over the rise at the First Barn. The wind shifted a bit, and I could hear his tending grunts, "EH! . . . Eh! . . . EH! . . .Eh!" and just before Angus walked out to join me, I heard a great commotion in the oak leaves fallen behind the barn.

That was how it should end-- that was my thought. The farm lifted up the curtain once more and showed me a peak at what I had missed, gave a hint at what might be, and planted the seed of desire in me for the year to come.

Right there, just before Angus walked out and broke the spell, was the heart of the Great Mystery that hunters have always attempted to grasp. The forest gives up its own to feed the hunter, only to have it reborn. Whether it's the sons of The Monarch in the autumn leaves, or the sons of Mister Natural strutting in the field, or me and my sons in pursuit, the dance goes on and the hunt seems Eternal. I greeted my son and told him what I had just seen, and then quickly went back to concentrating on the goings-on behind the barn, but it was all gone and all I was left was a cold wind and a fresh blast of sleet as Fall gave way to Winter, and I knew it was time to come inside and get warm.