Hey ya'll, I wanted to post something a little different this time. Trapping season starts here very soon, and I wrote up a brief write-up on how it feels once the season draws ever closer. Feel free to let me know what you think of the writing style.
Preseason
It’s the
middle of July, on a hot, humid morning. I’m headed to the hardware store. But
I’m not crossing off things on honey-do list, nothing around the house needs
fixed. The opening day of trapping season is in 93 days, and I’m getting supplies.
I only have
a short shopping list. Last week it was quick links and chain, this week I’m
after rebar and washers. My swivels arrived in the mail a few days ago, and I’d
like to prep my stakes by the end of the week, but I still haven’t even cut the
PVC for my cubby hole sets. I still have a few dozen Conibears that need to be
dyed, and a pile of footholds that need looked over to make sure no coyotes did
any damage. This is the first year I’ll be using dog proof traps, so I need to setup
and familiarize myself with them, especially since they’ve been sitting in the
shed for a week. While I’m here, I might as well replace the pliers that are
now at the bottom of a pond where I was scouting for muskrat last month. That
pond had runs and tracks everywhere though, so I should probably pick up
another dozen 110’s at the convention next month. That’ll be more traps to
clean and dye, but I’m hitting muskrats hard this year. It will be worth it.
Summer is
always busy for me. It’s the trapping pre-season. It’s the time for scouting,
prepping, tinkering, and planning. Some might find it a bit stressful to have
so much to do, with a deadline that, I swear, comes sooner and sooner each
year, but not me. I love everything about trapping, and making sure everything
is ready by the end of October is exciting to me. With every task that I cross
off of my to-do list, I feel relief. Not only because I have one less thing to
worry about, but also because that means opening day is that much closer. With
every trap dyed, every trail scouted, I get a little closer to getting back to
what I love. As soon as I’m out on my line, checking and remaking sets, all of
this work will have paid off. Of course, actually running the trap line
involves just as much, if not more work, but that’s ok. It will be worth it. This
is what we love.
I suppose
I’d better get busy, I’m nowhere near ready for the upcoming season, and my to-do
list keeps growing. It sure is a nice day today, though, and I obviously need
bait for those cubby hole sets, so I believe I’ll just go fishing...
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