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 I am so excited that my youngest daughter, 10, is out in the woods right now! She is actually in my camo jacket and hat, sitting in our new Ameristep Intimidator Blind scouting for deer 4 days before bow season opens here. Steve is with her although he is just an observer for this season due to a serious motocross accident that led to surgery a week ago. That won't stop him from getting out there though. He may not be able to pull his bow back or climb a tree, but his hunting spirit is still alive and well!
Let me give you some background as to my excitement: my daughters went out with me once several years ago. I didn't own a blind back then; so we just sat on a stone wall and waited for some deer to pass. That was probably my first mistake. At least in a blind, there is some concealment for movement. Sitting on a stone wall like three bumps does not offer that luxury. The only deer we saw that day was a flick of a white tail as the deer ran away. The kids didn't even see the white flick of the tail, so my idea of piquing their interest in being in the woods to hunt with me was lost. I haven't really tried since. My oldest daughter is 12, and won't even watch a hunting video with me; "hunting is boring; why would you go sit in the woods and do nothing?" I've tried to explain to her that it is nice to sit quietly and hear, see, smell and feel all that you can while "just sitting" but she's at the age where she knows everything and I know nothing, so I am not going to fight it. Maybe some day she'll come around. My only hope now is for my youngest to get involved with Steve and I hunting. Before we purchased our new blind, that wasn't really a possibility.
The only blind I've ever been in with a friend was not a 360-degree-view blind. The back section where the door was was solid so you couldn't see out of it or if anyone was sneaking up on you. I honestly felt like a sitting duck; and I didn't like that feeling at all, so I was leery about trying to hunt from the ground again now. Part of me feeling safe in the woods hunting is the fact that no one else can sneak up on me since I hunt from a climbing stand. There's no way for them to sneak up or get up in the stand with me because both parts are up with me. ( At least that's how I think!) Due to Steve's injury this season, though, we decided that a blind would be a good purchase if he was to get out in the woods at all. And, he might as well be out in the woods since he can't work, right?
 I had to be convinced to purchase a blind since I absolutely LOVE my climbing stand. One of my requirements was that the blind has to allow us to see all the way around - and I wanted a swivel seat to do just that. My other requirement was that I had to be able to set it up and take it down - AND get it back into the bag- by myself; particularly since Steve wasn't going to be able to help me this season being only one-armed and left-handed at that. The previously borrowed blind had hoop-like things that held it up and tent-like rods to hold up the roof which were both difficult for setting it up. Taking it down, especially in the dark, was awful; trying to get those hoops bent and twisted in the correct position and trying to hold onto it- was as if it was alive and fighting you- then get it back into that small bag it came in was nearly impossible for one person. The Intimidator is E-A-S-Y!! It took a little practice, okay, only once! to get it pulled up and out, but I did it alone! So, I was worried that it would be nearly impossible to fold down and get it back into the skinny backpack it comes in. However, Ameristep really thought it through; it folds up just as easily as it sets up; AND it fits back into the backpack without any issues! I could hardly believe my eyes! It weighs less than my climber with my backpack attached; I have no trouble carrying it.
 We scouted for scrapes, rubs, deer "plops," trails, acorn-availability and anything else we could see to indicate deer in the area and found quite a few select spots for blind placement. After a brief rest, Steve decided that he wanted to go out and sit in the woods to see about the movement of the deer. Even though I had the afternoon off from work, I couldn't go; my youngest daughter had missed last week's karate classes and had to go today to make them up. (Although she has earned the rank of brown belt, she is beginning to think that she wants to quit; I, of course, disagree since she has gotten so far and almost reached a Black Belt status!) Then an idea struck me! Rather than fight with her to go to karate, I'd offer her a bribe to stay home! And, I must confess, the hunter in me got the best of me: I said she could skip karate classs today if she went out to sit in the blind with Steve to look for deer! She was thrilled to miss class and went out excitedly to put on the camo clothes! She took her Nintendo DS out with her to play while they waited for the deer to come, but that doesn't make me any less excited that she is out there in the woods, possibly learning to love it like we do.
I suppose I should feel guilty that she didn't make it to karate class again..... But I don't; not one little bit!
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