8 Months to Get Ready

 January 31 is the deadline for WY elk tag applications.  Eric and I are planning to do this wilderness hunt in the Thorofare Hunt Nation #123. I'm thinking that I need to do a lot of conditioning so I started by filling my daypack with 3 boxes of 45-70 ammo and 3 boxes of 300WM.  Should be enough ballast to start.  Incidentally, if you have at least one WY point and would like to join us on that hunt, I hear that there were some cancellations.  You'll have to act fast to get a tag application in before the end of the month.

I went for a walk with the ballast. It's not too early to start working out pack logistics.  I'm planning to carry my 44 mag for bear protection but haven't figured out how yet.  With daypack and bino harness, a chest holster is out.  On my belt is a possibility (regular or cross draw) but daypack hip belt kind of hits there.  And it would be under my jacket.  I have just carried it in my pack on occasion but that sort of defeats the purpose (readily available on your body when you need it).  The pack actually has a holster spot but I really can't reach it.  Need to experiment a bit I guess.

So, I covered some ground with my ballast in the pack.  The woods are barren and passable.  I pushed a few small bucks on my walk.

This was a bed for a spike buck.  He was kind of curled up in a depression on a south slope.

Lots of rubs out there.

Poop of the week - no shortage of these when you're just walking deer trails.  I kept an eye out for sheds but I haven't seen any evidence that they're dropping yet.

A random bone found out there in nature.

We let the valley stand degrade - it wasn't a very good site.  The deer would just circulate on the hill above it to scent check.  It is degrading fast now - both roof and floor rotted thru.

 The camera tour - it felt colder than 39F.

 The bobcat - only one photo this week.

Lots of fox.

 Joan saw a coyote cross the field by the barn window as we finished breakfast this morning.

 There were tons of possum photos on this camera for some reason.

 One of the 10 point regulars.

 Moose mass.

 The 10.

Still fighting.

This is a weird one - appears to still be in velvet.  Hormonally confused...

 Some of the girls.

 Looks like the spike that I pushed out of bed on my walk.

 A crowd.

Does she look especially large to you?

 Teenagers fighting.

This week we'll go with neighborhood cats.  This one was on the driveway as we left today.

Winter Blahs

We haven't been to the farm in awhile.  I was in Australia for a quick trip.  They are having terrible bushfires and both Sydney and Melbourne were hazy with a cloud of smoke.

 The weather was looking yucky for the weekend so we got out ahead of it a little bit.  Welcome present discovered in cabin.

And another one overnight.  Several removed by my helper while I was gone.  We are easily past a dozen so far this season.

 I got the camera tour in ahead of the frozen rain.  It is apparent that the deer have found the turnips and radishes.

 Three+ weeks on the cameras but not a tremendous amount of activity.  Winter pace has set in.  This bruiser bobcat was a highlight.

This camera clock keeps defaulting to 2015 - but these are current pictures.

I hope to see this guy next year.

 This is Joan's birdseed buck.  He's another one for next year.

 He's had this bare spot on his shoulder - hope that he is ok.  He's pretty old.  I've been seeing his "can opener" brow tines for several seasons.

Another one to keep an eye on for next year.  He's got some "moose-like" mass on the right side and a little mule  deer fork on the left.

 Some of the boys hanging out.

 A few general photos showing typical herd health.

A second smaller bobcat making a few appearances.

Coyotes.

And lots of fox photos.

 This one has potential in a year or two.

And some more grandkid photos from the end-of-year visit.

Night time turbo boost.

Neighborhood dogs on the prowl again.