Halloween Hunt - Prime Time Approaching

I had planned to be in stand this morning but I lost motivation when I saw how hard it was raining. I'm hoping to get a lot of time in stand over the net two weeks.

This is how I handled trick or treat night.

It was mostly trick.  

I had a couple of young does out for about an hour. A group of four was on the way in when they caught a whiff of me. And that was it.

The next morning, I waited until light and then headed to the woods. 

There was no action over several hours.

Joan and I toured a bit. 

My invasive control didn't appear to be very successful.

Last week's chores.

Things seem to be heating up on camera.

Young Buck Grazing

The does don't seem exceptionally pestered - yet.

Meanwhile, there is a lot of fox activity. Fox On The Move

A pair of foxes.

A young looking bobcat.

And the turkeys just do their thing.

Still Pretty Calm - But Comfortable

 I had a couple days with mornings and evenings in stand.  I didn’t see any evidence of doe checking or chasing going on yet.  It’s about time for things to start heating up.

It was pretty warm and the winds were calm.  The woods were quiet except for squirrels, falling acorns and leaves.

The construction project is progressing. The ceiling is dry-walled and the first coat of mud is on. For the second time, Carters has delivered the wrong man door.

Still finding mylar balloons.

My diagnosis is still early and too warm to move much.

I spent a mid-day re-establishing the Elliott trail.  It had been lost to falling trees and overgrowth.

It was a good excuse to use the Bobcat which has been sitting idle too long.

I did have the usual suspects (does) in the fields at last light.

We also had a visit from some turkeys.  Turkeys incoming

This late single deer gave me some hope but it was just another doe.

Awesome Autumn Weather

With a high of 70F, low of 45F, clear skies, no wind, and trees changing color, what more could you ask for? I did spend a couple evenings in stand.

It was full moon-ish.

And gorgeous out.

Not much moving - a lone doe way over there.

But a nice sunset.

I worked on a few odds and ends.  A recent survey revealed that a couple of my atv trails wandered a few feet off of my property.

So I got those redirected.

This nice white oak has been hiding behind one of my cameras.  The acorns have been largely consumed.

I find these trash dump areas in the woods - usually just off a field edge.  One of those things that I'd like to clean up one of these days.  Do you see all of the cans?

I walked up on a flock of turkeys.

Poop of the week - a fresh buck bomb.

The neighbor's ladder stand right on the property line doesn't look like it is getting much action.

I had a new creek crossing cut to get to my back property loop. It's a big improvement over the old one.  Jeff tried to re-establish my loop trail but he got lost and missed 1/2 of it.  I need to work on that. Here's a video driving thru it.  Creek Crossing

I had saved some logs from a cherry that fell across my trail.

I got them moved in by the shed.

Did I mention how big the new backstop is for the 300 yard shooting range?

Another gorgeous night in stand.

3 does below the moon.

Another nice sunset.

There are still plenty of does.

Twins growing up.

Little bucks.

Risky business - playing with skunks.

A turkey stand off.

Lots of turkeys - check the blue heads in this shot.

Parades everywhere.

And the usual predators.

Coyotes.

Nice fox shot. And here's a video. Fox at Night

I think this is a young bobcat with rear leg extended.