This week is historically the coldest week of the year, give or take a day. For that reason and to fight off cabin fever I think it’s important to focus on something better and warmer today and honestly, maybe when it’s all said and done, it will be therapeutic as well. 

A few weeks ago I received a yellow postcard in the mail. It seems like it came a little early this year but it’s the first harbinger of spring and a welcome sight, no matter how cold it might be right now. So what is the mysterious yellow postcard that holds such warmth and springlike notions? Answer: the DNR postcard notifying me that I am hunting the first turkey season in April. WHOOOOWHOOOOO! 

Now honestly, if turkey strutting season was in the fall when there are already so many outdoor options, I probably wouldn’t give it much of my precise outdoor time. That season is already pretty booked up and I can prove that statement. There is already a fall turkey season, minus the strutting, and I seldom go out specifically to hunt turkeys although I have bagged a couple with my bow when I was archery hunting for a white-tailed buck. But a spring turkey hunting season without other distractions is a “look forward” to event.

So I decided to drill down on this and with the help of the internet (which is always correct) I was able to easily calculate how long my wait to bag a bird is really going to be. First, I have to make a couple of assumptions. The first one is that you receive your paper at noon on Wednesday, which is of course Pierce County Journal Day. The second assumption is that I bag my strutting tom on opening morning at 7:05 a.m. I didn’t say 6 a.m. because I want to sit and listen to some gobbling and drink some coffee before finishing up my first spring hunt.   

Having laid out the above said parameters, here’s how that all shakes out. I only have to wait 83 days, 18 hours, 25 minutes, and 0 seconds to bag my bird. Another way to look at it is to say it’s a little over 11 weeks away. That actually sounds a little closer. It sounds even better when I say that it is only 120,624 minutes away. If I go one more degree down my wait is 7,237,500 seconds away. I prefer not to use that number because the million reference makes it seem like my wait is a lot longer. It’s doesn’t matter how you slice that, if you can't tell, I’m already looking forward to turkey hunting. 

Didn’t get enough Dave this week? Visit “Outdoor Trails and Tales with Dave Beck” on Facebook for photos and video of Dave’s adventures. You can share your own photos and video with him there as well, or by emailing him at dave@piercecountyjournal.news Also, check out OTT content on Instagram @thepiercecountyjournal