Merry Christmas to All...

What a marvelous time of year we have reached...The young, the old and everyone in between are gathering to reflect on what the past year(s) has meant to them. Gifts may or may not be exchanged... My hope for you all is that you get to share the day with all those you hold near and dear. Merry Christmas from Timber Life

Iowa Shotgun Deer Season Comes to a Close

This past week brought a couple of excursions out to sit and take in the cold late afternoon temperatures waiting for deer. The wind was almost nothing,so a couple of hours outside wasn't to bad. Keeping in mind that having the wind in your face to keep the deer from identifying your presence was an upper most concern. Late Wednesday afternoon, I took refuge with my back in the cleft of a standing tree, with a fallen one laying in a south to north direction to my left, in front. The location was five feet from heavily traveled deer trails to my right along either side of a fence line. I always try to get to the location an hour before known activity. The first deer to come along was a young doe running the trail on the other side of the fence. Taking the route on my mentor/neighbor's property to a waterway ditch, jumped the fence, ran up the hill and looked back. I was busted because I had stood up to try to change locations. She turned and watched me for the longest time before she went a short distance,hopped another fence to the cornfield. I moved to a location that was backed on the east by a fence with heavy rosebrush cover. I sat in between two paths that were heavily traveled, usually. Expecting the deer to come over the fence within feet from behind. After I moved, the deer were seen at a distance and didn't come over the usual route until I had been in the house for ten minutes. Thursday, the last day spent actively hunting in the late afternoon took me to the timber of my neighbor on the other side of the fence. He had put up a makeshift partial blind that would deflect wind and hide your presence if you remained relatively still. It sat just a short distance from the trail I spoke of previously. Deer were starting to arrive as daylight was beginning to leave me. They passed to the south of me going from east to west. The closest deer I had within what might have been a good shot was a spike buck. He was on the other side of the fence wouldn't you know. Thinking my opportunities for the day were finished I had just started to pickup my chair to head back to the house. I hadn't checked behind me before I made the commotion. Bless them! The deer had started down the very path I was waiting on,due to my comedy of errors I wouldn't be having one chance to shoot. They saw me and headed southeast, back to places out of sight. My season ended with family obligations and frigid weather. Oh yes, no deer, but a lot of interesting experiences. ;)