To hunt or to work....that is the question.

[WoodChuckDad]

Bow season started a few weeks ago. I used to hunt all day Saturday, every week of hunting season, and also take a few days off so that I could hunt during the week. I hunted during Bow, muzzle loader, and general firearms season. I even hunted in early urban bow and late urban bow. State law changed recently, and we can now hunt on Sunday as well. Since I have a land now and lots of things that need my attention I have fallen into a routine of hunting in the morning for two hours, Working on the farm all day, and hunting the last hour or two of daylight. I have see deer 4 days and have taken a 4 point buck. I'm not getting quite as much tractor time in but I still have managed to get work done. I always dreamed of having land to hunt....those dreams didn't include all the work that goes into it. How do the other hunters out there manage it?
My plans eventually include a well groomed food plot.

 

[Garandman]

We had to cancel a training session at a customer in Vermont. Turkey Season....

 

[JRobyn]

Hah! I know what you mean - a primary motivation in buying this place was to always have a great place to hunt - an activity that I always immensely enjoyed although I didn't do too much of it. Most of the enjoyment was just getting out in and close to nature. Now I pretty much NEVER hunt. It is still very satisfying to know that I can whenever I really want, and to frequently see wildlife close up.

 

[teg]

Hunting kills me since I sit in the tree stand thinking of everything that still needs to get done around the property.... Remember all work and no play makes Jack a pissed off husband (or something like that ).

I get to relax hunting by retraining my mind to understand that hunting **IS** working, that needs to be done!

 

[Ed of all trades]

We had 707 ac when I grew up so we had a lot of work to do but we always had to choose the important things to get done so we hunted at least a few hours every day of the piedmont Va. rifle season. Nobody bow hunted that I knew back then. Everything is a balance and you can't hunt in June. Ed

 

[PILOON]

As a traveling sales rep I learned the importance of hunting to some.
In a northern Ontario city they virtually shut down for hunting.

Inuit simply drop everything when seal hunting happens etc, like co pilot and ground crew simply don't show up.

LOL, as a duck hunter I never needed an alarm to wake up on season opening day, some sort of inner clock would ring!

 

[EddieWalker]

The question is which will cause you more guilt? Not making progress on a project, or doing nothing, relaxing and enjoying your land? I've found that working on my land is almost the same thing as hunting on it. I'm always happier with finishing a project then I am hunting, but having said that, i still try to get in my blind as often as I can deal with the guilt of not being productive. The battle is real!!!!

 

[Citydude]

The question is which will cause you more guilt? Not making progress on a project, or doing nothing, relaxing and enjoying your land? I've found that working on my land is almost the same thing as hunting on it. I'm always happier with finishing a project then I am hunting, but having said that, i still try to get in my blind as often as I can deal with the guilt of not being productive. The battle is real!!!!

Eddie, produce some relaxation once in a while.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

The question is which will cause you more guilt? Not making progress on a project, or doing nothing, relaxing and enjoying your land? I've found that working on my land is almost the same thing as hunting on it.

Instead of hunting today, I went to the fire marshall's office. I have been calling a couple times a month to get into their certified burn class. It allows you to get a burn permit that lasts a year, instead of just 2 months. I figured showing my face might make a difference. Could just be coincidence, but they are putting the class together for the end of this month. . Then I drove to Waynesborro to arrange the delivery of some more concrete bags. Then I worked on my bridge, Then worked on the rock wall that my wife and I started yesterday. finally I grabbed my bow and got in my blind. The deer could probably smell me a mile away. I didn't see anything. But it was nice to spend an hour just sitting and listening to the forest. I got back in my truck and started the 2 hour drive home when a text came from my wife. "did you plant that tree?". I had to remove a flowering tree when expanding my bridge and I had promised to plant it at the front of the property by the gate. So I turned around and drove back. It gave me a chance to test out the changes to my bridge....I need to groom it more...a bit bumpy. I dragged the tree up the side of the bridge....heavier than I expected, tossed it on the truck, grabbed a shove and planted it. Only took half an hour. I hope it lives. The work is never done...But I think I would lose my mind if I let the season pass without hunting a little bit. Last year I didn't do much hunting after Muzzle loader. Family illness. This year everybody is doing fine. So I'm going out in the woods. If things go well, I will get tired of gutting deer and spend more time on the tractor. I might even take a day off, here and there to spend with family.

 

[EddieWalker]

I forgot that you don't live there full time yet. One of the things that has changed in me when I moved onto my land to live out the rest of my life was not having that feeling that I "HAD" to go hunting. I'm here every day, so the pleasure of the outdoors is always there. I also have wild hogs on my place and they are open year round, so we never really have a time of the year when we are not able to go hunting. I've shot enough hogs that it's more like processing chickens then anything else. I'd rather my wife get more of them then shooting them myself. We have a group at the feeder every evening just before dark. We've taken pictures of them, and enjoyed watching them, but haven't shot one in a couple of weeks because we don't want to mess with it right now.