New Year's Day 2012

My plan was to get in two good days of archery hunting - Jan 1 and 2.  My plan was slightly modified by 20 to 30 mph winds (gusts to 40 mph) followed by snow.  In spite of the wind, I sat in the driveway stand on New Year's Day.  I eventually saw seven does but they were very skittish.  Two groups of them came out into the field and then took off running.  I never saw a buck.

On Monday morning, I sat in the barn stand but it was cold - 29 degrees and 20 mph winds.  I stayed in stand until the snow started falling and then went in for breakfast.  The dogs and I went out to play fetch during the occasional snow squalls.

Sydney goes nuts when she sees me with this ball launcher.

She is a great fetcher and sometimes she even gives the ball back to me.

Chloe is greased lightening.  She is so fast and she has very little desire to follow commands like "come".  That's why she wears a 50' training lead while running around like a lightening bolt.

On this day, I threw two balls and they both actually retrieved.

After running the dogs to near exhaustion, I went for a walk and checked cameras again.

I went past the area where we did some gutting two weeks ago.  Although the snow was obsuring a little bit, I couldn't find any evidence of the gut piles.  Those coyotes, crows and vultures are pretty efficient.

I got all of the machines out and ran them for awhile.  It's important to do this in cold weather or the batteries just die.

This is my Christmas gift from Santa - it's a Benelli Ultra Light 20 gauge.  I decided not to make Joan come out in the snow to pull trap for me.  I loaded up a few shells and gave it a try.  More thorough evaluation will have to wait - but it shot pretty nice and was as light as a feather.

Another view of it as I was cleaning the barrel.

Poop of the week - a massive buck bomb.

A runner-up for the award - another buck bomb.

This is the brassica field that used to have turnips.  They're gone now.

Sydney sitting in my bed, on my pillow, letting the snow melt.  She's a little indignant that I would roust her from here.

A couple of drive-by's from New Year's Day.