I just checked my Sitmeter to discover the 10th person who visits today following the publishing of my blog will be lucky guest number 10,000. Who will it be?

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April is always a month of fun-filled overload in my life. Why? Because my two most treasured passions, outside of faith and family, both begin. Turkey hunting and Baseball.

This time next week, I'll be back at the Howard Mountain Hunting Lease on the Garland/Saline county border. I can hardly stand the anticipation! The thrill of spring, the shrill gobble of an awakening tom and the opportunity to spend some quality time with my dad are drawing me back home.

For the last two years, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has instituted a Youth Hunt on the Saturday preceding the season opener. And for the last two years, on the first Saturday in April, I have been in the woods with Mike and Kim Sykora's sons.

On the first year of the youth hunt, Zachary bagged a nice 20 lbs. adult tom. It was a fabulous hunt that took all of about 10 minutes. We had set up in a popular hardwood roost area near the crest of Puckett Mountain. When the first turkey gobbled, we cut the distance, setting up to call. No sooner did I call than not one, not two, but three mature, adult gobblers responded. Immediately following their gobbles, Zach and I could hear the unmistakeable sound of turkeys sprinting through the leaves. These three gobblers came and presented themselves, two perescoping the scene for the dominant tom who lurked in the back, strutting like there was no tomorrow. With the two lead turkeys within about 20 feet, I made a soft call so Zach could see the turkeys gobble. All three just about blew us over with their vociferous gobble. With that, I whispered to Zach to shoot and he leveled one of the periscoping birds. It was a great day and a great memory.

Last year, the youth hunt day was frigidly cold. With Zach's turkey harvested the year before, little brother Tyler got his turn. Only this time, our luck wasn't as favorable. We decided to start off on Bearcat Mountain and, just as the year before, a couple of turkeys began gobbling to the west of our listening post. We made our way down an old logging road, getting to within about 100 yards of where we thought the turkeys were roosted. we set up and they cooperated from their roost trees, answering my every call. We heard them fly down and gobble upon hitting the ground. "Sit tight," I told Tyler, "they'll be here any second."

Wrong!

They didn't show up. After a few minutes of anxious anticipation, I made a soft call and suddenly, from behind us, that unmistakeable sound of turkeys jogging through the fallen leaves caught my attention. "We're busted," I whispered to Tyler. "Either they've circled us or we've called in another batch from the rear." Hearing the sound of the turkeys behind us didn't leave time to turn around on our set-up tree to position for their arrival.

And what an arrival it was! When the turkeys -- once again, three gobblers, just like the year before -- arrived at our backs, the dominant tom let out a gobble that nearly scared us out of our skin. When a turkey gobbles from within about 10 yards of you, it is hard to describe how deafening the sound truly is. And, as bad luck would have it, no sooner did he cut loose the gobble than they spotted us and made a made dash downhill toward the Puckett hollow road.

Tyler and I went and retrieved my dad who was on another part of our 6,000 acre lease listening tracking turkeys we would hunt the following Saturday. We shared with dad our experience and solicited his help. Having been busted already, it would take some real savvy to get them to come back. We made our way after the turkeys and caught up with them down near the Puckett Hollow road. But we never could get in front of them. They gave us some token gobbles but continued their path away from us to the south.

Tomorrow morning, Tyler is going to make another run at it. And this time he's got a pro on his side. Since I'm not around to go, my dad is going to take Tyler. Something tells me his luck will change tomorrow.