By Mac Arnold
MAHFS Editor

Summer's long days definitely taking effect on the psyche.

Simple things such as taking a picture of the wife's prissy dog in the backyard are made insanely difficult by the dreaded mosquitoes and deer flies.

Lately I've dug into the hunting video collection -- a dangerous thing to do indeed because it turns on the "I can't wait to bow hunt" clock in my head and here it is halfway through July.

This is tempered somewhat by, I want to bow hunt but I don't want to shovel snow.

With the fatality of my beloved recurve (you'll note a previous entry where the bottom limb snapped), I'm down to the Martin compound and resigned to sticking with it now and throughout the upcoming deer season.

I can only long for the next tax refund season when I can return to tinkering with wooden arrows and fletchings in the man cave to accommodate the next recurve. So for now, the cedar arrows remain fixed in a line along the wall on top of the bench. Ah, such is life.

Another upcoming fishing trip to West Virginia keeps the hopes alive despite knowing I'll have two additional toy dogs to watch while there -- and these are the mother-in-law's Pomeranians. One will be a breeze to deal with, while Charlie ... that's yet to be seen. He's the kind of dog that nips at your heels once you turn your back on him.

And, wait, today is the first day you can apply for doe tags in Michigan.

Now that's something to get excited about too. Don't forget -- the application period is from July 15 until Aug. 15.

This goes out especially to those peeps who come hunting with me on the public land tracts around the house every year and would like to shoot a doe but only have buck tags.