Iowa Deer Shotgun Season 1 Day One in Reflection

I  want to take some time in reflecting on my Whitetail hunting experiences for the shotgun seasons that have just gone by here in Iowa...This post had begun much earlier in the month, but my concentration to complete it has become divided with a few other activities.

What a day for the opener of Shotgun Deer here in Central Iowa! December 4th, started off cold and blustery and ended cold and blustery. We didn't get the snow our fellow Iowans got Friday night...the line fell  northeast of us.

This Fall the snow occurrences have skirted to the West-Northwest and to the East-Northeast. The dusting we received overnight  vanished due to the hefty breezes blowing past. I am thankful for the lack of snow at the moment...

Shotgun Deer for 2009 gave us a couple of feet of  unstable, gravelly snow to trip through. Conditions that I didn't find appealing .I didn't get to spend much time pursuing deer, because my Mom fell and broke her shoulder a few days before the season started.

Getting back to yesterday,I didn't get to go out for the morning passage - when the deer come back from their night-time browsing activities, many times they come through our yard on their way to bed down for a bit.

Before Thanksgiving my neighbor to the South who hunts with a  group of at least 14 other guys  using the drive method to concentrate the deer to shorten the time to fill their tags, asked about pushing deer out of my timber. I agreed.

I had some messages on my answering machine that they wanted to come to my timber as the last place on their itinerary for the day. They weren't positive of the time they would be coming through.

Having an errand to run in the morning put me a little behind in my household chores. So I tried to play catch up after lunch.At 2:30 I took Sadie out for a short stroll in preparation  for getting dressed in hunting garb, and get outside to stake a spot. On our stroll behind the garden our activity set off a flurry of activity - it seems to be a perennially popular bedding area at this time of year.While we were making our rounds in the yard I caught sight of my Mentor down the ravine a bit on our fence line. I  hoped our flurry of activity would have sent a deer in his direction,but at that time it didn't happen.

I went back into the house to get all ready to go outside- heading back behind the garden once again to see if I could stir up anymore deer and send them a short distance for the benefit of another. Not seeing anything,I took off, in the direction where  fresh buck rubs had been popping up almost daily for the last two weeks.

On the way to my spot in a downed tree in between two fields I sent a doe and nice sized buck in search of another place to bed down. Being caught off guard and heavy brush kept me from sending a slug in either situation.

Getting to my position I stood for a while before a pick-up truck and occupants headed down to begin the drive through the timber. Hearing gunfire to the south I hoped they would send something in my direction. I saw a young doe come back and enter the timber too far to the east for shooting range. Then I saw a doe with two fawns come trotting in a hurry to get away from the fray. The doe stood visibly upset with nose and mouth pointed to the wind tasting what lay ahead. Then they too took off to the point where the first doe had entered back into the timber.

Another gun shot went off. This time it was up by my house, where I had last seen my Mentor...He had gotten a lactating doe. I am thinking the one that had just past me with young in tow.

I tried to be helpful in getting his deer moved over some rough terrain back to his property and up an incline to his pick-up. We eventually got it loaded and hung in his garage...So went the first day of Iowa Shotgun Season #1.

The Christmas Story told by Kids

In the words of Charles Dickens, Tiny Tim ,"God Bless us, everyone...."

Twas the Day before Christmas

Twas the day before Christmas and all through North Dakota the pick-ups, bobcats, road-graders and Snowplows were all busy moving the new fallen snow....

Jolly ol' Hubby, and  Merry Me, had come north early to escape the travel woes forecast for the holidays. Our little red sleigh filled with happiness and cheer sped lively to here...there.... and here...for we were headed to share the Joy of the season with family not often seen.

Our time will be  spent with family, food and friends. What could be a better combination for celebration than that?

My speedy Santa helper would like to deliver some Seasons greetings to all.



Timber  Life and friends wish you a very Merry Christmas ...

Forensic Find

Warning :To my readers who are squeamish about skeletal remains,this post isn't for you.
                               

This past week I was meandering across the soybean field that was harvested almost a month ago. I like to watch the crops grow in the Spring,and Summer, but appreciate when the fields open up again for exploration, and hunting in the Fall and Winter.

I am a student of my immediate environment, in hopes of observing patterns from year to year.

On this day, our dog Sadie was off getting her sniff quotient satisfied,as I was taking my time moving from one place to another. My eyes to the ground, I kept scanning the crop debris for interesting rocks that have worked their way to the soil surface, or something out of the ordinary.

I came across an exposed rock, one among thousands in the field. However, this one caught my attention with what first looked like broken egg shells laying beside it. I tried to rationalize that some animal may have carried them away from a turkey nest earlier in the season and they were just now being exposed.

Using the tip of my shoe I tried to turn the egg shell over. It soon became apparent that what I was seeing was most certainly not egg shells, but the top part of a skull. I bent over to get a closer look. Scooping away bean chaff I saw something else that reminded me of a canine molar. Again, after closer examination, I found that it was a bone that would make up part of a spine. Eventually, the total picture of what I had found began to take shape.

The whole find could be contained within my closed hands. Holding the skull bones ever so gently so they wouldn't collapse.

Now, what did I find? The jawbone reminds me of a miniature deer. There are remnants of hair on a couple of pieces of the bone, not enough to be used for identification though.

Inside the jawbone are teeth that had not yet erupted to become useful. I did not find any evidence of sharp,ripping type teeth, that would indicate an omnivore.

The condition of the bones lead me to believe that these remains are from the Spring,because they don't show extreme yellowing,or drying.

It is apparent I am missing  pieces to my puzzle that might more clearly give me the answers I seek. For now it is intriguing to consider the possibilities... ;)

What would you venture to say once owned these bones?

Happy Thanksgiving

Uh Hum! Lovely day...

Tippy toe,tippy toe....

Ignoring the camera,ignoring the camera...

You who? Girls are you over there?!?

Now I hear you. Comin' Tom!

Have a Safe and Happy Holiday All!

Barred Owl Trail Camera Moment

I last posted about my new Bushnell Trophy Cam. At that time I was changing its location every day or two. I have so many places and animals to watch...

When I picked up my memory card on the morning of November 3rd, it took me a minute to decipher the first image, not what I had expected. It wasn't a deer!

It looks like a Barred Owl was doing a little night time hunting in range of the camera.

I have found a website that offers recorded vocalizations of male, and female, separately and an interaction between the two. Maybe you too have been treated to their raucous exchanges on your visits outside? Their range covers half the United States and extends into Canada.

Commonly here at Timber Life about 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon the calls start echoing - letting the timber know they are awake, and soon will be leaving their nests to begin the hunt.

There were some extremely early morning hours this past Summer, when I wasn't aware of how close they were until one of their unusual owl calls came slicing through the pitch black darkness to stir my half awake brain cells. If I wasn't awake before, I certainly was after.

I am glad to share the same space and get a chance to see what the outdoor life offers when the Trail Camera brings them into view...;)


Note of Recognition: I would like to thank  Mr. Bob Pearson for granting me permission to link to the Barred Owl vocalizations on his website. I appreciate the work he has done to provide them for public education.

New Trail Camera Part 1

Moultrie Game Spy D40 Trail Cameras

Three years ago I was blessed to receive some wonderful additions to my Outdoor activity supplies.

Hubby saw to it that I was catching a picture of our wildlife even when I couldn't be on the lookout...A 24/7 job.

My two Moultrie Game Spy D40 cameras provided lots of fun, candid shots. Then they started taking pictures of nothing but the landscape. Missing whatever may have triggered them to snap a picture. I must say they withstood some pretty severe winter temperatures before I pulled them back inside the January of 2008. Then I put them back out when things warmed up in March and April. One memorable digital capture was some eye to ear action...

Last month my curiosity to watch deer movement coming into the rut grew to the point I went into serious research

mode for a replacement camera.

My information gathering brought me to the compact Bushnell Trophy Cam. I respect the Bushnell brand name for it's products in the field optics sector.

Next stop eBay. I am all for looking up deals on new merchandise. Yes, I also went to Amazon, and it's seller's page. Then off to Bushnell's website to see what might be of interest there.I ended back up at eBay. 

Qualities Needed for a Camera
1. IR trigger for the nighttime

2. Compact size - not clunky to transport

3. Picture size options

This model seems to be very user friendly. Having some previous knowledge of push button settings it didn't take long for me to work my way through the menu. They do offer a default mode suggested by the manufacturer if you decide not to customize.

I started with some manufacturer suggested settings and then a few days later did some customizing ,only to return to a few of the suggestions put forward in the owner's manual.

A setting I gravitated towards was the High sensitivity trigger for catching pictures. I soon found with the wind blowing the vegetation it was going off too often and filling up my 2MB memory card way to fast. The camera was only good for about four hours at that rate.

Some definite pluses for this camera is the ability for it to hold a 16 MB memory card, three different pixel settings(3,5,8), three sensitivity settings(low, normal,high) , a wide variety of timer options and last but not least the choice of camera or video modes.

I cannot speak for video quality yet, because I haven't tried it. I need to get a larger memory card so I won't miss anything when it starts to record.


Click here for a review by another blogger on the Trophy Cam.

Pictures will be forthcoming. Until then enjoy the outdoors! ;)

Important Update - I was looking over the memory card storage facts and it needs to be Giga-bytes(GB) not Mega-bytes(MB). Thanks! ;)

Winner of China's Got Talent Lui Wei

A few weeks ago I was introduced through the Internet to a very talented young Chinese man who had lost his arms in an electrocution accident.

The dream of becoming a concert pianist remained in spite of his physical challenge. There were individuals along his path that didn't believe he would be able to reach his goal and discouraged Lui Wei from reaching for his star.

I am so happy that Lui Wei wouldn't take the naysayers seriously, that he continued to believe in himself, working hard to move forward. He has become an inspiration to many.

Following is the video of Mr. Wei's final performance in winning the overall competition for China's Got Talent...