Claude and I went to feed stands with Rick while Denis stayed back at the lodge to work - poor guy.
Feeding stands didn't take too long, and this was followed by getting Rick's tractor from the duck club. This sounds simple, but nothing ever is. Between poor directions and my inability to follow them, it took forever to on the road. We had to go pick up Rick's harrow but once we got there, Rick was concerned about fuel for the tractor. So Rick headed down to the farm while Claude and I went to get diesel. We had to go to 3 gas stations until we found diesel and then follow a Google pin Rick dropped to me to the farm location. When we finally got to where the pin was dropped, I was almost positive of where - exactly - I needed to go. But it was a little different than described and I couldn't see Rick anywhere. I was quite apprehensive to appear as a Northerner and a Frenchman, headed back to the wrong farm with a big bin of corn and potentially needing to explain that to the law (or South Carolina's worst). At one point a car annoying blared its horn at me and I thought, "What a (explative)." I wasn't even that close to the road. I found out later it was a friend of Rick's joking with him, not knowing it wasn't Rick in the truck.
Eventually we did figure it out, and I was in the right place, but between the heating afternoon and everything else, it wasn't terribly comfortable.
Then Rick's recently repaired harrow broke...
So by the time we did get back to the lodge, it was a mad scramble to get ready and head out for hunting.
Rick dropped me off at a huge open box blind with high walls. It took a bit of time to get situated, but once I did it was very comfortable for the afternoon.
Temperatures were almost hot - in the upper 70's. Winds were blustery and the branches around the blind rubbing and banging into it were noisy to the point that I felt like I could have done jumping jacks without affecting my hunting (I didn't).
What I didn't know was that the stand was already occupied. Not long after getting settled, the largest stink bug I have ever seen came walking by. We had a short conversation before it continued on its way - intent on doing whatever stink bugs like to to.
And I was glad I was comfortable since for most of the afternoon, the most interesting things I could see were squirrels. I let my mind wander and with the high sides of the blind I poked around on my phone some. Right as dark was approaching, three does came out and fed on the corn pile which was all I saw (except the stink bug which was almost as big as the deer).
Back in the truck nobody saw any pigs so it was a bust all around.
Denis and Claude were most gracious in sharing their roast for dinner as we told lies for a while before the night ended.
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