Like all of us, I try to carve out some time each spring for the turkey season. Usually, I can set aside a weekend or two, and if I'm lucky, a few weekday mornings. But this spring was looking like a bust. Between work, household projects, and family obligations, the calendar was nearly full. Any turkey hunting would have to be fit in with a shoehorn.

The night before last, I was thinking I might be able to get in a quick hunt before work the following morning. I even put all of my turkey gear in the truck. But I came to my senses and realized that if I went hunting, I'd be too whupped to get any work done afterward. So the truck and the gear sat in the garage while I stayed home and plucked away at the computer.

This morning, I was up unusually early thanks to the cat walking on my head at 4:30 a.m. I figured if I went straight to the computer and got enough work done, I might be able to hunt for a couple of hours tomorrow.

I went into the kitchen, made some coffee, and reached into the fridge for the half-and-half, only to find it empty. Now, I'm not particular about many things, but my coffee has to have half-and-half. Milk doesn't cut it. If my coffee isn't creamy, my day is pretty much ruined. I got in the truck and drove to the 24-hour convenience store.

On the drive home, I happened to pass a piece of public land I occasionally hunt on weekday mornings when there's no one else around. And with the first blue light of dawn tinting the sky above the treetops, I decided to drive by slowly, with my window down. Sure enough, a bird gobbled a few hundred yards into the woods. I didn't think much of it at first. In fact, I thought, Figures the birds are gobbling and I've got to work. But then I caught a glimpse of the guncase and turkey vest stowed in the extended cab. There was also a camo shirt and a pair of boots left there since deer season.

It was 5:10 a.m. when I hit the woods. I sneaked along a finger of thick pines to within 75 or 80 yards of the bird's roost. I called only twice before he gobbled and flew down.

It was 5:44 a.m. when I got home, carrying a pint of half-and-half and a long-bearded tom. I guess my day won't be ruined. And my turkey season is suddenly looking up, too.