North Texan

When I'm out in the woods and nothing is happening, I just sit and think. I find my experience rates varies depending on what I was thinking about. What I was thinking about is usually what's going on in my life at that point in time. Kind of a reflecting back sort of thing. When something is stressing me, I try not to think about it. I try to look for all the positves that are happening in my life. Last time I was out, I flushed a couple of coveys of quail. I'd gone for nearly two years without seeing a bird. I was also hunting in a pasture that I helped my grandmother enroll in a government conservation program. It had been sprayed for prickly pear. It looked worlds different than the year before. The grass was so thick and tall that I couldn't sit and hunt just anywhere, I had to pick a high spot so I could see out around me. I also looked across at the wheat field. The wheat was up and looking great. After thinking about all the good things I had going for me, my hunt was great. I didn't see a deer, but I really enjoyed the hunt.

Next time your out hunting and waiting for that deer to show up, you need to spend more time thinking about all the good things that are happening in your life. You mentioned several of them yourself. You've got the job of a lifetime. You and your wife are getting along great since you quit drinking. You have wonderful children, AND your wife has you covered by setting some money back to pay for Christmas. I think you get my point. You appear to be focusing on how everything is going wrong in your life. Hunting is a time to reflect on how everything is going great in your life. Try to be more of the "glass is half full" kind of guy and you'll find hunting much more enjoyable.