At the same time, it brings peace and calm. In "The Thinker" (page 96), Curt Wells quotes Matt McPherson, founder of Mathews Solocam, as saying, "I'm a deer hunter at heart… I've taken some good bucks, but I've never had one officially scored. I love the process of hunting, but it's not my goal to be the next great hunter. Sitting in a treestand is refreshing to me. It helps clear my head." What greater goal than to clear your head?

And what better time to do it than on stand come fall?

Fall promises freedom, a concept Jana Waller expresses well in "Independence Day" (page 60), as she finally escapes the bondage of fixed stands to roam and hunt on her own. Fall is a time to explore, investigate, discover, improvise, test, and try. It's a time to spread your wings, a time to do it "my way." Come fall, bowhunters experience a sense of freedom seemingly unattainable at other times of the year.

Perhaps best of all, fall opens vast opportunities to share the joys of the outdoors lifestyle and hunting with others. If experienced adults feel the excitement, think what youngsters and newcomers to the field must feel. In "Good Luck Charm" (page 114), Pat Lefemine reveals that his daughter, Abby, at age seven, has more drive and enthusiasm for the hunt than he has -- lucky thing for him. In "Fanning the Fire" (page 132), Steve Sukut finds out that kids are never too young to ask meaningful questions. In "Pass the Torch" (page 120), Joe Lasch describes the privilege and pleasure he feels at mentoring his teenage nephew Ross Dary. Fall provides the venue for bowhunters to teach the value of the harvest and to inspire others to hunt.

To a casual observer, the coming of fall, with its growing darkness, chill breezes, and dying leaves, might seem like a time of decay and death. We bowhunters know better.

We know that, come fall, it's time to celebrate new life.