Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, is credited with the saying “If you don’t like the weather in New England now, just wait a few minutes.” The same can be said for the area we live here in Minnesconsin. The weather changes around here about as often as a newborn baby’s diaper and often, it is just as nasty. Even though the weather outside does get frightful on occasion, I have come to find solace in being able to experience the meteorological differences from one day to the next. That bit of comfort from day to day is a reminder that there are so many things that I have absolutely no control over. Sometimes you do everything that you possibly can to change an outcome of something in your life and still; The result is not what you had hoped for. Like the Minnesota Deer Opener… I did all the things that the “successful hunters” from the videos do like wash my hunting clothes in a scent eliminating detergent, made sure that my rifle was hitting the mark, used high quality doe pee and even sat extremely still. NOTHIN. My mom had a bit of a twist to the “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” quote. She would say, “Keep trying but know, you can’t always get what you want, but if you keep trying, you might get what you need.” She had a way about going all Mick Jagger without even knowing who The Rolling Stones were.

Because our party share in the success or failure of our deer hunting group, there is venison in my freezer due to the good fortune of a few other members of our party. This led me to a decisive moment, and I very much dislike decisive moments. Do I make time to get out and hunt some more, possibly harvest a deer of my own which will increase the amount of venison in the freezer for our party or, do I just settle for what I have in my freezer? I often try to apply the doctrine of Utilitarianism to my decisions, whereas the actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of the majority so, making time to hunt some more and potentially add to the bounty of my hunting comrades would fit. On the other hand, each of us have venison in our freezers already and I most definitely could take time to knock some items off the “honey do” list if I would just stay home. My problem, well, one of several when it comes to the decision-making process is, OVERTHINKING. When factoring in things such as money spent on license, gear and other things related to deer hunting, the additional time in the woods started to tip the scale. Decision made… going hunting and the 3:30am alarm would be ringing Saturday, November 14. It rang and I woke up sweaty, chilled and achy which any other year would have been a sign of my annual fall cold. In 2020, these symptoms tend to raise the alert flag just a bit more than years past and I felt a bit feverish as well. I decided to error on the side of caution and stay home. Will update on this next week.

Once a decision is made; it is made, and you live with it. That was another “momism” that was hard to argue with. I am not going to lie; I have been second guessing my decision to stay at home ever since I texted my buddy Terry to let him know I was not going to make it. I felt much better later in the day and by the next day, felt just fine. Today, I feel “fine as frog’s hair” to quote my buddy Bob. The decision was made, it is in the past AND there was late season success in the woods that we hunt. Terry’s son Nick brought his friend Will with for the hunt. These two attend Park High School and share a love for the outdoors. I only wish I would have been there to witness the exuberance that comes with harvesting a deer… especially from someone younger who exhibits a passion for hunting. Terry texted me that Will shot a spike buck from “my stand.” The fact is, none of the stands we sit in are “locked” as one person’s or the other. It is the stand that I sat in the last two openers and that is how it came to be known as “my stand.” Chances are, had I been up with them, I would have been sitting in a different stand. Some might say, “There is no crying over spilled milk,” but I didn’t hear that growing up. If there was spilled milk, you better wipe that up and at least rinse the glass. No spilled milk here, just very happy for Will and a bit sad that I missed out.

Minnesota Deer season is done for our party and it truly was successful. Each of us have venison in the freezer and we shared in some fun times where some great memories were made. What could have been IF any of us would have done this, that or the other thing different will never be known. There are no rewind buttons in life as there were on the old cassette tape recorders that many of us had as kids. The stories and memories will last long after the venison is gone. Hopefully there are many more stories and memories to be made with our deer hunting party. The same group of guys will be doing an ice fishing trip to Lake of the Woods in January. Between now and then, I am confident we will conjure up at least one or two more Outdoor Adventures. Get out and enjoy the great outdoors… and stay clear of Covid-19. Stay safe!!!