March 18, 2013

turkey hunting: it begins

This weekend, I found out how difficult (and frilling expensive) shopping for camo is. Yup, I'm getting me some camo. I'm ... of my own free will ... partaking in an activity that requires me to blend in with nature ... sit uncomfortably still for long periods of time ... and then shoot a turkey in the face. Yay! Turkey Hunting! The Minnesota DNR does these niffy mentored hunts for first-time lady hunters ... so of course I signed up. This is a new venture for me. I've done little bits of hunting now and then ... some prairie dogs in Wyoming ... pheasant last fall ... and a brief dip into goat hunting in New Zealand ... but turkeys are a new experience . 

Luckily, I sat through a 3-hour Wild Turkey Clinic put on by the National Wild Turkey Foundation (the Anoka Struttin' Toms chapter) and got a feel for what to expect. And you know, it all sounded pretty darn good and dandy until someone mentioned the word - tick. Okay - time out. Ticks?! It never dawned on me that since I'd be crawling through the Minnesota woods ... in May ... I might get a tick or two ... or forty ... I can handle this. I have 2 months to get my game face on and not feel the need to saw my own leg off just because a tick crawled on it ... right?!  Right?! Okay, I'm off to watch some videos on turkey calls or yelps or purrs or kee-kees or any of the other 20-some sounds these silly birds make.

Some fun turkey facts for your Monday morning:
- the turkey was one vote away from becoming the national bird of the united states ... one vote!
- spring is ideal turkey season (as opposed to fall) because the males are so hung up on mating they can hardly think straight.
- a turkey's eyesight is 10x greater than humans (ie - the need for camo)
- a turkey's hearing is 8x greater than humans
- turkeys can only see in 2 dimensions

why yes, those are little boy pants ... and yes, yes they fit just fine.

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