I do things like that all of the time. That's what keeps me from being bored. Especially those lil' chipmunks. =]
Thanks Rob! Thanks Crick and you know why. Rob can you resend as I had seen you sent a text right as I clicked delete all prior on my blackberry. grrrr
I was feeling kinda like BuckMagnet in his post about quitting. Although I'll be out in stand for as much time as my work schedule will allow. I could have done without the friggin bugs yesterday. The wind sucked too. But in the calm periods between the winds the bugs were aweful. However my batteries were recharged when a monster come through chasing a doe hard. His body was like a cow, I didn't see his headgear that well, but a cell call from my buddy Dave confirmed he was HUGE. He saw him as he was getting into his stand at 2:30 and thats exactly the time I saw him pushing the doe. His stand is about 200 yards from one of mine. I'm recharged!
Don't feel bad Tony I don't rank either. I started the year in the top ten, but somehow have been forgotten......LOL
I know exactly what your talking about. It's amazing when you can hear the sounds the wings of geese make as they fly over head. My boy was out the other night & commented on how he heard leaves crunching coming towards him, and got nervous and excited thinking it was a deer. Turned out Mr. Possum came by to mess with his mind. But he appreciated watching it for several minutes before climbing down. I agree, you need to stop, look & listen at all that goes on in da woods.
Certainly. I'm guilty of often taking things for granted or losing sight of the multiple positive experiences I get from hunting. Heck much of my drought years consisted of me getting so frustrated by the end of the season, that I wasn't allowing it to be fun at all. That's when I would step back and do as you did Rob. I love being outside. There's a reason I'm walking, hiking, fishing, hunting, in the outdoors as much as possible. Oh, thanks for the text...:p Jk, bud. Good luck this next week.
Getting up before 3am, driving for an hour, sitting in woods filled with hunters, hikers, dogs, guys with leafblowers (leafblowers!) in the woods, cold, tired, and seeing no deer... I am still so grateful to be able to be out there. Anytime, I get to feeling sorry for myself I only need to think of our troops overseas who would be happy to be in tree in IL instead of a desert full of hostiles. Glad to hear you guys don't take it for granted either.
Quality Post !! I had been hunting along a narrow(maybe 30yards wide), and shallow stream- right on the edge. I believe it was around Late October, leaves were coming down, but not all shed, yet. It was late and I was starting to pack my gear into my bag. I happen to look across this stream- the light of the moon and a small "trout" hole on the opposite bank of the stream, perfectly reflected a young buck stretched out, working a licking branch. I could not see the deer, but, I watched his upside down reflection reflect off of the water. It was truely blissful. I stopped everything and just watched. If I sat ehre and recalled this long enough, I'd probably get choked up. It was not a booner buck, or some crazy mountain lion, just a young buck(Im judging this off of the reflection of his antlers, and body size relfection. heck he could have been a 200" deer, I dunno ) doing his thing...Amazing...wow. So, I make sure that I give thanks to my Lord on every sit. With the urban sprawl we're facing here in NJ(its nearly an epedemic), habitat is shrinking and I'm lucky enough to have access to large tracts of land which afford me the ability to still see what otehrs are too busy to even know exists !! Great post, Rob- Thanks !!
All of these things help bring me back to center.I have had like many folks in our country an extremely difficult year professionally.I have always appreciated the beauty and serenity of the woods and mountains and the hunting season has always served to revitalize me and to clear my head and give me peace.Last night as a sat in a stand that one of my closest friends had set on property that no one other than he is allowed to hunt,the owner (who I know) told my friend that because I had set two stands for my friend on this (110 acres of great deer hunting land)because of my buddy rehabbing a shoulder,that I also could hunt there.When some one considers their land like their baby,permission to hunt there is a special gift. So I sat through a beautiful afternoon,sunshine in my face,a four pointer came past at 15 yards with out any awareness of me being above him.Watching squirrels climb the uppermost reaches of oak tree's to send acorns crashing to the ground,one of my cosest friends 300 yards away.It was great stuff! The icing on the cake was as I lost shooting light I looked out the through the tree's with their black limbs against the grey sky.It was beautiful!
I got out of the Marine Corps for a spell back in the early 90's and owned and ran a dive shop in Palm Beach County FLA...so I can understand your perspective...diving and all the spectacles u/w became routine. Ruined diving for me. Have not been in the water in over 8 years since shortly after I closed my store. Hunting is all new to me - so I am stoked to just sit and listen to the leaves fall - watching the sun hit them yesterday and all of a sudden there was a leaf fest (never noticed that ever before) was great. Sean
Great thread Rob, This has been my best season ever, though its the year ive hunted the least. Life catches up to you at my age....work/school..obligations. Im down probably 10-15 hunts from this point last year. But my 2.5+ year old buck sightings are WAY up. My confidence it WAY up. My time spent in the woods is cherished. I did my first "almost" full day sit last Friday. Saw 2 deer, in the distance, running off. And i loved it. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as i do.
Maybe my post was a little mis-leading.....my career path hasn't ruined my love for hunting, but has deadened some of the feelings I used to have for the everyday aspects of nature. With that said, I still wouldn't trade my job with anyone.
I hear ya Rob. Even if I'm only 75 yards off the blacktop that is enough of an escape to enjoy just being away from everything. Sometimes being that close to the hustle and bustle is kind of cool. You watch everyone else scurrying around like ants while you sit back and watch and it's like life goes into slow motion.
I try to look around as much as I can, sometimes, focus on deer gets the best of me. Out west, I CERTAINLY take in every breath and every view. This past weekend yielded TONS of little tweety birds on fall migrations, and while at times the noise was a little numbing, it was cool to see. Plus a lot of the woodpeckers, nuthatches & creepers were really feeding hard looking for bugs not quite tucked into thier winter hideouts. I watched groundhogs pick out a specific plant among the forest floor. THey'd down the whole leave in a bite.
Great stuff guys. Same thing tonight. No sunset but at last light, that familiar crunch, crunch, crunch that makes your heart race a little. Passed him. More in the woods. One unidentified.
I'm glad to see so many just enjoying the time afield. There are always hunts that go better than others, those days when as darkness creeps in and you mumble to yourself, I can't believe I didn't see a deer. But upon reflection you saw things that many will never see. A hawk dive for a chipmunk, just yards from your stand, that fox chasing squirrels, an owl on branch. How many people have had birds land on them?? I mean this is serious interaction with the land and wildlife! Silly things..Did you ever just watch a leaf fall..and say I'm the only person in the world that saw that. Ever catch yourself just laughing with no one around? My first sit of the new season. I climb, secure myself to the tree, put in bow hook, everything is secure topside. Start to pull up the bow, the quiver falls off...I look to the heavens with a laugh, unhook myself, work the climber back to the ground..... Good times!
