Turkey Season

Dawn is being heralded this morning by hoot ows and gobblers. It's turkey hunting season and a big gobbler is sounding off somewhere out in the woods surrounding my place. I once hunted and the primal urge is still alive within me but age and arthritis have taken me out of the woods and onto my porch.

The turkeys are late this year. The season started two weeksago and my son-in-law has treked out every morning and so far failed to bring home the bird. Last year the turkeys were sounding off before hunting season began and we had plenty of them stored in the freezer by the end of the season-- along with abundant deer meat. Deer were hiding well this year but we still managed to bring in our fair share.

The few of us who live out here don't have to depend on wild game to exist but we still don't hunt just for the hell of it. Everything brought out of these massive forests of oak and pine eventually goes into the skillet, oven or outside grill and it still titilates the taste buds with the flavor of nature. Other than unadulterated mushrooms there is little on the menu that comes close to offering this reminence of food au natural.