The Sound of it All

For most Sportsmen there are sounds that resonate with them. Sounds that send chills down their spine, or renders memories of a special day afield. For me, there are three sounds that I find myself longing for. Sounds that will cause me to pause each time I hear them. Sounds that will bring a flood of emotion to my memory.

The first is the sound of a gaggle of geese soaring overhead, circling a still pond and looking for a landing spot. each time I hear them coming, I feel a smile come across my face, as if they are saying to my soul - "ready or not here I come". Many a hunt has been thwarted because I am so enamored by their calling that I forget to shoot - that is until someone else lets loose then I snap out of my stupor and send steel flying in hopes geese will fall.

The second sound that I long for is the early morning gobble of an excited tom turkey. His thundering gobble echoing through the timber is a sound like no other. Unmistakably his gobble is for all to hear - for all to know that he intends business. Watching as he walks - head turning this way and that looking for the seductive hen flirting with his emotions. Gobbling again and again - the hair on my neck stands each time I hear it - and more often than not - the reason I hunt turkeys is not to kill them, its to talk to them.

The last sound that I long for is that of a fishing reel screaming as the drag peels off at lightning speed. Many a fishing trip has been highlighted by the storm during the calm. A rod sitting patiently in its holder, suddenly thrust downward as the reel screams as line is peeled from its spool seeming to say - "get me, get me"

These sounds of nature are some of the reasons I go - why I spend hours in the woods and water. These are some of the reasons I am a Sportsman, to see, smell and yes to hear the wonder of it all, and recognize once again that the times I spend afield are always Times Well Spent.