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Tuesday, December 22, 2015

In the Trees



Being in a treestand while the wind sways the tree you're in is an unsettling sensation.  Especially when the forest floor all around you is littered with fallen trees.  There isn't much you can do to control the situation.  If it falls, you're going with it.  Your choices are to: climb down, stay and spend the rest of your hunt in fear, or my favorite option- give up.

Give up and sway with the tree like you belong there.  Accept you aren't in control and enjoy the hunt.  If you can, that's about as close to nature as you'll ever get. 

I try not to hunt the swamp until at least Christmas.  It's a family spot, and we've learned it's a place worth waiting for.  Don't mess it up by hunting it early. 

From one of my favorite stand locations, you get a clear view of the northern sky.  At dusk in late December, the sky turns the most brilliant shade of blue.  Just before it fades to black, you get to see the big dipper literally materialize out of thin, rich, blue air over the horizon. 
Take it in, by now you can't see your sights anyways.

Last night, on my final hunt of the year, I watched the northern stars while swaying in my tree.  I could hear the river gurgling in the distance.  It was cold, but comfortable.   I wasn't ready to come down.  

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