We didn’t care what the weather forecast was, we were going hunting. It was a rare occasion when me, my brother, and dad had a chance to hunt together on a blustery Sunday evening. Winds were forecast to gust up to 20 mph, and there was likely going to be snow flurries. Undaunted, we met at Horseshoe Hills and headed to the woods. My dad sat in his blind, which is tucked in between mature pine trees that insulted him from the elements. My brother went to the Gas Well Plot and it sits lower on the property and is at least somewhat protected from the wind. Naturally being the guy that knows the property best you’d think I would also pick a stand that would provide a reasonable fit, right?
Sometimes I do things that are more reflective of my sense of humor than my common sense. I decided to pick a stand on what I refer to as Mary Ridge and I paid for it. At one point I texted my dad and brother and said I didn’t know if I could get a shot off even if a deer did come by. That’s when I just laughed and snapped the above photo, reminding myself that it’s the journey that matters and even if I was facing depressing odds, I was having fun with it and happy just to be out with my family. Only my brother saw deer on the hunt but they included a small buck and a button buck. We’ll never remember that, though. What we will remember is three guys doing stupid shit together by trying to get within bow range of a deer on an evening that wasn’t fit for man or beast.