Excitement

Here in Alabama, we are 9 days away from opening day of gun season. I am remembering all the years before as I counted down the days. In every memory of the night before opening day I see the excitement , sometimes even to the point of no sleep that all of us hunters have faced. It is like a child waiting for Christmas Day or the adrenaline rush athletes feel right before the big game. In my memories I remember that sometimes I didn't sleep and left for the woods very early. Back then I did most of my hunting on my grand dad's land. It never failed that no matter how early I got there before daylight opening day. It always seemed that my Pop already had a light on. Just as if he couldn't sleep either. I guess it doesn't matter the age we all get excited about opening day.
My Pop was who really influenced me the most about my deer hunting. He always just seemed prepared never anxious about opening day. When me and my cousins were still trying to decide which spot might produce the best,Pop would already know where he was going. He always had meat in the freezer. I can still hear his advice today, he would say " Deer are lazy, they don't want to climb the highest point on the mountain, they will always use the lowest area to cross." or " the deer will take the trail that is easiest, just like you would." Other older hunters advice worth repeating was, "find the water and you will find the deer, they get thirsty just like we do." or "look for the droppings, if you find the poop you will find the deer." I hope my thinking back in time will help someone else get ready for opening day. Good luck to all.