Season Prep

 Crazy for an August.  Over 2" in the gauge this week and another 0.3" fell Saturday night.

 My unofficial accounting of recent year's indicates that this is about double normal.  Weird year - relatively dry June and wet August.

With an elk hunting trip coming, it's time to start shooting my elk gun.

I warmed up with iron sights on my .17 lever action.  I was knocking water bottles over at 100 yards.

 So, I went to the 30-06.  I shot a water bottle to get the oil out of the barrel - knocked it right off.

 The next 3 shots were a pretty decent group at 100 yards.  I decided that I wanted to be a little higher and righter.

 So, it walked up that way due to my adjustments.

 I went back to 200 yards and shot off bags.  I should have been just about on target from that distance.  Not a very tight group but barrel was getting hot and I was probably flinching.  Next week we'll start shooting off sticks.

 I also knocked the cobwebs off of the bow and set up the Glendale buck target.

 First group of arrows and I shot the fletching off one of them.

The brassica field is looking a little better - still not great.  Every time I go by, I scare up about a dozen killdeer.  Did they eat my seeds?

Looking better at the far end.

Last week I mowed the clover plots.

 This week I did some spraying.  Van & Ed are still trying to get the top-dress fertilizer done - been trying since spring.

 Van made  an emergency repair on the driveway stand.

 I moved some cameras around to try some new spots.

Prairie plot is spotty and has some random eruptions of sorghum (or something like it).

Seed heads.

 Pretty tall stuff.

I have been putting a little cracked corn on the ridge trail.  It has attracted does and fawns so far.

These blocks have been below the pond stand.  They get moved and eaten each week but there aren't any photos.  I swapped cameras to see if that's the issue.

Pumpkin plot is ok.

Vines looking pretty good but some major bare spots where rows didn't come up.

 This was roto-tilled to dirt last week but has another bloom of weeds.  Too wet to do much with it this week.

 There are a few carvers out there.

 Many gourds and specialty pumpkins.

 How's this for a typical 10 point?

Going to need a name for this guy.  He has a forward sticker on the right browtine. 7 x 4?

Rain and fog messed up the cameras.

 Bachelor party.

 Did she see a ghost?

The only buck photo on the ridge trail.

 The twins.

 Gobbler mania.

How can there be a bite out of this block and no photo of who did it?