Submitted Photo

I had been home for less than a week after the spring semester ended when the phone rang while I was watching television after dinner. The caller ID showed it was a farmer who I had gotten to know well through hunting and trapping on his property for a few years.

When I picked up, Tom asked if I was planning to turkey the following morning. I said I was thinking about it but hadn’t decided where to go yet. He replied, “Well today I went to spread manure in one of my fields down on Hall road at 10 o’clock this morning and there was a big tom out strutting by himself down there. It might be worth giving that a shot.”

I had to ask where the field was because it was about a mile down the road from his barn and milk house. With the directions on where to park and exactly where the bird was seen, I made plans to go roost the bird at dusk. I talked to my sister about it and convinced her to come with me to check out the spot and listen for the tom to gobble from his perch. When it was time, we headed to the field.