As the prelude of winter has dawned, deer hunting season is here. I have looked forward to this time of year for several months, and an excuse to retire into the wilderness for an extended amount of time is just what my strained mind was in the need of. It was hours before the sun rose up above the skeleton of the trees, that I settled into my blind.

As I sat in stillness, an eerie calm came over me as well as the darkness all around. While the sun was well below the horizon, the crunchy layer of snow boldly reflected the moons rays in such a way that it lit up the entire forest. As the absence of noise toyed with my mind, I began to turn my ears back and forth into the unknown, gently tuning my ears to strain for a sound, much like an fm radio scanning for a discernable signal.

And then it happened; a distant crunch started off in the distance. At first it was very sporadic and soft. Hoping to save myself from heartache, I rationed the noise to be only a squirrel or perhaps an eager rabbit scavenging for breakfast. But as the steps came closer, they grew heavier and more frequent. The cold appendages on my body soon warmed with the pump of adrenaline shot into my body, and the theater within me which was absent of noise was soon filled with the racing thump of my heartbeat. It grew even louder and it came close enough that I could sense what direction it was coming from. Without turning my heard, I stretched my eyes to try in make out the figure of the large creature making the crunching noise. Then I gently turned my head, hoping not to startle whatever it was that was coming closer.

The sun was now slowly illuminating the distant horizon, and with it I could make out the deer approaching me. As I positioned my body to it, the noise suddenly stopped. And then a single stomp of the hoof. Without warning a loud huff came from the nostrils of the deer and it echoed into the wilderness that was empty of sound, and caused my heart to leap within the cold chamber of my body. And then he gave another stomp of the foot, and then another huff. This standoff between the young buck and whatever scent he smelled or noise he heard in the distance went on for several minutes. Pulling back my hammer, I could stand this showdown no longer. I gently raised my gun to this worthy opponent, and as quickly as I could prepare myself to shoot, the juvenile explorer raised away.

Part of me was sad that the free meal got away; after all I did spend almost $30 on a license this year. The other part of me was perfectly content in leaving the woods that morning with nothing more than the excitement of the hunt, and my numb toes and fingers.

I thank you God, for the thrill of your creation.
For all creatures big and small, and even the ones that can’t move at all. Amen.