Activity Picking Up

 We had another weekend of gorgeous weather - perfect for hunting. Low wind and crisp nights.

Raccoons are always leaving me presents.

We had the start of some chasing activity this week.  Chasing

This buck was reasonable and he kept giving me chances inside 30 yards.

But I gave him a pass.  I hope to see him next year.  Tempting me.  Buck 2

I saw between 8 and 12 does each night.

And it was really quite pleasant.

The mornings were chilly but less productive.

Every evening had lots of movement.

The phone doesn't capture the sunrise exactly.

But you can tell it was a crisp fall morning.

I had a buck visit one morning.  This double crab claw 8 point was working scrapes at the end of the field.  Scrape Work

A six point was on a mission that evening.

Surrounded with does at 10 yards,

And lots of them out and about.

There are always more chores - trees down across the trails.

Some doe photos to give a sense of the season.

There are a lot of does.

And young bucks trying to figure out what's going on.

Interesting hawk.

Coming right at us.

Coyotes aren't as common this year for some reason.

But they are still around.

Bobcat.

Fox.

Turkeys.

And me.

On the prowl.

Another Gorgeous Weekend

I only made it out for one night but what perfect fall weather.  High of 70F, low of 40F, clear skies, no wind.

The "Hunter's Moon" was still out during the day.

Never a good sign when you get busted walking in to your stand.

The spiders have been busy.

I still had lots of activity.

This guy came in for a visit and chased a few does around.

Young Buck Arrival

The absolutely still wind worked in my favor.

Some Does

I could watch the main field too.

There were deer running around up there.

The trailcam later revealed these shots of them. 

This buck was aggressively chasing does.

The next morning also had quite a bit of doe activity.

But no bucks.

This wimpy looking mock scrape/licking branch does get some attention.

After the big rain from Helene, it's been dry again.

I walked and cleared a few trails.

Last week Joan was out for a Ranger ride - first one since femur surgery.

She was hanging on pretty tight.

Fox.

Turkeys.

Button buck.

Some young bucks.

And the usual crowd of does.

I was checking a camera and noticed a lot of buzzing.  I was standing almost on top of this swarm.  After I got them riled up, I stepped away and took this video. Bee Swarm

And the Asian Beetles (false lady bugs) are also swarming. It's hard to capture how many of them there are. Beetles Swarming