Sep. 8—Fall is here, or at least nearly so.

If you go by the arrival and passing of the autumnal equinox when nights become longer than days, we are not quite there.

But if you measure it by a crispness in the morning air and the ever-expanding opportunity to take to high ridges, jagged canyons, green meadows and the tawny edges of agricultural fields in pursuit of blue and ruffed grouse, bull elk or mourning doves, it's here.

It starts with just a trickle of opportunities — a tease almost. Then grows to a gushing flood with too little time to do everything you dreamed up over the long, hot summer.

Should you chase chukars and Huns in September or bugling bulls? Should you devote October to steelhead fishing or rifle hunting? Should November be reserved for rutting whitetails or wily roosters with long tail feathers and the fighting spurs to match?

The answer is yes. Do it all, as fast as you can. The days are getting shorter. Winter is not far off. Don't let the opportunity to harvest not only game but also the memories and experiences that are the true trophies of the hunt slip away.

The people featured in the 2023 Hunting Edition have done a fine job of packing their mental freezers full of meaty memories. There's a story about Gordon Lyons, a wild sheep hunter with an uncanny ability to draw control hunting tags. Another features Anna Call, a young deer hunter from Clarkston who has killed five bucks in six years. Jeff Benda of wildgameandfish.com shares recipes and the story of how hunting changes his perspective. Ralph Bartholdt, a former Tribune reporter, shares a wonderful essay about his first bow and the world it opened up.

Check them all out and get busy packing away hunting experiences.