Beneath the Trees

There are many great wonders in this world we live in, yet most of them unexplored. A lot of these untamed and awesome features consist in my hometown in south Alabama. One of my favorite locations down in south Alabama is on my hunting land in Beatrice. Ever since I was a young boy I would always catch myself returning to that location. To me, this place is always on my mind. It’s hard to explain but it sticks with me. I’m not too sure if it’s the cool shade thrown off by that large white oak that I am leaning on or if it’s the wildlife surrounding me, but I do know one thing, it’s always home.
This area of which I speak is on the backside of my hunting land which my grandfather owns. We have a hunting camp that will suffice any southern man’s dream. The camp is always filled with people in our hunting club. It is the best place to get away from home. In the south, your friends are treated like family. No matter how late we stay up telling hunting stories, or just life stories, everyone seems to get up before sunrise. Every morning breakfast is cooked.
There is roughly three thousand acres which surrounds this bottom around our hunting camp, but none that can match it. For years I have hunted it and never been bored. Some days may be action packed, filled with deer and others not so fortunate. There is a creek that runs at the bottom. It is probably around four to five feet wide which is just short enough for a guy my size to hop across. Big hard woods fill the bottom. Large Southern Red and Water Oaks occupy most of the space with the exception of a few scattered pines.
I decide to take a walk to my favorite creek bottom and the wind is hitting me slightly across the face as I turn to the north. The sun is just starting to rise above the trees to my right. I can hear many different species of birds making their voices known. As the sun continues to come up, these voices start to fade a little but not completely. You can tell that fall is right around the corner judging by the look of the leaves. A couple of squirrels catch my attention as I hear them bark off in the distance. This to me was entertaining as they would chase each other around the tree.
The squirrels continued to play and I am beginning to fill a bit warmer as the sun is steadily rising in the sky. My attention was then drawn short due to the strange silence that came upon me. You could hear an acorn fall if you listen closely. This is when I heard it. It was the sound of a small twig break, yet there was more to it than that. I wanted to turn my head and take a peek but my hunter instinct told me to hold off. For even the smallest movement could be heard. The sound grew closer and closer. I knew then that this was not just some armadillo or raccoon plundering around. It was much larger and less clumsy. As my heart kept racing and my curiosity could not take it anymore, I began to slowly move around stopping whenever silence came back upon the woods. My eyes finally appeared on the other side of the tree and my shock almost gave my positron away. There, only a few yards from me was a big buck. I’m sure ya'll are unfamiliar with the buck, but around this land he is well known. He is a non-typical thirteen point buck which my granddad has hunted for many years. My granddad calls him Split Toe.
This large whitetail is either the slickest or luckiest animal around these woods. There have been many occasions where he has been seen but never the chance to shoot him. Now, this is my first run in with the buck and it’s not even hunting season. With no gun or bow I watch as he continues his feeding on honey suckles growing in the bottom. The strangest thing begins to take place. The want to kill him grew to be more of a desire to watch. I suddenly begin to admire the great buck and much enjoyed his presence. He finished with the honey suckles and began grazing across the forest floor working his way down the worn out deer trail. I watched continuously until I could just make out the white underneath his tail as he flicked it after deciding that it was safe to move on. With the beams of sunlight shining in, this seemed more like a dream than reality.
After he left hunger begins to hit me and the breakfast dad was cooking back at the camp grew more and more on my mind. After swatting mosquitoes and tearing down aggravating banana spider webs, I finally stumbled back to the camp. Man, what a morning. This one will never be forgotten. I told the story to dad. He could not believe it. That buck had been hunted for many years, and until now, was thought to be dead. To everyone’s amazement, he was indeed still alive. The big buck will remain around yet another hunting season.

Chase Luker