Month: April 2026

As I mentioned in last week’s post, I spent a few days in Kentucky towards the end of last week to partake in the spring turkey season. Measured in terms of harvest, the trip was unsuccessful. On less tangible metrics, though, it was a metaphorical shot in the arm. There is something calming and peaceful about sitting beside a field as the darkness fades into a clear dawn. It is made better when you hear an owl calling in the fading darkness. Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo in their distinct rhythm. And there was an owl on the first morning. It’s also nice when you’re in a spot without cell reception, though that was only the case on one of the four mornings. It’s even better when the stillness is broken not just my tweeting birds but also by the distinctive gobble-gobble-gobble of a tom turkey, but that was a rarer sound than I’d hoped it would be.

I didn’t raise a shotgun to fire during any of my four mornings in the field. The birds weren’t very vocal once on the ground and the only birds that I could legally harvest that I saw never came close enough to contemplate a shot. On the first morning I did have a couple of deer walk between me and the decoys and a hen walk past at close range, but all I did was watch. I was with Dad for most of the mornings, with him having already taken a bird on opening morning. We didn’t talk much; you never really do when you’re in the field. But those times have always been some of my favorites, going back even to my childhood. It’s probably that more than anything else that gets me riled up whenever people disparage hunting. They just don’t know what they’ve missed.

In returning back to North Carolina, I was forced to take a detour along winding roads I hadn’t driven in many years. It was a fitting end to a few days in Eastern Kentucky to traverse those roads and go through the Cumberland Gap. I won’t take that route with any regularity if the interstates are all open, but having a little more time directly in those hills was good this time. Then it was a short turnaround with laundry and the like before I left again, but more about this current trip next week when it’s through.

This week was the final week of my spring curling season. While there is a pickup round next Monday, I’ll be on an airplane and so will miss it. I didn’t play my best game of the season this week (that was last week) and failed to execute on my final rock of the season, but I played well overall and we cruised to victory in the final week for a top half finish. It is a slightly bittersweet thing to take my broom home for the summer, but I’ll find some alternative activity for a few months to fill my Monday evenings until the humidity relents a little in the late summer.

When this newsletter goes out, I will either have finished or will still be out for a morning turkey hunt. I haven’t been for a few years and I’ve missed it, so I made a long drive in order to sit for a few quiet mornings and try to garner some action. More on that next week. This was a great chance for a change in scenery regardless, even if I’m going to have other changes in scenery in each of the next two weeks also for work-related travel. I’ve been getting restless, so much so that even on my drive I listened to an audiobook recounting one of the great journeys taken during the age of discovery some five hundred years ago. This certainly won’t be an unplug-for-several-days situation, but at least I’ll be able to spend my free time in the woods for a few days as opposed to just walking on paved trails or watching television.

Friday to Sunday, in recognition of the days leading up to and of Easter itself, I kept my laptop on my office desk and my office door closed. It is not something I allow myself to do often, taking multiple days away from the computer like that, but it was so refreshing.

I also filled in the time with some activities, both new and old. On Friday morning, I went for a longer hike along a lakefront loop for just short of six miles and then had a southern style brunch in one of the small towns that form exurbs of the Triangle. I’d done this loop before and while I wasn’t thrilled that I had to pay a park entrance fee this time it was still a nice walk under the trees, especially once I was on the extended loop where there weren’t any other people. Friday evening brought a church service and then a few hours with my small group hosted by a couple of the group members at their house, during which time I received a lesson in what constitutes “girl dinner.”

Saturday, I ventured to Cary to try a Laotian restaurant for lunch. It was good but not good enough to displace my regular Thai restaurant, especially given the travel time involved. It does have a great location, though, as I went on a quick stroll through the Downtown Cary Park afterwards. Then I met a friend for a beer in the afternoon to catch up as we’ve had discordant schedules the past few months. The weather was great too.

Sunday morning started before dawn as I attended my first sunrise Easter service. I followed that with volunteering with the first graders in the next service. They’re always a high energy bunch but we have fun. Most of them were coming off of spring break, so they were even more active than normal. Nobody got too dirty working on the craft and everyone was smiling throughout, so it was a success. I followed this with what was for me a spur-of-the-moment brunch, as I was invited during conversation on the lawn after the service. This meant I got to meet a few more children and play indoor basketball and work on puzzles with them into the early afternoon. It all combined to make for a restorative few days and plant a few seeds of questions in my mind.

From a weather perspective, this was certainly true this year. The temperatures have crept into the low 80s and skies have been clear and blue. It’s very much pollen season, though we did get one good soaking to clear the worst of it late last week. It has been wonderful walking weather and I’ve made more use of the neighborhood trails than was possible earlier in the year. It helps that the days are getting longer too.

The adage has also proven true from a work perspective. We’re finally clearing some of the backlog that we’ve carried through the first quarter of the year. This is also a vacation week, albeit not for me, so that has naturally resulted in fewer meetings and emails. This is a week more of managing the closing process for transactions as opposed to drafting and negotiating documents, a calmer time in the overall deal cycle, and several transactions have all tracked through their timelines at roughly the same clip.

Mind you, there is another wave of transactions coming, but this time is allowing me to improve our client workflows. With every iteration, we get a little bit better. It does feel like a treadmill sometimes, trying to improve things, but that’s still better than the alternative.