I had just started dating my ex and he was lining up a lease to hunt deer that fall. I asked if he would take me. It was a wild hair, I didn't know anyone at all who hunted, that I knew of at the time, nor did I know if women hunted, but I wanted in. It kind of fit into my interest in survivalism. Growing up, I had read every book I could get my hands on about shipwreck victims making good, including Swiss Family Robinson, Mysterious Island, Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe...Now that's a common topic, but then it was pretty unusual.

He thought about it, squinched his eyes at me, then said, "Okay, we'll go."

We went on the day after a summer downpour. We parked outside the chain gate that protected the hunting lease land. I looked at the slick red clay and then at my loafers with misgivings, but I wasn't going to quit. I slipped and slid next to his sure-footed steps. Finally, he just slung me over his shoulder and said, "Tomorrow we get you some boots."

We reached a sandy part of the road and he set me down. As I walked I revelled in the clean smell of pine sap.

At one point he stopped and pointed to a track in the wet sand. "Fresh," he said. "It's Junior. See the twist on the right point? I've been trying to get him for three years, but so far he's outsmarted me." He continued, "He'll have his antlers by now, but they'll still be "in the velvet." he went on to explain about how the "velvet" starts to irritate the bucks, so they "rub" it off on small trees."

Suddenly he froze and chopped his palm downward. I stopped. He was staring intently into the woods, so I looked where he was looking.

I saw nothing at first, then a reddish brown animal bounded gracefully off into the bushes.

With a little smile and barely concealed excitement, he looked to see the effect on me and then, when he saw that I was frozen in wonder, he said simply, "Summer colors."