I’ve heard some phrases that will catch your ear and make your head spin when you think about it. “Ya got all your ducks in a row?”

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

Well this year I’m probably as ready for hunting season as anyone I would say.

All the mistakes we make are by not being ready for something.

Men, don’t you just hate the things that go on when you are heading out for that night on the town?

You’re sitting there, maybe waiting for you wife to get out of the bathroom from putting a ton of cosmetics on her face.

Wives, don’t you hate when you’re ready and your husbands are still sitting on the couch watching TV saying those wonderful words – “Just one more minute.”

Don’t be caught in the cold this year when season starts or it just might be like you’re waiting on your wife or husband to walk out the door.

That strong word that all the young and old people love to use is WAIT.

I can still hear it today, the one thing my mom used to say to me when I said wait.

That wonderful phrase is “Wait (weight) is what broke the wagon down.”

Have all your equipment ready on opening morning or you might be sorry.

Whether it is deer, turkey, duck, or even goose season, you have to be ready and some would say to also be focused.

Know what stand you are using and make sure the wind is in your favor.

We have all gone to the woods to hunt and gotten where we were headed or set up and have forgotten something.

You left something out… what was it?

Everything seems to be just right but something is there that I feel I forgot to get.

So you hunt anyway because you don’t want to leave and go back to the house or truck because you might spook game going out and trying to get back in.

Take your time getting to your stand.

There is no reason to be in a hurry.

I have yet to go into the woods and find a clock on a tree except for the clock on my wrist.

Like I said, don’t hurry yourself.

It’s peaceful and quiet, so let mother nature move on its own time frame.

My favorite quote is: “See, where I come from, there is nowhere in the world to hang a clock, Time passes at its own rate.”

While we’re talking about quotes, let me share a few more with you that are related to hunting.

“Trees don’t talk back, trees don’t whine, trees don’t ask me to do anything except sit down and listen to everything else.”

“We take a lot of pleasure from the woods. It only seems right to give something back.”

“Just because the outdoors has given us more than we could ever possibly repay, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.”

And my last one, which will help, guide and lead us all would be, “The outdoors is always changing, growing renewing if properly cared for, it will meet people’s needs for generations to come. Teach us that embracing change is the best way to grow.”

Remember, being ready may help you in more ways than you think.

So until next time, may God be with you and enjoy what is here for us to enjoy from my neck of the woods.