Dawn’s Early Light

I drove to my Brother Ken’s house Saturday. We were going hunting for the first day of deer season. He likes to be in the woods early before dawn and ready for the hunt. We walked into the area. He gave me the closer place to wait and he walked farther along. As he disappeared across the crest of the hill, silence descended. There was only the slightest hint of a breeze to tell me I was still awake and not in a dream world. The vagrant wandering air current brought scents from the trees and plants around me. The breeze was so soft it didn’t stir the leaves still dangling on the trees. Subtly it shifted directions and I had a constant array of aromas. A small beech tree in front of me still retained most of its leaves. In the morning dampness, the brown leaves gave off a soft sweet scent.

A slight shift in the wind and I could smell the damp earth around me. The breeze disappeared and silence again settled in. Standing quietly, I scanned the nearby meadows divided by a patch of woods where I was standing. The sky above remained cloudy with no sign of a sunrise. It was brighter. I could see the colors of the moss, grass, and the bark in the diffuse light.

Wet leaves had muffled my footsteps and would muffle as the deer moved through the woods. I heard some sounds. Chick-a-dees and nuthatches began to call in the distance, then their calls faded. The strength of the breeze grew changing directions. I don’t think the temperature dropped, but the wind chilled my gloved hands. Shifting my rifle from hand to hand, I pocketed one hand at a time to chase away the coldness from my fingers.

A plane droned wending its way across the sky. Clouds hung low and I wasn’t able to see it at all. Then I heard several flocks of geese flying above, I knew winter would be close on their heels. I couldn’t see them either. The clouds remained low. All I could hear was their honking serenade.

My brother returned. He’d seen nothing either and we started our trek back to his truck. Part way back across the one field, a doe suddenly appeared. The sad thing was, we were unable to shoot. There were houses beyond her.

That evening we went out again to hunt on a friend’s farm. The shadows grew longer as the sun set and the moon hovered like a pale pearl. Do deer carry watches? Just as the hours to hunt ran out, nearly a dozen deer appeared from the wooded area next to the farm.