The Lost Year

It is a Friday in January, near the end of duck season 2007-2008. Where am I? I am monitoring the progress of contractors installing new windows into my home. Where am I not? In the field. Such is the reality of hunting season 2007-2008. It just was not possible for me to get out hunt while trying to renovate my new house. So I accepted that this season would be lost. The King and I made it out once to dove hunt and once to duck hunt, and that was all. But, if any good has come out of missing a hunting season, it has made me realize just how important getting out in the field has become to me. It will make future trips that much more instense and important. I will savor every moment, including every challenge and every dunk in the swamp. I will still curse over a missed shot or a dunk in the swamp, but I will revel in the pain and cold. Such is the lesson of loss. My goal is now to be ready to catch some trout in March or hit some bass after that first spring warm spell.

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