It seems like the Spring 2013 turkey season just got going. Now it’s finished. Even the guys out in Maine are done.
Of course, the season’s end brings the dreaded post-turkey-season blues. No more pre-dawn sneaks through the dark timber. No more split-second strategy decisions. No more gut-busting belly-crawls through the emerging foliage. No more daily yelping sessions.
Yeah, it’s great to catch up on sleep and devote some attention to work and chores around the house. But even when your mind is occupied with those tasks, it drifts off to the season’s final hunt and the last gobble. Sometimes, you ponder what-ifs and perhaps vow to do things differently next year. Those thoughts will stay with you until fall hunting opens, and will continue through winter until the first signs of new life bring hope for another spring season.
People often ask if you had a good turkey season. Heck yeah. They’re all good. Success varies, of course, but the pursuit of wild turkeys never carries negatives. Win or lose, the game brings unmatched exhilaration and an incredible array of new experiences.
In that sense, I guess, we’re never without turkey season. We’re reliving previous adventures and looking forward to new days afield. During summer’s heat and winter’s depths, some part of us will always be on a mayapple-strewn ridge, running a favorite call, straining our ears for one more gobble … one more hunt.
Here’s to hunts past and future. I’d say I hope they’re all good, but we already know the answer to that.