I admit it. My mind is narrowly focused on two outdoor passion during the fall: bow hunting whitetail deer and my outdoor writing and photography.

People often wonder how I can think about these topics all the time. It's apparently quite easy because I've been doing it for many years.

It's not that other thoughts don't cross my mind, but besides my lovely wife and our children and grandchildren, I have two all-consuming passion — deer hunting and writing.

I've been ask if the only thing I think about is writing outdoor copy and puzzling out whitetail bucks while hunting. Well, that's about it.

My answer is always straight forward and honest: Writing is my job, it's how I make my living, and thinking about what I will write next is a burning passion. It's what I do, and it's what I must think about every day, and very often from October through December, it's about all I think about.

Seeing a motionless doe near the tag alders grabs my attention.

I also could offer the following thoughts: Hunting whitetails with a bow is what I do and think about. It's my avocation and vocation; it's my job, and my dream each year.

Amazingly enough, when I'm hunting, I am totally aware of my surroundings, and what the deer are doing. I never lose my concentration on the deer, but I do other deer-related things during the off-seaso, such as tending my food plots, repairing blinds and tree stands. I may not be carrying a bow, but solving some of these problems about deer hunting is a part of my deer fetish.

Conversely, while solving knotty problems on the computer, my mind often drifts to deer hunting even though I can separate the two different thought processes without losing track of my primary objective at the time.

Is it possible to intermingle the two at the same time? Well, it kind of happens that way on occasion. I'll be thinking about solving a tree stand placement idea when a shooter buck walks in. The bow comes up, and my body becomes fully automatic, and for a few moments, all thoughts of writing a daily blog are gone.

My subconscious takes over as the bow comes to full draw, and as the red-dot sight settles low behind the front shoulder, and the release trigger is touched, there is a lingering thought about the bow limbs missing tree limbs. That no longer is a problem for me.

Thinking through some hunting or writing problems is easier when deer hunting. The answer is really quite logical if you think about it. The hunting field always has some noise, but the telephone isn't ringing and there aren't other people around.

I'm in my stand to hunt, but all of us need something to keep our mind active as we wait for deer to start moving. This hunting time is the most peaceful time of day for me, and it's easy to let my mind roam at will.

Just being in a deer stand is enough for me.

It's much the same as something else that a writer friend told me many years ago. He said some of his best story ideas come while sleeping, and during his freelancing days, he would often awaken from a sound sleep with a great story line.

He would slip quietly out of bed, go into his office, and write the story while it was still fresh in his head. The same thing happens to me.

A problem may vex me for weeks at a time, and while I am asleep, the answer tugs my eyelids open. The answer was lurking in my mind all this time, and falling asleep allowed it to slip out. I suspect the same thing occurs to others who work with their hands and mind.

So I don't find it awkward or mysterious to be able to think out problems while doing something else. It's like walking and talking; walking and chewing gum; and sometimes doing three things at once.

Thinking about deer hunting and writing makes the time go by.

I get so absorbed when boe hunting whitetail bucks that it's as if my brain is half-filled with writing thoughts and deer hunting thoughts. One thought feeds off the other, and it's easy for me to separate the two whenever the need arises.

Of course, I've been deer hunting for at least 50 years and I've been able to efficiently separate these two passions until such time as they both come together in an unforgettable moment.

That often happens while hunting. And when the two passions meld while aiming at a big buck, it is one of the most memorable events of my life.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors