As you read the title of my blog you are probably thinking, “Oh, no not another pumpkin blog!” Granted pumpkins are orange and they do take up a lot of the fall season but I’m considering something completely different. I’m talking about orange hats, orange gloves, orange jackets, orange coveralls and perhaps even orange underwear although I have never checked that out to be sure. Yes, once again it’s deer hunting season in Minnesota.

Pickups and cars are parked in strange places, along the edge of highways or pulled into approaches entering farm fields.  A long abandoned farm sight will often have a shiny, new pickup parked in the overgrown grass offering a stark contrast to the windowless and paint deprived house and outbuildings.

The blaze orange of the hunters may be very visible as they stalk the elusive White Tail searching tree claims, CRP land or standing  corn fields. Others you would need to look for carefully as the orange would be situated in tree stands. Some of the stands would contain heaters, coolers full of beverages and possibly even a large screen TV! What would the pioneers of the past think about that?

Now I’m not a deer hunter so for me the hunting season can be a little annoying. If I’m out in my backyard wearing my camouflaged jacket and carrying a large tree branch I could be riddled with bullets in no time! So I too am forced to don the orange hat and vest even as I work outside in my own yard. I have never served in the armed forces but deer hunting season has allowed me to experience what it must feel like to worry about coming under sniper fire at any moment.

I’m quite proud of the bravery I displayed just before writing this blog. I walked out to the pumpkin patch where I had raked the pumpkin vines into a pile and I checked to see if they were dry enough for burning. I did this wearing my camouflaged jacket and not a stitch of orange on me. As I rethink that move bravery wasn’t quite the right word to use…..stupidity might have been a better choice.

Fall deer hunting season wasn’t always this way. When I was a kid a deer sighting was a time for celebration. My brain contains a stored image that I experienced when I was around 15. When we got bored on the farm my brothers and I would often take a walk and explore the many sloughs and marshes that dotted our two quarters of land.

Well, on this one particular afternoon I was exploring on my own. As I walked the edge of a slough I flushed a huge doe deer. It had been bedded in the tall grass and its panicked flight took place no more then 40 yards in front of me. The deer climbed the hill that bordered the slough and quickly disappeared into the surrounding farm field.

I was in awe and could hardly wait to get home to describe my experience to the rest of my family. Especially to my two brothers who I knew would be green with envy.

There was no deer hunting season in western Minnesota at that time mainly because there were very few deer. If someone wanted to go deer hunting they had to head to the forested northern Minnesota. The father of the farm family that lived across the road from us made the annual trek to northern Minnesota to hunt deer with his hunting buddies.  We kids would listen with rapt attention when they returned and shared stories of their deer camp experiences.

I’m not sure why the deer population has exploded in our area when there were so very few during my growing up years. The biology teacher in me would suggest that this once treeless grassland was poor habitat for the deer. But as tree claims were established the mixture of trees, grassland and farm fields provided the perfect habitat the deer needed for survival.

All I know is that their presence has been good for orange clothing manufactures, firearms and ammunition sales and ‘No Hunting’ sign sales. As for me I’m going to continue keeping a low profile during the hunting season and I promise to wear some orange whenever I do venture outside. I may even check into that orange underwear thing while I’m at it. You can never have too much orange is my motto! 🙂

Until next time.