Killdeer in the Wood

[pine nut]

Great pictures and great words.  You have a gift girl, and thanks for sharing with us. It's almost as good as being there.

the nutty pine

[Doc Nock]

 

And ain't it amazin..how clever, descriptive and totally articulate she is on the keyboard....

... but in person, she stammers, stutters and kicks her toe alot and gets her tounge wrapped around her eye teeth and can't see what she's sayin... tsk, tsk...    

Seriously, now, Ms.Killdeer...  That snow pic sure is something that draws the soul...that is some gorgeous country..no wonder you keep going even if the critters are fewer'n before.

[Dano]

I was thinkin... Geeze Dave, when I met the lady she had no problem "articulatin"  

[Killdeer]

Dave is a congenial, congenital liar. It allows him to excel at his work, but his friends must learn to take what he says with a pillar of salt.

Saturday dawned too early. I awoke at 2:30 AM, chided myself for being obsessive-compulsive, chided myself again for being negative toward my inner child, and sent myself back to bed without dinner (no spanking). I woke up again at 5 AM...late again!

The skies were overcast, and there was 2" of new snow, wet and sticking to everything.It piled on branches and weeds, tent and cookshack. I had to knock it off of all the canvas, which was already stretched out and sagging from the rain. That done, I made coffee and put a pre-packed box of food in my pack.Couldn't find a good pair of matching gloves (the right one always goes AWOL) so I made do.

Predawn, still, but the brightness of the snow made it seem much later. I knew that the deer had likely already fed near their beds, and were chewing their cuds by now. I sipped my coffee too fast, impatiently burning my mouth, while resigning myself to the fact that the deer were likely bedded and would stay that way 'til midday.

Many times I have seen a snow like this come down, and not seen a track cross a major trail for a good twenty-four hours. Seems that the bulk of snow on the branches obscures their vision enough to keep them in the thick stuff, waiting for it to fall away. The sound of the snow falling keeps them a little spooky, and not being able to see added to not being able to rely on their ears is just a bit much for them. I thought about my Ray Charles trail. Nope, they would already be in there, and it is too thick and noisy. I wandered to the Knob, playing with the camera and deciphering the tracks of about seven guys who were already on stand.

 


Killdeer

[Bonebuster]

I think the photo`s are fantastic.

Here`s to the love of ALL that IS the hunt.

You can sum it up with a photo and a few words.

Happy hunting to you!... and thanks.

[Dano]

It says alot about a person who can't match up a pair of gloves.  :rolleyes:

[Woodduck]

...enjoying this  

[Killdeer]

Dano, your  ears  don't match, and how many years have you had to get  that  sorted out?

Killdeer     :p

[allanburden]

I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread and look forward to each new post and picture, thank you killdeer for letting us all live your adventure!

[pine nut]

Dano,
Matching wits with Killdeer is like taking a knife to a gun fight! Touche! LOL
nutty pine

[Dano]

My ears usta match!!  

[ber643]

.... but that was  before  you started packing knives to gun fights - right, Dano?    

[snakewood3]

I can't tell 'bout them ears the way he's always sneakin around .

[Raineman]

Killdeer....all I can say is .....Thank you for this great read.....and by all means please...carry on.

[Dano]

My problem was, I always forgot the knife.      :D

[ber643]

Yeah, Killie, the rest of us are just Marking Time until you come up with another pic or word painting. Well, some of us are actually hiding in the bush - but we are still listening, aren't we, Dano?   :D

[Dano]

You bet!!!

[bentpole]

Killy I just reread and then read again the vole/squirrel episode. Wow! Please be careful as to what sort of mushrooms one consumes in the Virginia Woods.Great stuff I like it!

[Killdeer]

I can show you one that you should DEFINITELY not eat!! Once I see one...I  think  that's the one, maybe...  :confused:      

Meeting night tonight. Just saw all the members of the Chagrined Again Hunting Club, with the added highlight of a visit from ApplePie, with his wife and young son. They moved to Tennessee, and I miss having them around. They, on the other hand, do not miss this urbanized insanity.

Thanks, Chuck, for posting the pic of Dano and me at ATAR. Shining times, for sure! Why does everybody move far away from me?

Don't answer that.    

So, one by one the tracks peeled off from the group, until only three led up onto the Knob. I named them, Spider Web, Rainbow Bob, and ReBob. Spider Web went left at the first saddle, Bob went up the trail, and ReBob sat and retied his shoe. I thought sure that one of them would go to the climbing stand that had hung up here all week, but no. Rainbow Bob went directly to where I had made my ground blind, and ReBob went on down toward the old plane wreck.

I sat overlooking a funnel at the second saddle. Squirrel tracks dotted the ground, but no deer tracks. I settled in. Some turkeys wound around behind me, trying their best not to disturb my hunt. One coughed politely, so as not to startle me. I got cold at noon, and had not seen a thing move. I got up to go to camp.

You ever sit, get fairly cold, and figure that you would move around and warm up? Sure. That's how it works. I got up, and started to move around. The cold from my extremities flooded into my body core, and I got colder. This can make the next twenty minutes or so a bummer. I warmed up, but it took some work.

I gotta go get ready to schlep more parcels tomorrow. G'night.
Killdeer

[ber643]

Huh???   :confused:  Well we do wear hats that are(started out) alike - but I don't recall you wearing glasses when you shoot, Killie - LOL