Shed Hunting Begins at Timber Life

The time has come to get out and search for the antlers that had been gracing the stately bucks of the timber just a couple week ago...Yes, it's shed hunting season!

I was viewing my Facebook thread around the 3rd when I saw that Tiffany Lakosky posted that her little Lab/shed hunter had starting finding sheds at their place in southeast Iowa. My thoughts had shifted in that direction about that time when the deer were showing up without bucks being evident any longer and the bunching up behavior had begun .

The last picture I took of a buck still carrying was of this guy the evening of December 30th, when he was on his way out of the timber for the evening browsing in the neighborhood.

I have been a little slow in getting out, because of the snow depth we still have around from the storm that arrived not long before Christmas.

Being short in stature I find the drifts to be a challenge to navigate even with the melting that has occurred the last few days. That being said I have been out looking around in an attempt to find the trophy sized tines this year before all the little creatures use them for chew sticks. High coyote activity in our area has them gnawed up before I can get to them.

                                                      Some Examples of Shedding Rubs
These are just a few of the shedding rubs I discovered on my second day of searching. My total hunting experiences in the past and so far today haven't automatically led to the immediate reward of finding antlers.

  
I usually find sheds along trails, beside fences, tucked under bushes, or tall grass and occasionally on the remains of mature bucks too tired to leave the comforts of home.

Our forecast for the next couple of days is rain and warmer temperatures. My hope for the short-term future is that the leftover antlers will be revealed once this snow has been washed away and I can see their contrast to the landscape.

I enjoy the time out looking around the timber, not only for the sheds, but for the birds flitting by and identifying tracks of animals that passed sometime ago.

It is my hope to be able to bring some pictures of "where-it-lays" soon, to let you know of the possibilities you could search in your situation.



Do you find shed collecting to be a hobby you pursue every year?

Afternoon Timber Walk

Today turned out to be another beautiful day! Extremely windy, but temperature wise we had another absolutely gorgeous day!!!

This morning I removed the memory card from my trail camera to check the activity and  took some pictures on my other camera before reaching the trail camera.So I ended up bringing both cards home before lunch to transfer pictures to the computer.

This afternoon before the day got totally gone I headed back to get the memory card situated in the trail camera for the night.

Thinking back to a couple of my trips last week I saw turkeys in fields to the south and got some distance shots - might decide to share them later. It probably would be a good idea for me to put more time in between visits to pick-up the memory card. Too much traffic might be causing the turkeys to seek more privacy elsewhere, because I haven't seen them for a few days. All is quiet where they are concerned.

Trout Lily

Last week I saw the mottled leaves for the White Trout Lily erupting out of the ground and remembered a post by Casey Harn at Wandering Owl Outside. He has moved over to The Countryside Round now...still enjoy his posts when he has time to publish.

Turkey Vulture

The Turkey Vultures came back a couple of weeks ago. I told you I would keep you informed of their return, they seem to be one of indicators that the weather should remain good.

I didn't have my camera in hand this morning, or I would have had a picture of one riding low on a thermal over the house.

Last year I had some good photo ops with one that I will post some time in the future.

On my walk this afternoon I caught an extremely sweet scent wafting on the stiff winds - I would prefer the poetic lilt of gentle breezes, but that wouldn't describe the West winds at 18 gusting to 26.

The trees have been rocking all day - The Ides of March?

Timber Violet

Antler Shed

Kneeling on a deer trail to get pictures of the two White Trout Lillies, I wasn't concentrating on anything else. Sadie came up beside me, that is when I looked to my right. Another shed! Wouldn't you just know it, after I had quit looking for them. This one is really a victim of chewing.

I brought it back to the house to see if it matched anything I already had in my inventory. No, it doesn't seem to correspond to those already in my possession...

The trail camera should prove a valuable tool this summer. Maybe, I will get to see the owners of the sheds left behind.

Virginia Bluebell

All the flowers in bloom now are leading up to another yearly event, that of morel mushroom hunting. The only flower yet to open up is the Mayapple. I am told that is another flower that helps indicate the right conditions for the search to begin.

We need more rain to get the mushrooms to pop. The heat is already here...