This time of year, I begin earnestly getting ready for the upcoming deer season. It's the hottest time of the year, but one has no choice if he is to be ready for the end of September.

It's July and I feel a sense of pressure. I'm thinking of food plots and practice shots.

I Just came back from a river-fishing trip with a friend. It was a beautiful morning to be on the water. This time of year, the early morning is usually the best because the heat really picks up about mid-morning

One of the activities I have enjoyed for about twenty years is running. But after the first decade, my knee put me on the shelf. During that time, I learned to enjoy road biking.

I have hunted big game most of my adult life. I have written about my experiences over 20 years. Those experiences are not spectacular. Most of them have come in random places at random times, and without the resources to make them anything special.

Now that turkey season is over, I'm getting my mental facilities back in sync.

Memorial Day has always symbolized more than its original purpose. It's supposed to allow us to reflect on the lives of those who died while serving in the armed forces in the United States. We would do well to both remember that and to take a moment to actually do it in some fashion.

There's one thing about hunting. One will have to get used to walking in the dark. I have noticed lately how each morning, I begin my turkey hunt, walking through woods and across a field in the dark.

It's been an enjoyable turkey season. It's been years since I have witnessed the amount of activity. I can't remember a single trip where I didn't hear multiple gobbles.

As I was loading my vehicle after a morning in the turkey woods, a truck slowly passed by. I could see that it was other hunters. They slowed long enough to tell me of their successful morning

One of the obstacles most hunters and fishermen dread is the wind. A light wind is not a factor - it's even helpful, but a windy day is burdensome to the fishermen and causes most game to stay out of sight

Within a few days of each other, two gobblers are down. An Eastern and a Rio. Since us guys only like our pictures taken if there are animals involved, there I am sitting behind each tom - feathers fanned and me as proud as a peacock.

It was opening day in Tennessee. The Game Commission had moved the date two weeks later than usual, and the limit had been reduced as well.

I don't remember being so annoyed as I was the other day. There I was sitting with a friend, sulking about a lost opportunity to pull the trigger on a tom turkey. The night before, we had seen a gobbler and a hen move into a certain part of the woods.

I live in a Tri-State area. Where I live in my state is less than 2 miles from two other states. When I consider bag limits, I think I have it made. When I consider out-of-state licenses, I think I don't have enough money.

Some of my most vivid memories come from the days of being on the lake.

There's a lot of fishing going on right now. I've heard stories from those catching bass, crappie, walleye, stripe, and trout. It is the perfect time of the year for fishermen, no matter what species you're after.

I think of all the hunters who are enjoying the spoils of victory right now. They are making some of the best chili or spaghetti sauce with the ground deer from their freezer.

It looks like we can dust off those dollflies. The walleye are finding their way upstream to spawn and need a tasty meal. I'm hoping some of them will become a good meal for me.

In my area there are a few small streams that feed into the rivers. When I say small, I mean only about 10 to 15 yards wide.

I don't fish as much as I did when I was a young adult. I enjoy going, but after a long deer season, I have a lot of catching up to do at home and at work.

I'm always amazed at those who can make things with their hands. I too enjoy creating, but my talents are very limited.

I spent the afternoon looking for antler sheds. It's really too early, but the weather was beautiful, especially for February.

I get excited this time of year. The deer season is over but another season that involves deer is just around the corner. It's the season to hunt antler sheds. If you don't know, each year bucks shed their antlers and grow new ones.

I have to admit, I like watching fishing on TV. Not the everyday programs, but tournament fishing.