We are less than a month away from the 2024 Indiana Deer Season and that brings excitement and nervousness for a season that feels different that previous years. Prep for this season has been dialed back significantly due to family obligations including moving, this move was a major move from a major city in central Indiana to a small college town about 40 minutes West of where we used to live. Travel time to deer camp stayed about the same but the route is different. Instead of taking interstate and highways its now a straight shot on some county roads through small towns.

The woods is a place of solace, high up in a tree or tucked away in a blind I am left with the sounds around me and the thoughts that pass through my mind. There is a different outlook on things when you’re 20 feet up in a tree, closer to god, looking at your surroundings and wondering how the world you’re seeing came to be. What occurred during that fallen trees life time that led to it laying across the path that I walk in on, how does the barking squirrel feel when its running down the tree and suddenly comes upon me sitting in my stand before sunrise? What prompts the deer to leave its bed or feeding area to walk within 20 yards of me and only pause to glance around before sticking her nose in the ground to grab an acorn that had fallen from its branch this morning.

One thing is definitely different about this season… Will there be many sits in the woods this fall or just a few short sits, that story has yet to be written. It will be full of thought, soul searching, pondering what has yet to be learned and what lies ahead. One thing that I feel strongly about inside is this season will be a “reflective solo” and hopefully I will be able to express what I learn in words and put those thoughts here…