Thank You!

Yesterday,Marian stopped by to let me know she had awarded me "The Excellent Blog Award". An honor to be apart of a larger group that enjoys catching up with each other in the blog world. There are so many authors I read and respect for their slant on common experiences that to try to pass the award along would take forever. We have writers that need to step out of their comfort zone (me included), people experiencing illness in the family and illness in their own lives. A few who aren't sure if they are being read...and some that just sit down to type with nothing less than perfection coming off those keyboards. Always something new coming off the 'Net. It is more fun to have a voice behind the numbers reflected by page impression counts, but in case they don't speak up, just smile to yourself and know the"lurkers" are taking a minute to see what you are made of. Why did you choose the internet for your platform? 1.Was it because you thought you had something unique to add? 2.You want to gain a passive income and started to talk about things you are passionate about. What ever the case, my encouragement to everyone is to keep writing. Sure, there will be readers who like the way you write and some who won't. Thanks again Marian for the award. Congratulations to you on your award!

Poachers from South Carolina caught in Iowa

Two South Carolina men were arrested for deer poaching on November 10, 2007 at a Des Moines area hotel by Iowa DNR officials. Michael Sillanpaa Jr., of Summerville, S.C., and David Gordon, of Goose Creek, S.C. found themselves the focus of conservation officers. Tips came from a concerned citizen which led to the search of a local residence and a vehicle. Results of the search led to the seizure of deer, two shotguns, two crossbows, a rifle and other equipment, according to the DNR. The men came to Iowa last October...purchasing small game licenses and paying the habitat fee so they would have a legitimate reason to be in the woods hunting. Little did they realize they had become the focus of surveillance by the DNR. These guys were observed purchasing a $1,060 crossbow by officers at a local sporting goods store. Conservation Officer Jeff Swearngin reported later that they had been followed through two state parks where they would kill deer by shooting the crossbow from their vehicle, coming back at night to get the animal's head. Crossbows are not a legal form of weaponry to hunt unless you are disabled here in the state of Iowa. The Iowa DNR said the men shot two bucks, and South Carolina game wardens found three shoulder mounts and two other separate set of deer antlers also taken in Iowa. This wasn't the first time Sillanpaa has been involved with poaching officials from South Carolina revealed. Without this breakthrough these guys would never have been caught. What was strange was that they have been deer poaching in Iowa for the last 10 years. What kind of penalty was imposed you ask? State environmental officials required Michael Sillanpaa Jr., and David Gordon to pay $24,000 in damages, give up $5,000 worth of hunting equipment, and pay a fine of $2,137 which reflected the value of the recovered deer antlers. In looking over the facts - a question comes to mind. What has made the collection of deer antler so valuable that they would risk going above the law to procure them? They don't seem to be alone...

"What would you do?"

Bryan,over at deerPhD has started a weekly article giving scenarios for the hunter to decide what decisions they might make while in the timber or field. If you haven't had a chance to stop in yet, I highly recommend taking a look around deerPhD to see what this author is bringing to his readers. Now, I would like to ask what you would do with the facts I am about to present. This is how I've assumed events unfolded when I went to look later in the day. Heading back to the second day of muzzleloader season I heard three shots , two of them not far from our house. It appeared that the muzzleloaders may have injured a deer that took off running. I found one tiny blood drop at the corner of the fence where they crossed onto my property.... There were tracks of two ATVs, to me it looks as though they were chasing deer, because of where they went in correlation to deer tracks.

Bringing hunter activity from the neighbor's cornfield down into the tree line between our cornfields. Having pictorial documentation of the results of the two shots close to our homestead, I could correlate position of hunter to hunted. What I would like to know-

1. As a hunter, how far would you go in a chase by foot to get your injured deer in the snow and cold? Would you pursue with an ATV? 2. As a landowner, what would you do if you weren't certain if those who didn't have permission to hunt your property, but had the right to retrieve a kill without firearms, was hunting illegally? First shot wasn't lethal. Here at enotes.com,"Law & Politics" section you can find some interesting facts about what is considered trespassing in 40 of our 50 states. The information is worth checking out to see where you stand as a hunter and or a landowner...

Anybody Home?

Today I went to collect my two field cameras to see just what was stopping to pose for their pictures. The time stamps have wide gaps - when the batteries warm up they catch anything walking by. The cameras have been out since the 4th with a limited amount of wildlife being captured.

A couple of Alberta Clippers are scheduled to make their sweep through the state, the decision was made to keep one camera inside, and the other would be stationed on the back steps to catch the bird activity. Pictures of the re-cycled Christmas Tree and birds will come at a later time if the chill doesn't prevent the process from happening.

We have had some marauding wildlife in the vicinity as of late. The tracks and vocalizations point to Opossum which make their yearly reservation. It may be possible to catch the little critters in view of the back steps with the trail camera. One was caught in a foggy picture in the field. While I was out hunting I watched one as it briskly bustled from place to place.

Hope everyone is finding something to do to keep warm and well through these cold blustery months. Later!

Resident January Antlerless Season Begins

The planned resident January Antlerless Deer season started on Friday ,the 11th,and will run through Sunday,January 27th, in 59 designated Iowa counties. Once again the purpose of this season is to decrease the doe population in accordance with the DNR's management of the herds. An added week has been granted this year in hopes more tags will be filled. This hunt will bring to conclusion the opportunities for Iowa deer hunters to take to the field until the Fall openers. There are 21 counties in the southern two tiers of the state that will allow the use of center fire rifles .24 caliber or larger for the term of the antlerless season. An overlap of dates came January 11th-13th with the Muzzle Loaders,who had their hunt extended due to the specially declared season on December 21st-23rd. They felt slighted by other methods of weaponry being in the timber and fields at the same time. So, to curb the discontented feelings the DNR extended their day count by three. Let me remind you that party hunting remains a legal option to funnel the deer to other members of your group. Don't forget to wear your blaze orange when you are out and about, for visibility sake...Should you be found by an agent of the DNR without it, you will see a fine. A note to deer hunters that have licenses, as of January 11th, 2008 you will need to pay an additional fee known as the "Habitat Fee" to be able to hunt. Tags are still available for resident purchase in 22 counties, among them are two northeast counties, Winnishiek and Allamakee. Reports state that the eastern and southern counties still have the heaviest concentrations of the 4-legged foragers. The DNR is promoting the HUSH program to hunters that have more than enough deer to help the Iowa Food Bank to provide meat to the needy. If you would like more information checkout the state site.

Minding My Own Knitting

This time of year other things besides hunting can gain my attention. I admit these projects are from the past. A good representative of the type of things I like to do when I get the yearning for a bit of the yarn. (child's hat) Pictured below is one of my most favorite things I add to my winter apparel, my scarf, so soft and warm. It has seen extreme weather hikes and burdock in the field. Probably why it is difficult for me to get the deer to take me seriously. These following two examples of stitchery are included in Leisure Arts leaflet 932. An instruction book filled with 60 different stitches to chose from to create sampler afghans for the eyes to feast on. Not to mention keeping the knitter occupied for a good amount of time...when they aren't blogging about one thing or another.

Special Deer Season Results

The Iowa DNR has published the tallied results for the special deer season declared to run on December 21st-23rd. It appears even with the additional season doe counts still need to be reduced according to the projected management numbers. Opening day for the season started off extremely foggy and ended no better than it began.

I did go out on Friday...Saturday morning we spent trying to determine whether we would brave the weather conditions after noon to travel 40+ miles one way for a late afternoon family Christmas. The concern was the return trip home for everyone after dark with the wind whipping up the newly fallen snow. Sunday morning was again a decision making period for another trip to another family Christmas. There was blowing snow and slick spots to navigate in places, otherwise the day was sunny and bright. On our way home from Sunday's Christmas gathering the sun was beginning to set. I looked over to our right, saw a pick-up truck leaving a cornfield with two orange clad riders. My thought imme-diately went to wonder at what they were able to achieve on the close of another hunting season here in Iowa. Feeling a little bit of disappointment that I wasn't closing the day in the same way; brought back the memories of the time that was spent outside, and the future that will yield more opportunities...

On the Trail Again

May not be getting out to hunt deer until next year, but I certainly will get to see where and when those creatures are moving with my new Moultrie Game Spy D40 trail cameras. My sweet Hubby did the Christmas shopping to enable me to keep track of the wildlife in our neighborhood. It is really a challenge to decide what locations I want to watch the most.

Looks like at a future point I will get to post photos of interest. Really want to see what will be caught that we don't see by merely walking the property. I have appreciated seeing some pictures by other trail cameras posted by Simply Outdoors, Nature Knitter, and Inside Iowa Hunting. If you have a few minutes on one of these winter evenings and you need something to do - might checkout these websites for pictures and good writing .

BassPro Shop Announces New Construction

The BassPro Shop Outdoor supply company has issued an announcement on December 18th,for the people of Iowa. Construction of a retail outlet will begin in Altoona a suburb east of Des Moines. It will be an anchor store of a new development expected to open in early 2009. BassPro Shop

End of Shotgun Season II

Today ended another season for deer shotgun hunters in Iowa. The temperatures started off around 10 degrees this morning, wind speed was almost nothing, left over attached oak leaves lightly rustled when a breeze passed. I didn't go out before sunrise because I was headed for an area with dense brush and didn't want to trip over fallen trees. Made it to my new location around 8:15. My decision to go out was spurred by seeing a buck and some young moving around 7:30. There wasn't any disappointment when it came to seeing deer. Several close calls. One occasion occurred when someone in the neighbor's field sent a bunch of deer running somewhat in my direction. A very small fawn came within 20 feet of me. The others, including a 10 point buck, were probably in target range if the brush wouldn't have been so dense. Trying to head them off before they all took off for far away destinations wasn't successful. I went back to my original position for awhile longer. Hoping they would re-group and pass either closer behind me or on a well worn path to the front of me, neither of which happened. While I was out there were two separate times a shotgun was fired to the south of me, the second closer than the first. I always wonder just how far away they actually are from my locations. Since I came away without a deer, according to the new ruling by the Iowa DNR, on Friday, December 21st thru Sunday the 23rd, I can use my tag to attempt to gain a doe. Family holiday plans are scheduled during that time period, but you can be assured I am looking for some time in the timber again. Don't want to wait another year to try again. Who knows?!? Could be if there were more guys on the other side of the ravine, and somebody to the north, the deer would find their way in front of me... The muzzleloaders will be out and about to start their season tomorrow, December 17th. Happy Hunting !

Additional Deer Season Declared by IDNR

December 13th, at their meeting in Des Moines, IA., the Commisioners at the Department of Natural Resources added an additional deer season to run December 21- 23. This season will be anterless-only and will run concurrently with the second muzzleloader season that begins on December 17th and was to have ended January 10th,2008. Now, the muzzleloader hunters will have an extension of three more days because their has been some opinions of feeling slighted by the timing of this new effort to manage the number of deer. They sited the reason of lower reported deer numbers taken since the beginning of past seasons ,starting with bow. Weather too has been a factor in people not getting out to ply their skill or desire to fill the tags. It appears the management is considered crucial for them to declare more days. Some concerns that have already been voiced by all hunters is the safety factor with bow,muzzleloader, shotgun, and handgun all legal in this short concentrated time span. If you should be apart of this hunting season please watch out for yourself, and the other person who may not be looking out for anybody but themselves.

Beginning Deer Shotgun Season II

Saturday, December 8th, began the second deer shotgun season here in Iowa. I was up and out early. Positioned myself where there had been previous success and constant deer pressure. That is until this morning. Saw one nice buck following his nose very quickly in the opposite direction, never being within range. Changed places after an hour and a half. Walked to the edge of our yard facing the south ravine. Unbelievably there were three deer laying down, but not for long after hearing me coming. I was astounded they would feel comfortable there with all the hunting going on a quarter of a mile to the west. Spent time working on getting the the pick-up and tractor more prepared for the down right cold weather that had over taken the state. Sunday, I stayed inside but I was constantly running to the window. Should have gotten dressed up in all my layers and at least walked around outside. Monday, was a day for working on some little knitting projects to get ready for Christmas. Tuesday, the 11th, brought freezing rain and snow. Deer travel patterns continued to go on the same routes they had taken for the last three days. Wednesday, tolerable weather has arrived. Out the door I went before daylight to capitalize on observations for the last three days, bundled up in so many layers I could hardly move. Stealthy movement wasn't possible. The ice from yesterday left a crunchy surface - with each step crunches and crackling resounded in the otherwise silent atmosphere. I was watching 2 bucks battling over a doe when Hubby came out of the house, warmed up the pick-up, chipped off the ice, and disturbed the activity I had been watching for at least 5 minutes if not longer. Trying to send out mental vibes to draw those 4-legged creatures closer in my direction,it wasn't to be. After they left, so did I. The intent today was to spend a great deal of time outside; 9:30 A.M. arrived , there wasn't activity of any kind, plans changed. 3:00 P.M. rolled around, time to bundle up for the evening migration. Headed out to the first place I started this morning...It wasn't until 4:37, I heard crunching and crackling in the vicinity. Still over on the other side of the fence - like this morning . The doe hopped the fence over a rise so all I heard were the elements underfoot. She circled around and went back over to the other side. Dark was swiftly coming, thought it best to be getting on the way in to the house . If I'd have waited probably less than 5 minutes I may have had a chance at 3 various sized does. They had started on one of the paths dissecting the pasture. As it goes they live another day... Local News Reports have the Iowa DNR considering a special season for this seasons license holders due to the bad weather that has taken away some of the hunting chances. The reporter said the DNR reported 34,000 less deer taken than anticipated at that point in time. Includes the Bow, first Muzzleloader, one shotgun and part of another shotgun season. The tentative dates for the special hunt to be considered at the December 13th, meeting are December 21-23. Holiday plans will probably not allow me to take part if these dates are put into action. Would like to hear some hunting stories for those who do get to participate if they pass the amendment to the dates.

I do have through the 16th that I could be out and about. So I will not be closing down any possibilities...nothing like an 11th hour story to take us into deer season next year.