Season Prep - Stand Cleaning Etc

I waited until after the first freeze to clean stands this year - made dealing with the wasps much more civilized.

Tried my best to protect the high-rise this year but still had a bunch of bird poop to deal with.

It cleaned up nicely though.

Driveway stand and barn stand both had wasps, mice and tons of sawdust.  I couldn't see bore holes or anything to explain the sawdust.

Mouse poop and sawdust.

The new high-rise with desk chair.

 A licking branch and scrape in the foreground at the driveway stand.  A desk chair in the background on it's way up to the stand.

The same scrape the next morning with a fresh buck turd in it.

Poop of the week - fresh coyote poop in the driveway.  I don't know what nut or fruit it is they were eating but it didn't digest well.  Joan and I spotted a coyote beside the driveway on our drive out this afternoon.

In front of the barn stand are the remnants of a turkey.  My guess is that a coyote got hold of one here.

A rub on a large pine - same spot had been rubbed in previous years.

The clover looks good right now and has been grazed hard.  There are no acorns - not white oak or red oak or chestnut oak.  None.  I've heard from some others in central OH that they have no acorns this year either.  Could be a tough winter for the deer.

I spent a couple hours in the driveway stand Saturday night.  I pushed three does out of the field getting into the stand at 4:00. This little doe came out by herself.

I had a parade of 11 does and one spike buck wander out before dark.  Most of them eventually seemed to scent me.

Joan made a home made (from scratch) apple spice cake.  It was a winner.

Sunrise Sunday morning.  I busted about 6 does out of the soybeans getting into my blind.  All I did was push deer this weekend.

Lots of coyotes around

Also grey fox.  Sometimes I see red fox, sometimes grey fox.

Daylight.  Shooter stepping out by barn stand.

AM and PM messed up on this camera.

But daylight buck movement.

Cute.

Daylight coming to High-rise stand.

There are still apples dropping.

Trailcam videos

Here's a few that I have accumulated.

Misc Stuff a/o 10/17

Catching up after about 3 weeks away, here's some random things that I have accumulated.

Last time I was out, I finished up the pumpkin harvest.  I also grew gourds and squash this year.

Some of them made in into my Expedition but there were way too many. Joan asked some friends with a truck to come out and haul the rest. They wisely left the ones that were starting to rot.


Our granddaughter Lucy visited us in Mason just after harvest.

She kind of spices up a pumpkin patch.

When I got back to the farm 3 weeks later, I had a bit of a mess to deal with.  A snow shovel and power-washer did the trick.

Last visit, Joan had some old carrots to get rid of.  I dumped them by this camera.

It didn't take the coyotes long to find them.

Or this fawn who still had a few spots.

The persimmons are bearing fruit.

This is a natural deer attractant.  It's interesting that the oaks do not seem to have many (any) acorns this year.  That's prime deer food for the winter.

If I remember my wive's tales right, this means a tough winter.

I have had two evenings in a blind near the apple trees.  I saw the same parade of 6 does and a small forkhorn each time.

Camera tour shots.

This weekend to Chicago for Eric's birthday and to see Tommy 3.

 I meant to clean out hunting stands today but I don't think that I'm going to get to it.

 Maybe next time...