Deer Season Ends

As the day begins to end on the last day of deer season the sunrise was a morning to remember.  Looking back on the season we took two eight pointers, and probably five does off the property (two does we trailed but could never find).  That was well and good but just being in the outdoors was what makes hunting special:  seeing my grandson so in-tentatively watching his first deer through the binoculars from a stand, Abby and I tracking a deer into the night and hearing all the noises in the woods after dark, seeing an otter traveling up a small branch on the property, the sunrises and sunsets, a hawk flying over a field looking for breakfast and being with family in the outdoors, hearing the stories of past experiences.

I think of Native Americans and their love for the land and the resources.  I know the land has changed some with the non-native species we see today.  Every time I pick up an arrowhead on the property I wonder what they were shooting at here many years before.  If this arrowhead could speak, what a story could it tell!

Is the land better today than it was then?  NO! Too many damages made by man but on our property we want to make it as close to being like it was then, as possible today.  It was a good season but now it is over. Time to get back to work and make the land better!

Wet Day

How the weather can change in a week!  I hunted alone today and I did not see anything.  I started out this morning, there was no rain until I opened the gate to go in  and it began to pour down.  I had an apple tree to plant for the deer but when I got to Bowden Grove it was raining hard so I quickly unloaded the tree, soil and shovel and realized I had left my rifle at home:(  so I started back home to get my rifle.  I quickly returned to Bowden Grove to plant the tree and to hunt.  I could hear thunder in the distant so I hurried to plant the tree and staple velcro in the spaceship stand to hold the windows shut. I had to do this in a hurry.  It started thundering and lighting close by and I did not want to be in that metal stand and in an open field.  I saw a track of a deer in the road near the jeep that I scared out when I went to the stand.  It began to pour rain again so I went back home.
This evening I sat in a wet stand and I saw nothing but today I did get my trees planted!

Cold Morning

Looking out over a frosty field as the sun came up Saturday it was cold.  Frost still collected on me as I watched for deer.  It was in the lower 20's but Abby, Jay and myself were bundled up so that we were able to stand the cold.  Jay took out a doe but where I was and where Abby was, we saw nothing.  It was impossible to walk in quietly because the ground was spewed up with ice. 

It was beautiful but cold.  It seemed the sun would never come over the hill from the east of me.

Past Few Days of Hunting

Pawpaw took a two and half year old eight pointer Saturday morning after the rain.  We saw sixteen deer Saturday but this was the only one harvested.  Abby saw a huge buck but it saw her first and she could not get a good shot at it.  Then Monday evening Abby takes out another predator on the property.  The fawns, rabbits and turkeys will be glad of this.  This bobcat was slipping around in the swamp looking for what it might catch.  We are looking forward to this weekend when the weather is suppose to be cooler.  The past few days have been too hot and we have been on the lookout for snakes.

Playground

The forest is a play ground.  For the last three days James, Selah, (grandchildren) and I have played in the forest.  We built a hut out of pine saplings on the coldest day and laid in the pine straw and talked.  We walked around the pond and looked where the bucks were rubbing the trees.  We made swords like used in "Star Wars" out of tree branches, and made a spear that we could throw and stick in the ground.  We looked at a deer hide being made ready for a project. We climbed trees, walked a foot log and collected moss for James's turtle back in Kentucky.  We watched deer out the window on the coldest morning.  Who can say there is nothing to do in the forest?  We had so much fun!

What a Show!

This morning the deer were all having a party on Dewberry Lands.  The group consisted of three deer with spike size racks, a small eight pointer a big nine pointer and numerous does.  The does would just run around like crazy.  The big buck and the little one in the picture came up first, then two small bucks and the small eight pointer came down the hill.  The small deer with the big one met them coming down the hill.  He began pawing the ground, throwing leaves and the small eight ran up to him and they began fighting.  The eight knocked him out of the way.  By then the large buck quit eating and started walking over to the commotion. The eight decided he was going to stay at least 15 feet from him, then the chase was on.  The large buck pawed the ground at three different places and would hit the trees with his rack.  While this was going on one of the spikes pawed the ground then walked over to a four inch oak and started rubbing his antlers on that tree.  After the large buck chased all the does off he came back and finished his meal.  What a show!

Yesterday at another place on our property I took out a 130 pound doe.  On this tract of land we have too many does and we need to work on getting our numbers corrected.  I saw ten deer yesterday and one was a small buck.
I also shot at another coyote.  We have killed four and shot at two more and seen another.  They are bad news for the fawns but we are helping that situation.

Backyard Visitor

This morning I had a grinning visitor that had fiddled around and got into the coyote trap I have set in the backyard.  We have coyotes that wake us up nearly every week howling in our front yard.  I have not set it yet for the coyotes but I have put it out to get the scent off of the trap and Mr. Opossum got in it.  

He was sure glad to be set free!