Weekly reflection 5/6

Week one of Senior Project is in the books. My week started out with a trip to find a new stream that was recently stocked with brook trout. I was able to find it no problem, but finding fish was another story. I fished for several hours with no fish to show for it. That night while in woodshop extra help I talked to Greg Allen about it and he told about a section that always holds some fish. I returned the next day and was rewarded with two solid brook trout. While I did do some fishing my focus for the week and weekend has been turkey hunting. I have been anxiously waiting for the season to open, which it did on Thursday of this week. I hunted hard. Waking up at 3:45 am not one, not two but three out of the first four days of the season. I did sleep in on Friday because of my lacrosse game later that day but went out around 9:30 to try and locate a bird. Sunday Morning, though it was not a senior project day, I could not give up a beautiful day in the woods. I went into the same area as the days prior, with coincidentally the same result. I climbed a tall ridge to call an listen only to have the bird gobble on the other side of the road. Unfortunately upon further investigation he was on posted property so I could not go after him. Around 8:30 the rain had started to trickle but I knew it wouldn't affect the birds too bad. I went into a spot that I haven't hunted since 4th grade. I haven't been there since then but I knew from those early hunts that birds liked to be there. I hadn't been in the woods 30 minutes and a bird gobbled at my call. I quickly set up my decoys and sat down, putting my face mask and gloves on. The bird gobble again, and again, and again. I didn't call back to him. Over the years I have learned that just like cats, curiosity kills the turkey. Each gobble I could tell he was getting closer and closer. I started to get nervous, hands and feet trembling. I knew that he was working my way but doubts filled my head that he would stay out of range or I'd miss. Maybe for some reason he would just drift off, like so many other birds did there many years ago. 50 yards away I see a red, white and blue head stick up through the brush. He steps closer and closer until he pauses.  Barley in gun range but not the ethical shot that I wanted to take. The he went into full strut for a brief moment before taking off on a dead sprint, right to my decoys. He closed the distance fast, almost too fast. Struts up and whacks my decoy with his wings, pauses and sticks his head up clear from his body. “Take it”. The words that my dad has said to me numerous times before still rings in my head every time I am sighting down an animal. I squeezed the trigger, the gun kicks and the bird flops. I rush up there to make sure he is down for the count. Catching my breath I think of all the previous hunts over the years, the ones that went well and went horribly wrong. I think of the miles trekked, hours of sleep missed, sweat, blood, tears. This is the moment that it all is worth it. As a hunter, there is truly no better feeling. I say thank you to the animal, I understand that he had to pay a price and for that I am grateful. I called my dad to share the good news, “ I did it” I told him. From this week I have learned that good things come to those who earn it. This hunt was particularly easy, or textbook. Find the bird, call the bird, shoot the bird. But that 30 minute ordeal was a fraction of my week. I was partly surprised with how my week turned out. I was confident but the struggle kept me humble. I knew that I would get a bird at some point because I put in the work to earn one. My weeks events helped me work towards all of my goals. I learned more about the habits of turkeys and how they can be very similar year after year. I learned that even small streams can hold big fish. Of course I really enjoyed my time spent outdoors. I got to hunt with my dad on opening day, brought my girlfriend turkey hunting for her first time ever, and got to dive in head first in my own. Overall I could not have asked for a better week.