Birthday Buck

Sometimes, things just work out.  My birthday is in December, during the week when you take finals if you're in college.  This year's birthday was different - it made up for the years of taking finals as my birthday present.  This year on my birthday, I  arose in the predawn to a fog - a fog so thick that wetness permeated everything and visibility was nil.  Based on the previous morning, the rising sun would thicken the fog even more.  I decided to hunt a place I had not hunted in  two years...a cedar thicket in a corner of the property that I rarely frequent. 

I set out that morning with low expectations but a heart of gratitude for being able to spend time outdoors on my birthday.  I took a small cup of corn and dribbled it in strategic places in hopes of slowing down any game animals that may come by.  As I settled into my position, I noticed tiny droplets accumulating on my binoculars and rifle and wondered how long it would be before I could see the area around me.  The wind fluctuated gently, sometimes bringing more moisture and other times, clearing the air around me for 50-75 yards distant.  Minutes dragged by slowly.  Eight o'clock and nothing.  Everything on me is dripping in moisture. I decide to wait until 8:30 before heading back to enjoy a hot cup of coffee.  Daylight is beginning to filter through the fog, with shadows of the treetops and limbs taking on odd shapes as dense fog is pushed by pockets of clear air.  All is deathly silent.  It seems magical. 

I look up and there are antlers heading my way. White antlers.  Not a trophy to most, but where I am, a trophy indeed.  He stops to taste the corn.  I move the rifle to my shoulder,  awkwardly raising my leg to lay the rifle on my knee and I scrape my boot against some brush.  He looks directly at me and decides something is not right and moves off through the brush.  I spot an opening he should cross and setup on that spot.  He never breaks a stride and I squeeze off as he moves through the opening.  At the shot, he lurches back and runs one step and is out of view.  I reflect on the shot - it felt good.  I wait a few moments and replay the shot again in my mind - same thoughts - he should be dead.  Quietly, I make my way toward where I last saw him.  As I begin moving towards where he ran, I see antlers on the ground and am rewarded with my buck.