Yes, the mad dash has kicked off. I doubt if it's the same for many of you, but this time of year I'm in a mad dash to finish my home chores, prepare hunting gear for months of hunting and wrap up my office work. Starting this week I'll be gone nearly four months with only a day or so here and there at home.
One of my biggest challenges each year is to make sure everything is ready at home for my departure. We're still waiting on about 100 bales of hay to stack in the barn, but I think I have everything else chalked, maintained and ready for the fall and winter weather that will arrive whether I'm home or not.
As for my office, I've been wrapping up my writing assignments, invoices, photo orders and every other little detail I can recall before vacating the premises. Except for my blogs, I rarely write much while on the road. I'm just too beat after being up well before dawn and not getting to the bunk until well after sunset.
Finally, I'm getting all my hunting gear ready. I've been mounting riflescopes, sighting muzzleloaders, prepping bows, washing clothes and organizing small sets of gear for each particular species. Sighting new guns each season gives me fits annually. If you drove by my barn recently you may have heard a few choice words emanating from its depths as I cursed crazy bullet patterns from the shooting range out my barn door.
Working in the outdoor industry is wild and wacky, and it can make you wacky if you're not organized for the annual pilgrimage. Let the hunting begin!
Geez, I think I forgot to feed the cats!