I'm Ticked

By Kelly Stonerock

It was my first spring turkey hunt.

We drove eight and a half hours from Goodrich in downstate Michigan to Alpha in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We are part owners of a square mile of prime hunting property that borders the state of Wisconsin.

I have visited our cabin many times in the fall to hunt birds, bear and deer. I discovered, however, that spring hunting differs from fall hunts in one terrifying way. I visited the cabin expecting that I was to be the predator and the turkey my prey. To my horror, I became the prey.

They may be small, but these irritating predators of humans are surprisingly powerful in the spring. They are so elusive that they follow us home undetected, and in the strangest of places. They are so determined that we find ourselves battling them for weeks even after we've left their territory. They are so difficult to kill that we require a large and heavy weapon to ensure that they are destroyed. And just when we think we've got them completely annihilated, at least one more of these sneaky creatures emerges to avenge itself.

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