Mingling

It is time for my annual distraction from fishing.  That will be reflected here in my blog.  I pretty much am all fish and fishing, all the time, except when the turkeys are gobbling.  In just this past week, it has seemed to me that all of a sudden there are big, strutting, gobbling turkeys in many of the places where I expect them to be.  Even in the middle of the sandhills!

I love spring turkey season for the big, beautiful birds, the gobbling, the antics.  I love the early mornings and late evenings, the awakening of spring.  Love the calls, the decoys, the weight of the vest on my shoulders.  I love the feel of the familiar old shotgun in my hands and against my cheek, the sound of shells being fed into her.  I love the smell of spring rains, and flowering plums, then buffalo currants, and chokecherries.  Eventually, there will be that sight down the barrel, lining up on the head of a big gobbler.  Then the bark of the gun, the smell of gun powder, and the sound of wings beating on the ground.  Yes, I will hunt with the intent of fulfilling my role as predator.

More importantly, I hunt just to mingle:

I do not hunt for the joy of killing, but for the joy of living and the inexpressible pleasure of mingling my life however briefly with that of a wild creature I respect, admire, and value.–John Madson

Come to think of it, pretty much the same reason I fish.

Hope you have a good weekend mingling too.