In his book “Zen in the Art of Writing,” writer Ray Bradbury describes the technique of word association brainstorming that he often used to foster creativity.

If I remember clearly, Bradbury started with a topic or word and then wrote down the first word or phrase that came into his mind. He would continue this process until inspiration struck. Genius that he was, I suspect Bradbury always had pages full of words when he finished.

Oddly enough, I found myself thinking about and utilizing Bradbury’s method this past weekend during my predawn walks into a Florida swamp while turkey hunting. Each morning, we had to cover about 3 miles in the dark (with headlamps of course) to be at our listening spot in time for sunrise.

For those unfamiliar with turkey hunting, the male turkeys typically gobble from their roost trees each morning in the spring around sunrise to attract hens. The sound of the gobble enables the turkey hunter to locate the bird and then slip in to set up and begin calling (imitating a hen) in hopes of attracting the lovestruck longbeard into gun or bow range.

Hope is the key word here, but I’ll come back to that in another article. For now, let’s get back to Bradbury. Perhaps I started playing the game in my mind to pass the time on those morning treks or perhaps I was simply inspired by the sights, sounds, feel, and taste (I swallowed bugs that had been drawn to my headlamp on more than one occasion) of my surroundings.

Either way, here are a few of the words that came to mind: Slog (walking through the wet muck and mire truly was a slog each day, but I loved it), fetid (there is no other smell quite like swampy muck and mire), fecund (the vegetation is prolific and almost otherworldly), prehistoric (always comes to mind when I’m in those swamps, maybe it’s the alligators).

Our hunt was for four full days—Saturday through Tuesday—with two days of planned scouting prior to the hunt. We were shuttled in on Thursday morning to set up our base camp and didn’t shuttle back out until the hunt ended on Tuesday.

This being my third opportunity to make the hunt, I have perfected my packing list to include all that I need to be comfortable in my tent for five nights. We have all the comforts of home in camp including a generator to charge devices, give us light, and to a make a hot cup of coffee in the morning.

We also eat like kings which is important considering that we averaged walking six to eight miles daily while hunting. The menu this year included, among other things, elk steaks, elk burgers, and smoked sausage dogs.

Some folks will no doubt read this and say that we weren’t camping, we were “glamping.” For those folks, let me point out one key comfort necessity that’s missing from our Osceola turkey camp in Florida—taking a shower.

That’s right. We shower on Thursday before we go in and don’t shower again until we come out on Tuesday, and let me tell you the swamp is hot and humid. Muggy is another word that came to mind in my Bradbury brainstorming, as well as noxious.

At the end of day, my smell, if not noxious, was certainly hideous, and after six days, it was horrendous. I love simple pleasures in life like a bourbon by the campfire or watching a sunrise or sunset in the mountains, and after this hunt, the bath house back at the outpost campground certainly deserves a spot on that list. That hot shower feels like the Ritz-Carlton and always reminds me how often we take something as basic as a daily shower for granted.

As always, I left the swamp with wonderful memories and a wealth of material to write about. My companions on this adventure were my good friends Jamie Thomas and Steve and Kristi Brown. All three are certified turkey hunting nuts like me and I share special connections with each of them.

Kristi and I doubled in Florida many years ago to complete our first Grand Slams together, a special hunt that I will always remember and a special connection that I will always treasure. Steve is the owner of Brown & Company Outfitters and one of my turkey hunting mentors. He is also the best turkey hunter that I know.

As for Jamie, I mentored him into the turkey hunting addiction, and we’ve shared many hunts together over the years. My goal for this trip was to call in an Osceola for him, which would be his first. It would also be the second bird of his Grand Slam.

Mid-morning on Sunday, after hearing several gobblers on the roost, we were able to find a gobbler that was looking for love and I was able to call him 300 yards across an open pasture with some sweet talk on an Andy Duvall crystal pot call.

Jamie made a great shot at 32 yards, and after running out to get his bird he turned to look at me. The smile on his face was one I’ll never forget—goal accomplished!

Until next time, here’s to making memories that last a lifetime, to good friends and great adventures, and here’s to seeing you out there in our great outdoors.