It was bitter cold and the fridge air hurt
Danielle’s lungs. Every breath felt like razors
ripping open her chest, but, in spite of the
pain… she was forced to… take in large gulps
of air… to satisfy her desperate need for
oxygen. The struggle to the top of the ridge was
exhausting. The icy terrain made the climb
difficult, allowing her only a few steps forward
for each step she slipped back. That was
frustrating but she had no choice but to
persevere and do everything in her power to get to the truck before sunset. Tonight was the
second night of the new moon and there is
nothing darker than a mountain forest on a
moonless night.
Danielle had forgotten her flashlight and
without it she’d never find her truck. That could be fatal in the sub-freezing temperatures that
were expected that night. Fortunately, her
struggle to reach the top of the hill was fruitful
and she accomplished her goal with enough
daylight left to give her time to catch her
breath. Letting the backpack slip off her

Danielle dropped to her knees and pulled off
her gloves. Cupping her trembling hands over
her mouth and nose, she let the air warm up in
the palm of her hands before taking a breath. It
was one of the many tricks she learned from her father during the years they spent together
tracking deer and other winter wildlife in the
snowy Appalachia woods. Those were the
good old days, but her dad was gone now and
it was up to her to carry on the family
business. After only a few moments of rest, Danielle
looked up, and spotted her truck through the
white misty clouds that streamed from her dry
lips. That was encouraging, but the daylight
was fading fast and there would be time
enough to rest after she got the gear into the truck. With an audible grunt, she hoisted
herself to her feet, and though every muscle in
her body ached, the thought of sitting in the
heated cab inspired her to move on.
As she approached the waiting truck, Danielle
thought about the task that brought her to these cold wood

With a deep
sense of satisfaction she reviewed her
profitable day of hunting. For a while, she had
almost given up. After hours of patiently sitting
in her blind, high on the branch of a sturdy
Birch, she had nothing to show for her patience other then a little frost bite and a very
full bladder. Then her patience was rewarded.
A herd of white tailed deer stopped to graze
just a few hundred yards away. Finally, her
luck had changed.
Peering down on the herd through her twelve hundred millimeter lens, Danielle rested her
cheek on the gun stock and pressed it firmly
against her shoulder. Through the viewfinder
she followed a large 12 point buck and
watched as it passed by a group of does. It
paused momentarily to look at the females and then continued to walk away. Holding a steady
beam on the large buck, Daniel took a deep
breath and slowly squeezed the trigger. A
satisfied smile curled her lips as the buck
presented a perfect profile just as she got off
her first shot.

A herd of white tailed deer stopped to graze
just a few hundred yards away. Finally, her
luck had changed.
Peering down on the herd through her twelve hundred millimeter lens, Danielle rested her
cheek on the gun stock and pressed it firmly
against her shoulder. Through the viewfinder
she followed a large 12 point buck and
watched as it passed by a group of does. It
paused momentarily to look at the females and then continued to walk away. Holding a steady
beam on the large buck, Daniel took a deep
breath and slowly squeezed the trigger. A
satisfied smile curled her lips as the buck
presented a perfect profile just as she got off
her first shot. It was a beautiful, but Danielle quickly fired off
a few more shots just to make sure. Without
hesitating she quickly moved to another target.
It was a doe sitting with her faun. She didn’t
hesitate to take 4 or 5 shots of the mother
before moving on to the baby.