Yep. Sad, but true. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity for deer season to arrive, it has managed to end. This is the time of year I normally like to look back and recall events that influenced my successes or failures and think of what I could have done differently. Sometimes this helps, and other times it just adds to the realization that the deer simply are smarter than me.

I confess that I did not hunt as hard and efficiently as I normally do, but as I grow older, I realize each year the trip back and forth to my stands get longer and climbing up and down the ravines is more of a challenge than it used to be. My longtime hunting buddy ended his hunting career and now resides in Florida. I miss his company during hunting season.

Besides that, I have heard all my jokes.

I do get to hunt with a couple of my grandsons, but not as much as I would like. My oldest grandson is now married, has three adorable children, and lives in Batesville, Ind., so we are lucky to hunt a couple times each year. My middle grandson is working full-time and cannot hunt as often or as much as he would like, but we do manage to hunt together maybe twice a week after he gets off work. If I am hunting alone and get a deer, all I have to do is call him, and he helps me drag the deer out.

I had some positives this year, for sure. I had some equipment issues and had to buy a new crossbow, which I had not counted on doing, but I did manage to see deer activity every time I went to my stands. Not all of that activity was close enough for a high-percentage shot, but at least I saw deer.

I only saw two bucks all season from Oct. 1 through muzzleloader season, and they were well out of shooting range. The deer that were close enough for good shots were small deer that I allowed to pass. That was difficult to do, but through years of discipline I have managed to overcome the urge to lower my expectations.

I managed to take some rather exciting videos with my iPhone. I have videos of smaller deer approaching and all the possible shooting opportunities that were offered and just how close the deer got to me without really knowing I was there.

I had several yearling does walk directly under my stand and just look around. Some of my friends viewed the videos and said I was crazy for passing those deer, but they will be bigger next year. I also took videos and photos of fox, coyote, turkey, and other woodland creatures. That is also fun to do.

You would be surprised how many people think I stretch the truth when I relate some of my experiences during my hunts. Having a camera handy helps validate my stories. I have had people ask me if I have ever been charged by a deer? Nope! I have read where that has happened, and I have been within mere feet of a deer that, if it wanted to charge me, it could have.

Most of the time, the deer will either hear you or smell you, and they will run away from you. I had a young, four-point buck walk directly to me. I knelt down beside a bush, and when it noticed me, it turned its head from side to side, raised its nose, trying to get my scent, and then started to bob its head up and down, trying to get me to move. I remained still, and it turned around and walked off. It stopped a few times to see if I had moved. Some of those pictures were really fun to share.

I like to add some humor to my photos and stories. I mentioned several times that this year, I couldn't get close enough to a buck to shoot, but the enclosed photo will show I actually got extremely close to one buck. When he posed with me for the photo, I told him, "I hope you don't mind, but I am a deer hunter. Can I get a picture of us standing together?" All of a sudden, his red nose lit up, but I did get the picture. Now it is time to recollect my thoughts and look forward to next deer season.