About three weeks ago, I re-injured my lower back on a hunting trip. Needless to say my hunting activities were not only curtailed, but came to an abrupt halt. My thoughts of the rut and rattling bucks vanished. My dream of covey rise melted away into doctor’s appointments. Instead of that 28 gauge Merkel I was going to shoot quail with this season, I was being shot with x-rays and MRIs. At this writing, the jury is still out on whether or not I’ll need surgery, but I’m feeling much better.
Better enough in fact, to go to our deer lease with my son Brian. When this idea came up, Vicki gave me strict orders to lift nothing and climb nothing and don’t even think about hunting. My thought was I could sit around camp just as easy as I can sit around here. At least in camp I can sit by the fire and smell the mesquite burning.
In packing my truck, I snuck in a rifle or two and a couple of fishing rods, just in case. I arrived at the ranch just before dark. While on my way to camp, I got to watch my good friend Chuck Webb and his lab Becky bust a covey of quail and drop a couple of birds. What a great sight.
I arrived at camp to find my bed made and ready. There was a fire in the fire pit and plenty of wood (small pieces) for me to toss on the fire. Being the only one in camp, I didn’t even unpack. I just went to the fire and sat down. As the sunset faded, my eyes turned to the fire. There is something special about watching a campfire, especially if that’s all you can do.
With dark came the return of hunters. Chuck and his wife Kim along with his lab Becky and their new German Shorthair pup Hailey were the first to arrive. Because of the heat, they had decided to go bird hunting. Brian and his friend Scott were trying to find some doves to shoot, but got skunked. King Fuller had gone over to the hog blind deer hunting, but saw nothing mature enough to shoot. I was enjoying being there so much I completely forgot about my back.
As everyone gathered around the campfire, I got up to get a drink and Brian said he would get it for me. When he returned I asked about supper and he assured me that it was taken care of. We all sat around that fire talking about times past, watching that puppy get into more things than I even knew existed. Just like Brian said, supper came and went and it was time for bed.
Brian took care of the coffee for the early risers the next day and I went to bed. What a great feeling to be appreciated enough for people to go out of their way to help me enjoy my short time in camp. I had to leave at noon the next day for a meeting.
Five o’clock came early the next morning. The coffee tasted good. I opened the door hoping at least for a cool morning. Short-sleeve weather greeted me. I asked Brian what he and Scott were planning. He explained that with the weather as hot as it was, neither of them were excited about doing anything much. He then asked if I wanted to ride in the Jeep down to the wide Sandero and put out corn and look at the deer. Not wanting to impose on their weekend any more than I already had, I asked if he was sure they didn’t want to go get in a deer stand. He said he and Scott would rather spend time with me, doing whatever I felt comfortable doing. I accepted his invitation and got ready.
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