October 2022 - 28

W
e pulled
over on
one of
those
inconspicuous spots on
the side of one of those
inconspicuous county roads.
Driving by, it probably didn't
look like much, but it's one
of those places where
ponderosas smell like
butterscotch, pasqueflowers
salute the afternoon sun and
the shooting stars really do
look like they fell from the sky.
I've hunted the section for years with
mixed success, always with other hunters
and never with my daughter. This year would
be different.
I turned the truck off as she finished her
caramel roll in the back seat.
" It's time to be quiet and listen, " I
whispered.
" Ok, " mumbled Miriam, 5, through a
mouth full of food.
Easing the truck door open, I paused for
a second and heard them. Gobbles from one
side of the truck. Then gobbles from across
the road on the other side. We looked at each
other, eyes wide.
She shimmied into her thrift-store overalls
and hand-me-down, camouflage, long-sleeve
shirt as I slid my 12-gauge out of the back
and slipped a couple shells in the magazine.
We heard gobbles again.
Holding hands and walking into the trees,
we heard them again. We shouldn't go farther,
I thought. We perched down at the closest
tree - me next to it, her behind it.
I called once, and a burst of gobbles filled
the morning air.
The turkeys called again. She whispered in
my ear: " Did you hear them? I heard them! "
I nodded slightly and called again. They
called back.
Then from about 100 yards away I saw
hens walking and a tom strutting, its feathers
fanned and dragging on the ground.
We did it.
28 | October 2022
The author's daughter, Miriam Peterson, walks to the truck after a turkey hunt in the Laramie Range. (Photo by Christine
Peterson)
Pasqueflowers hang their heads in the early spring. They're one of the first flowers to appear after snow begins to melt.
(Adobe Stock Photo)

October 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2022

October 2022 - 1
October 2022 - 2
October 2022 - 3
October 2022 - 4
October 2022 - 5
October 2022 - 6
October 2022 - 7
October 2022 - 8
October 2022 - 9
October 2022 - 10
October 2022 - 11
October 2022 - 12
October 2022 - 13
October 2022 - 14
October 2022 - 15
October 2022 - 16
October 2022 - 17
October 2022 - 18
October 2022 - 19
October 2022 - 20
October 2022 - 21
October 2022 - 22
October 2022 - 23
October 2022 - 24
October 2022 - 25
October 2022 - 26
October 2022 - 27
October 2022 - 28
October 2022 - 29
October 2022 - 30
October 2022 - 31
October 2022 - 32
October 2022 - 33
October 2022 - 34
October 2022 - 35
October 2022 - 36
October 2022 - 37
October 2022 - 38
October 2022 - 39
October 2022 - 40
October 2022 - 41
October 2022 - 42
October 2022 - 43
October 2022 - 44
October 2022 - 45
October 2022 - 46
October 2022 - 47
October 2022 - 48
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/dec-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/January2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/December2020
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