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      Man!    This one is rough But here it goes.  It was the morning hours about 5:30 a.m. when I got up to have my coffee before the early morning bow hunt.  It was the Bow season about late September. Maybe early October. I don't remember exactly but I do remember the hunt. My son Matt who's older now was young back then. Him and his brother Kyle were spending the weekend with me, and my only daughter, and my father on my poor old dads broken down farmhouse. We didn't have much money and I had been through a nasty divorce. 

 But I had one advantage. I was living in the county where I could walk out in back of the old farmhouse to an open field to a wooded area and hunt. I already had my hunting equipment from previous years. I have always taken good care of my equipment.  I was trying to keep it quiet in the house as I got ready for the hunt, and let the kids sleep a couple of more hours before I spent part of the day with them. It was going good so far. Amanda my oldest and Kyle my youngest and now much older ,also wanted to sleep in. So I was trying to keep the noise down. I knew the kids wanted to sleep in other then Matt because I asked them the night before. Beside after the early morning hunt I was going to spend some of the afternoon with them. Then maybe try the evening hunt.

 I lived with my father at the time because my Dear mother had passed on a while before, so it was hard on us. We loved her dearly. I was broke at the time. We didn’t have much money but we had each other. It some how seem to always pull together.  Although pops didn't seem to mine. It was pretty cool actually. I let dad sleep in that morning.  I figured there would be time to visit when I came back in.  

 At any rate, there I was with my coffee and my compound bow, but I don't remember which brand bow it was. I want to say at the time it was a Precision but I can’t remember for sure. Any way all camo and ready to go. Matt and I hopped in my old jeep   and headed out. Down our old county road to a dirt road that lead to the field. When we drove there it was barely breaking day. It was a little brisk outside but nice all the same.. I wanted to get in early enough to walk the field to the woods where I would start my hunt. Matt was pretty young but I figured the experience would be good for him.  Plus he wanted to go. He followed along like a trooper with no complaints. It was kind of awesome to take my kids at one time or another on a hunt to introduce them to another experience in the great outdoors. Some time or another I would make sure one of them was with me. It was too difficult to take all three at once. A little bit of dads training then it would be hunters safety course.  

So there we were father and son heading out to the field.  Matt being young and I with very little money at the time left me with no choice but to ground hunt out of a natural blind. I could not afford good tree stands and blinds at the time. So we decided to make the best of it. When we arrived to our hunker of trees we wondered in. Now I hunted the area before so I was familiar with it. We worked our way past the river and through the small ditch and took a stand.  It looked like a nice spot. Quiet, trees all around us a small open area in front of me and vines with leaves to help cover our presents.So there we were and we waited, waited and waited. We could hear birds, and squirrels and who knows what else in those woods. From a distance the sound of passing traffic on the west frontage road.  But that didn't bother us. It was quiet out there with only the smell and sounds of nature all around us. Except for the distant passing traffic that we could barely hear.

 Mats eyes would light up once in a while when we would hear some brush cracking around us hoping it to be a deer. One things for sure. These Wisconsin whitetail beauties are an outdoors-mans dream. But they can sneak in without a hunter knowing it. We finally sat for a while. It was pretty cool. Because I still could sit where I was and pull my draw string back and still see to shoot.However that wasn't happening yet. Nor did it.  The day was going by faster then I wanted it to but maybe not for Matt. At least after a while.  Things were starting to drag on and the deer just weren’t coming in.  Matt was being absolutely quiet. He did well.  However I knew he was getting restless as the day went on and time had passed. I finally said to him. Lets go in son. That was around 11:00 a.m.  I was proud of him. We packed it up and went back to the old farmhouse for a while.

The kids and I had lunch at home that day we talked about the hunt and they were very understanding on my going back out to try again. So was my dad. He was delighted to have my kids there at the time. That was an awesome day. That only proved to me that introducing your kids to the outdoors whether it would be hunting or fishing or camping or hiking or whatever. Is teaching them to respect our God given rights to our lifetime heritage. Our earth and what it has to offer.  I walked back out to the same spot that evening. Around 2:00 p.m.  Till dark. Guess What!  NO LUCK. That’s real hunting. That’s how it can go.  Would I do it again?  In a heartbeat.  Love bow hunting. It's awesome.  “ There is nothing to compare to it”.   As many already know. 

   it's always a good time.   

 Enjoy the hunt     

Dean Romano