A word on hunting:
I cannot say that I understand hunting the way hunters do. But I have no qualms about hunting in general, some of my good friends are hunters. I have to admit I am a little puzzled however, by the amount of attention our state gives to the sport of hunting.
The current NJ hunting digest, which lists areas and seasons and general regulations, is now 80 pages long. You can hunt nearly everthing that walks, runs, flys, or crawls. Bow season starts as early as September 6 in some areas, and it goes to Feb 14. There are special hunting or trapping seasons for bear, racoon, turkey, oppossum, ducks, pheasants, rabbits, deer, mink, muskrat, otter, beaver, partridge, quail, sea ducks, woodchuck, and even crow. And that is not a complete list.
There is even a "special February season" for coyote and fox that runs to February 14 wherein you can bag 'em with bow & arrow, shotgun, or muzzleloader. When you throw in the spring Turkey season, you are likely to encounter a hunter almost anytime other than deep summer.
Kinda puts a damper on my kind of deep woods exploring except for Sundays, which is why I say we have to be vigilant and never, ever give up our Sundays. They tried to grab Sundays a couple years ago, but it did not go very far.
I ran into hunters 3 times over the holidays, a record for me. And since the population in our state is booming, and the state promotes hunting as a "family" sport, you are likely to see it increase over the years.
Hold on to that sacred Sunday for dear life my friends.
