We are a month into the fall season and from the way it started I expected some really cool weather by now.

Disappointment is not foreign to me so I just put up with the heat. Along that same line, we are just a month from the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and we usually have some cool weather around that time. Not to forget the few cool mornings last weekend, but we have not hit the thirties yet and even the lower forties. Weather to bring out a flannel shirt would certainly be welcome.

One of those mornings a few days ago I looked out a window in the den through the carport and thought about how much it looked like fall already. It looked so dreary and slow that I almost wanted to go back to bed. No more than I accomplished that day, returning to bed wouldn’t have been a bad idea. But we can’t do that when others are depending on us for support, so we just go on and do what we can at the time because we know that other days will be coming.

With deer season in now the only folks that will be fishing will be the hard core fishermen, many of whom had rather fish than eat and if they did eat, it would be fish. That is not strange at all because we have hunters that think about hunting just that way. Both of these groups of people will hunt or fish in the rain as well as the heat or cold and have success at what they are doing. It makes one think that these folks could accomplish most anything if they put their mind to it.

We see these fishermen on the TV each weekend as they fish themselves right to the top of the fishing world. The hunters are the same. They are doing what it takes to keep themselves at the top in the hunting world. I can’t tell what it entails to do the hunting, but to fish all the time and make it to the top of the bass fishing world is not that much fun. To do that you have taken something that used to be fun and made it a job. Fishing for a living will make you so tired and worn out that hoeing peanuts in one hundred degree weather would seem easy by comparison. I have fished with and against the big boys and I have hoed peanuts in the broiling sun. About the only thing they have in common is you can get one heck of a suntan.

I looked around at the hunting products in our local stores this past week and they have just about anything you need to kill a deer. All of them didn’t have the same stuff so you may want to go to several places to fill your hunting needs list. Once you have your gun and ammo, the main thing is an orange vest. Down here in the deep south most folks buy a light weight mesh orange vest. Mesh because it is a little cooler and we have more days during the season that are hot than we do the colder days. If you prefer a solid cloth orange, most of the stores have them also and some fine ones. Another thing that has come along during the last few years is a vest for the youth hunters and one for the big and tall hunters. The idea of the one size fits all has been tossed to the wayside.

Georgia state law says you must have over 500 square inches of orange on your person above the waist to be dressed legally to pursue a deer. An orange cap won’t do it as it is not much over 150 square inches of orange. It could be a help in identifying you from a wild buck in the woods and keep you from getting shot. They kinda want you to wear the orange cap in Alabama. The US government does also. Sometimes I go out to Fort Benning outside Columbus and visit the places that sell hunting and fishing stuff. Besides your hunting or fishing license, you must possess a post permit and go by the rules and one of those rules is you wear not only an orange vest, but also an orange hat or cap. You may drive a few miles over the limit and get away with it, but you won’t get away with not wearing orange. Hunting on Fort Benning is very similar to combat. EVERYONE COMES BACK. That is good.

A scent dispenser may be something you need if you hunt the same area all the time. You put your favorite scent in it and tie it in a tree. It will drip the scent out and attract deer to your spot even when you are sleeping. Most of them don’t cost much and can be an asset to you hunting. Try it, you may like it. Mikey does.