Huh?

Do all gobblers have beards?

When the alarm went off at 5:30, I could hear the rain on the roof.  So, I turned the alarm off and went back to sleep.

At 7:30, as I was having my coffee, I looked out the window to see my turkey blind surrounded by birds.  Three of them were gobblers strutting within 10 yards of the blind.  That will teach me to sleep in.

I figured - what did I have to loose?  So I suited up and slinked out to try to stalk within range.  As I was belly crawling to within about 40 yards (using my blind as a screen), I saw two red heads go up.  They were gone.

So I set up a decoy and crawled into the blind.

This was the set up.  After about 45 minutes, I had a bird strutting in to the decoy.  I looked and the fan looked full (not a jake).  I looked for the beard and ... there wasn't one.  I had the gun up.  The bird was definitely strutting.  The fan was big.  The head was red, white and blue.  But there was no beard.  I lowered the gun to take a closer look and he busted me.  He flew right out of the field.

Well, I'm headed to the shower.  I'm still not sure if it is even legal to shoot a bird without a beard.  Next time, I'll get up when the alarm goes off.  And I'll know if it is legal to shoot a beardless Tom.

Turkey Time - Spring has Sprung

Turkey season opened Monday but I didn't get a chance to hunt until Saurday morning.  Dave was going to join me but he's commuting to a new job and he made the smart move to have some family time.  They'll be relocating soon and I'll miss my local hunting buddy.

The turkeys were out and about on the cameras.

Here's one at 7:21am on Monday.

Two at 7:24am on Wed.

Yeah, this is what I'm looking for.

So I walked the whole lower atv trails at about sunrise.  Heard some gobbles further down the valley.

I decided to set up right where they were showing up all week - my decoy fell over.

I gave up and went to the field where I had set up a ground blind.

There were a lot of close gobbles and they seemed to be answering my calls.  Then this hen showed up.

The hen fed in the field and pretty much ignored my decoys and my calling - for most of an hour.  Then, two jakes came storming in at about 10:45.

I made a good shot and put one down.  The other jake was upset and attacked the body.  I guess he figured he had an advantage.

Although a jake (juvenile male), I thought he was a pretty good bird.

The beard and spurs weren't great but it was meat for the freezer.

When I put the fan on the barn wall, I realized how much smaller he was.  I've killed 4 turkeys - 3 jakes and one mature Tom.  I guess that I'm going to have to develop some patience and let the jakes walk.  Mature Tom's have a tail fan with all the feathers of the same length.  They also have longer beards and spurs.  We're allowed two male turkeys per season so I may try again in the morning.  It's supposed to rain and I am headed in to a christening.

After breasting out the turkey and putting it in the freezer, I made some breakfast with the bacon of the month.  This one is almost like ham - very good.

It was a nice sunny day and the flowering trees were in bloom.  These are crabapples.

Not quite peak yet.

The apples were in bloom.

The pears are done and already starting on the fruit.

The new apples.

White crabapple.

Redbuds.

At home in Mason, the tulips were up.

Crabapples there too.

The driveway food plot clover is still very suspect.

This substantial black snake has taken up residence in the firepit.  He was out sunning most of the day.

Last week Joan and I did some touring.

Camera run.

I sprayed the clover last week.

Look how skinny she looks.  Everything is greening up so she will be plump in no time.

Alot of kissing on camera this week.

Doe vs bunny.

Squirrel.

Groundhog.

Turkeys.

Raccoon.


Everybody is moving in the Springtime.

Turkey Prep - Season Opens This Week

It must be about turkey season.  The redbuds are getting started and the fruit trees are blooming.  The season actually opens Monday (22nd) but I won't be hunting until next weekend.

It's always a good sign when they are strutting on camera.

They showed up everywhere.

Even in the company of deer.

Headshot cameo.

After breakfast on Sunday I looked up to find three gobblers in the barn field.  They were strutting and gobbling at 10:30am.  I hadn't heard any gobbles on my walk earlier in the day.

These are Iphone shots taken thru the spotting scope.

So, I set up my blinds.  This one is near the barn field where they were strutting.

This one is below the hi-rise.

The redbuds should be at peak next week.

These ones along the driveway were the furthest along.

Further behind on the other side of the field.

The fruit trees were in various stages of bud/bloom.

Apple.

Apple.

Cherry.

Crabapple.

Apple.

Red crabapple.

I'm worried about this clover planting at the driveway stand.  Time will tell.

The woods on my walk.  The canopy is starting to green up but the forest floor is still clear.

I think that this is turkey scratching - there were large areas of it.

A friend dropped off some seedlings.  He needed them in the ground right away so he stuck them here.  I'll transplant them next year.  Persimmon, plum and hazelnut.

Violets - I think.

Joan made a cake from scratch.

Buck.

Looking scrawny.

Groundhog.

Minerals - starting early.