Jeana’s Corner – Opening Day for Whitetails

This past Saturday, September 26 was the opening day of archery season for whitetail in Ohio. The days leading up to its arrival were filled with anxiety and busyness. I was taken back to my childhood as I suddenly began to feel like a 4 year old awaiting the arrival of Santa. I told myself, and my husband that we needed to get to bed early, twelve a.m. was not the type of early I had in mind. Five a.m., comes fast, in the Army we referred to it as 0 dark thirty.

The week leading up to the big day I began laying clothes out, packing my bag, making sure everything that a bow hunter could need or want was in there. I tried to shoot more, I wanted to be accurate, I wanted to be able to remain calm in the event that big buck walked in front of me. You see everyone talks about having Buck fever, but I have something much more, I have deer fever. It does not matter if it is a buck, a doe, or a yearling that walks in front of me, I get it; you know what I am talking about the rapid heartbeat, the shakes, the sweats, the feeling like your heart is in your stomach and that you cannot breathe. I try to exhale, to inhale, to count to ten, but nothing seems to work, I am just doomed; doomed to have the fever.

That morning the family and I awoke to begin our day, you see opening day is a big deal for all of us in my house, so we were all excited. We had loaded the quads, the bows, and the packs the night before so all that was left was to get ourselves showered ( scent free of course) dressed and into the truck. We managed to do so in a decent amount of time and we were on our way.

The drive to the property we hunt takes us about 30 minutes, the excitement was building. As we passed hunters alongside the road, the anticipation mounted. I could barely contain myself; there I was 4 all over again begging to unwrap just one present. The closer we got the more excited I became, deer were everywhere; peeping out from the edge of the woods as we passed, and playing in the cornfields. I kept hoping this was a sign of how the day was going to go

We got our gear and headed to the woods, now I am going to tell you something that most adults will not admit, but I am afraid of the dark, I know, hard to be a hunter and afraid of the dark, but I am ( this occurred in my adult life after the passing of my mom). With headlamp on I crossed the fence and carefully walked across the field trying not to fall, I am not the most graceful, got to my stand, hooked my bow and began to climb. At last it was almost time.

I tied off and sat watching the moon go down and the sun begin to rise; one of the most beautiful sights there ever is to see, and as a hunter, one I am blessed to see on several occasions. My hearing began to tune into the sounds around me as the woods came to life; a squirrel, a chipmunk, a groundhog, and birds, but no deer, not yet.

I sat for hours, watching, waiting and listening. No deer passed close enough for me to take a shot, and I was fine with that. I was where I needed to be, I was with nature, I was in the one place that I can find myself, become closer to God and marvel in the beauty He has created. As much excitement as opening day brings, it is not just about the hunt for me, it is about getting back to nature, to the simplicity of it all, back to where beauty and peace become one and are found in every move you make.