It was an absolute joy to wake my son up at 4:30 am, wish him a happy 18th birthday, and kick him out of bed. After all, we had some beard to chase.
My old college hunting buddy – who I don’t see enough of, unfortunately – had been keeping a piece of his best ground unhunted, waiting for Ashton to have a first-shot at some of the big toms Jeff had been seeing around.
While we had a lot of roosting birds around us, we were not on the morning path, as birds skirted our side of the field. We did a little stalking on a group, adding a little excitement, but could not quite finish the deal. Good time – tough to beat spending that kind of time with your son, in the woods, listening to the world wake up around you – especially on an important birthday. I was honored, and thankful, that he chose to spend it with his dad.
