Now, I love a sunrise and sunset as much as the next guy.
But you know if I'm posting sunset photo for opening day, I was still in the stand at closing time. Illinois' first firearm deer season runs through Sunday, Nov. 23.
To make matters worse, when I got home and checked my inbox, there were several really nice bucks nominated for Buck of the Week that had just arrived from bowhunters. Nothing yet for BOTW from successful firearm hunters. E-mail them to outdoordb@sbcglobal.net.
The morning I didn't do anything more than freeze and fidget too much with the yips of civilization. That's about par for me. The only natural thing was watching a fox squirrel brave the northwest winds to forage in the cornfield.
The afternoon was better. I finally relaxed down into a natural rhythm and let my mind empty.
About 3, a nice buck materialized from the cornfield, made a one-second appearance, then disappeared into the fencerow. It is always a mystery to me how something that big can appear and disappear so quickly.
About 10 minutes later, a doe pranced out, which put me on edge for the next half hour to no avail. The buck never showed again.
As the sun set, two owls began hooting and gliding along distant fencerows to the east and west.
It was time.
To add insult, four deer were walking the edge as I climbed down from the stand.
Tomorrow is Day 2. I love it.
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