2020 Hog Hunt Day 4 - Voiceless It Cries

After waking up and getting moving, we dropped Will off at school before going out to feed stands.  All of the stands had been hit the previous night.  The tire tracks from Rick's truck couldn't even be seen near my wild stand from the previous night due to all the hog tracks.

Back at the lodge, there was more down time.  Of everything I do, I think hog hunting forces me to slow down more than anything.

Early afternoon we suited up in camo armor to head out for hogs.  Claude was dropped off at the stand across from the big house while Rick dropped Denis and I off at the Washtub - I was on the White Trash stand.

The afternoon was cool and very windy.  I'm sure gusts were above 20MPH and stuff banging into the blind ranged from annoying to startling at times.  I was quite happy to be in a box blind since being in a treestand in these conditions can be a little unfun.
With the wind howling, I kept thinking of the riddle Gollum gave The Hobbit:

“Voiceless it cries,

Wingless flutters,

Toothless bites,

Mouthless mutters.”

Although in my memory I had that wrong.  And with all due respect to the newer versions, The Hobbit is best watched as a cartoon movie circa 1977!

The afternoon passed a little slowly.  With the wind, not much was moving.  I started to get antsy and needed to remind myself how precious these moments are - almost spiritual.  Even if nothing is in front of me I'm still sitting in a beautiful place with the opportunity to interact with wild animals in a way few can.  Being in a hunting blind even when "nothing is happening" gives me time to think and reflect, and that is a luxury some don't ever get.  Watching a robin flitting around a few feet in front of me reinforced this.

Around 5:00 four deer came out.  Whereas hogs usually come in like a bunch of boisterous junior high boys, deer are much more subdued.  And these four where definitely of the nervous nelly variety.  It was a bit surprising that it took the third day on the stand to see deer.

The deer hung around for a little less than an hour before they scooted away.  I brought my gun up since hogs will often chase deer away.  But it wasn't to be.  The night grew large as it got darker and darker.  At some point when dark had largely taken over, I peered through the scope and saw the deer had returned.  Because I hadn't seen with without the aid of the scope, I knew I was past the point to call it an evening.  I unloaded my gun, packed up, and headed back to meet Denis and wait for Rick.

Denis hadn't seen anything.  Claude had shot a perfect meat boar.

Denis made us all a late dinner, and we called it a night.