Only ten days into the month, and already I've worked over 100 hours. Most of them enjoyable hours, yes, but long.

Must be Fall.

And now, to bed. Another elk season opens tomorrow.

Oh, and the comment of the day from one of the wardens, working the Seminoes for the first time ever:

"This place is ATV Heaven!"

Mind you, this was based upon his own riding for the day. I don't think he even saw that one caravan of hunters heading to the mountains.

One truck.

Twelve ATVs.

My main events of the day?

Watching three two-year-old bucks taking turns sparring with each other, while an older buck snuck off with all the does.

Hastening the death of a bull elk by guiding a hunter, practically by the hand, to the location of the one he crippled. Ripping the lymph glands of said bull out, again practically by hand, since the scalpels were back in the truck with the masked heeler, almost a mile and a half away, on the other side of a steep rocky valley (Aren't they all around here?) and over the top ridge. The CWD sampling tools left behind with the lonely heeler, along with my water and almost everything else, for four and a half hours because this was only going to be a ten minute jaunt from the truck.

Until all the gunshots rang out.

Stopping in at the ranch for my annual visit, and being invited in for the massive bacon, eggs and lasagna feast being cooked on propane for the huge elk hunting crew (I declined, to get home not too late after dark.). The place looked like a regular trailer court, and I joked about them maybe needing a subdivision permit. At least a third of the folks aren't hunting elk at all. They're just camping out here for the food, the mountain air, and the companionship.

Made me nostagic for the old family gatherings in the Black Forest.

And now, truly, to bed.