The opening of deer season for this year has been pounded time and again in this column. Can you tell excitement is running high at this desk?

Our deer camp will be a buzz of excitement and enthusiasm at 6:40 a.m. on Saturday. One will be stationed at the north end of the hunt area. Another will head east to his favorite spot and still another will be on the west part of the area. Me? My position will be at the southern portion, inside our cinderblock structure.

My reasoning is sound, at least in my eyes. The others will be milling around and chasing the animals to me, so why should my feet do the pounding. In reality, my boots will, indeed, pound the ground on opening day, but maybe in the afternoon.

Good luck to the duck, goose, dove, turkey hunters, all of the rest of you, too. Have fun, but be careful out there.

Photo contest aimed at hunters

The theme is “From field to feast: Sustainable hunting for food.” Fish and Wildlife sponsors a photo contest to select a cover for the upcoming big game pamphlet every year.

From Fish and Wildlife: “This year will be a little different from previous contests, and we are asking hunters to submit their entries in three parts. Your submission should include a photo of your harvest in the field, a photo of a dish created from that harvest, and a recipe for that dish.”

What great fun. This could be a family project, with even younger children providing input.

Send Fish and Wildlife your photos highlighting how you use hunting to provide food for yourself and your family, along with a short paragraph describing the photos. Please include the recipe for your dish in the paragraph description. You can send your submission to photocontest@dfw.wa.gov. Please make sure you include high quality, high resolution photos so they can be used in the contest.

Even if you are not selected as the winner, we may feature your photos and recipe on our social media pages.

The cutoff date for submissions is March 1, 2019. The winning submission will be featured on the next Washington State Big Game Hunting Seasons and Regulations pamphlet.