We hung the heat sheet off the deck, lined up bag chairs behind it, one man to a bag, in the shade. Cold beverages were dripping condensate, let me tell ya. After we all grudgingly despaired of the recent heat wave and believe you me, we were whining about it until the hot topic had been bounced around enough so then we got down to the topic of the upcoming deer season.
One fellow was tearing down the stand known as Old Faithful; after so many years, it was in much-needed repair, so much so that it was easier for him to just take it down and start over. We mentioned not taking it down for a while, though; he agreed.
My young cousin opted for a brand new two-person, 18 feet tall ladder stand jobby. It looks like some sort of engineering marvel; it comes with a folding rain roof. I hope it sheds snow. Just the padded bench seat alone makes this thing look dreamy: safety rails for climbing up or down, a safety bar, like a sky chalet. This thing- yes, it was expensive- but since when has deer hunting been anything other than that?
Three other gents just needed a bit of trail brushing, nothing too serious, and we picked an upcoming Saturday, very early morning, hoping it would be much cooler.
Finally it came to me, I mentioned a new 14 foot ladder stand I put up for the archery season, and I have the footings and floor foundation set for yet another deer shack, I feel one can always use another, Mrs. thinks this one better be the last, I assured her at my age, it most likely will be, but who knows, just like deer season, who knows what will come of it, but were getting that itch, you gotta scratch through a lot of sweat, but the fall itch is itching.
--The trout whisperer
