Ryan Rothstein

If you read the headline after glancing at the image and couldn’t make sense of it, I don’t blame you. It’s fair to question my sanity in making this claim.
But look closely at the image. There’s more to it than first meets the eye.

If you’re the type that happens to enjoy winter, you’ll have to forgive me.
Whether your sled has been parked in the shed all winter or if your ice-fishing season has been a complete bust, I’m sorry, but I can’t give you my sympathies. The main reason is that a mild winter like this is just what the doctor ordered – both for the deer herd and for me.

I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions, mainly because if making them were something I cared about, I’d have done it by now.
Even when it comes to deer hunting, I generally don’t have much that comes to mind in terms of a “resolution.” But this year, after a real gut-check of a deer season in 2023, I felt compelled to make a list of things I’d like to accomplish in 2024. If you feel like you’re in a deer-hunting rut, I’d encourage you to aim for some of these yourself, or make your own list of goals.

The end of the year always inspires folks to look back on the last 12 months and to count their blessings. I’m no exception, but my introspection is probably different from most people. My yearly reflections revolve around my deer season, and reflecting on 2023 proved difficult to find as many positives as past years.