Another deer season is in the books. For us the season typically involves only opening weekend, which is the weekend before Thanksgiving. That's usually enough time. Plus, we normally can't get away another weekend anyway.

For me it was another bummer of a weekend. Missed two fairly easy shots for which I'll spend the next several months analyzing and trying to correct.

As others will attest, however, deer hunting is more than just the hunt itself. It's a time to get together with family members and sometimes friends to bond in a way that is unique to the hunting culture. We hunters often have a difficult time explaining the lure of the hunt. Even I have trouble, which is a bit ironic for a writer. So I won't attempt to here. Suffice to say that it's another enjoyable weekend spent at the cabin.

That's not to say that other trips to the cabin aren't enjoyable. Heck, I get over there nearly a dozen times a year. Only one of those trips is devoted to deer hunting. Others may involve typical cabin activities: mowing, cutting and collecting firewood, hiking, sunning, chatting on the radio, relaxing.

But there's something about the deer hunt that presents its own element of interest; that sets it apart from the other weeekends. That raises the anticipation despite poor luck in previous hunts (something I have experienced a lot). We hunters continue to take to the fields and the woods knowing not what to expect except some good times with some good people.

The guns and gear are stowed for another year. Funny to think it'll be nearly 12 months before we do it all again. A lot can happen in the meantime--not the least of which is that we'll all be a year older. But we'll do it again. And, God willing, for many more years after that.

Ah, winter has arrived. Well, not officially, says the weatherman. But it has for those of us who rely on Mother Nature to tell us what season it is. When you wake up to below-freezing temperatures and a light coating of snow on the ground, you know it's winter.

Time to start preparing for the really cold weather: below zero temps and wind chill factors that hit -50, -60, and even possibly -70. Well, maybe not that bad. The weather service has changed the way it calculates wind chill factor. So it may not read -70, but it still feels like it.

So, why do folks remain in the northern part of the States despite the occasional bitter cold temps? One reason is that we enjoy and to a certain extent look forward to the change in seasons. I am one such person. I can honestly say that I'd get bored if the weather were always the same, which is the joke about southern California.

True, the really bitter cold weather is not fun. Indeed, it's downright nasty and dangerous. Forces us to remain inside, where we get cooped up really easily. What can you do? Go to the mall, movie theater, or some other facility. But you can still get cooped up. Me? I prefer being outside, and get out as often as I can.

Whether walking, biking (yes, in warmer months), hiking in the woods, hunting, or just bumming around, you can't beat being outside. Throw in some snow, and it can actually be a rather pleasant experience. (Others take that a step further with skiing and other winter sports.)

But probably the biggest enjoyment from winter comes in the knowledge that it eventually gives way to Spring. Poets have waxed poetically (what does it mean to "wax poetically" anyway??) about Spring for generations. I won't try here, other than to say it is my second favorite season.

That fresh, clean smell in the air and the sense of newness springing forth. The thought that the dark, cold and sometimes mushy days of winter are giving way to warm, fresh weather really puts a spark in me. Others, too, I hear. Psychologists say that the long dark days of winter have a dampening effect on people's moods. We literally need sunshine in our lives, if even just to view through the windows.

So as the holiday season approaches and the days get shorter and colder, my thoughts already are on what is to be: another Spring and summer just around the corner.

Well, another vacation is in the bag. I returned Tuesday from a week in the Dominican Republic. As in previous trips, I spent the week at an all-inclusive resort. The only way to go, if you ask me.

It's amazing how easy it is to escape while on such a vacation. I don't read the papers (don't recall if they even sell any at the resort), and watch very little TV. It wasn't until we were at the airport ready to leave that I learned of the tragedy that befell the good folks in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. But isn't that one of the purposes of a vacation, to get away?

Funny how so many people turn their vacations into extended versions of their regular days. Laptops, cell phones, and such. Granted, I took along a couple files and spent perhaps an hour or two during the week on some writing, but not anywhere near the level we sometimes see with other vacationers. Can't those folks set it aside for a few days? Don't they realize that their firms won't collapse and their jobs disappear if they ignore work for a week? What's the point of going on vacation if you don't really take the vacation?

I recall hearing of a woman on a trip deep into an African country. Naturally, basic amenities were few and far between. To say nothing of communications capabilities. At one point the woman starts screaming that she's got to get back to the hotel to check e-mails. Seems the company couldn't do without her for a couple weeks. Says a lot about her and her firm.

But it begs the questions: Why the heck did she schedule the trip in the first place? Did she not understand that she'd be out of the loop for perhaps days on end? Was she that naive to think that her cell phone would work in one of the more remote places on Earth?

Several years ago U.S. News & World Report ran an article about people taking work with them while on vacation. The photo accompanying the story depicted a father and son at a campground somewhere. The boy can be seen in their tent near the river, and in the foreground is the old man, sitting at a picnic table pecking away at a laptop. Each in his own little world, literally and figuratively. You want to reach into the photo and wring the SOB's neck.

What's more important, spending quality time with his son, or pounding out some more e-mails and proposals? Another example of what's wrong with the American family today: an unwillingness on the part of parents to commit the time necessary to properly rear their children. Oh, they'll blame it on the cost of living and the need to continue producing. But that's just a smoke screen.

In reality, they can't turn it off. Their priorities are such that work comes before all else. They must learn to strike a balance; a balance, I might add, that favors family life. They can still live comfortably yet be the parents and mentors to their children that they are supposed to be. What parents did for generations up till now.

And, they can stop and enjoy the roses--or pina coladas, as is the case sometimes.