After finally getting moving for the morning, Rick and I fed stands while Denis and Claude ran errands for the day. Doug went into town for breakfast. All the stands had been hit except one. I'm falling once again into the rhythm of the pig camp.
A quick bite to eat back at the lodge and we all got ready to go out hunting. Temperatures were uncharacteristically cold for South Carolina. Overnight lows had been down into the lower 20s with highs only in the lower 40s. I bundled up in my snowsuit.
I was last to be dropped off and was up in a very tall ladder stand overlooking a food plot. The corn was on the right and with the stand being a single ladder, it was incredibly awkward for a right-handed shooter. I got set up as best I could. If pigs come out, there always seems to be a way to make it work.
I was hopeful it was going to be an active evening since the cold weather can often make animals move early. Even with the cooler temperatures, it was still spectacular with crystal-clear bluebird skies. It felt like every time I moved I was making a ton of noise, but in reality, I know that because I had my hood up it tends to amplify every noise.
Right near sunset three deer came out on the far end of the field. I watched them as they slowly made their way to the corn. They were acting very nervous, but it was only because more deer were in the woods nearer the corn. Eventually several groups of deer filtered into the open.
The deer hung around until just before dark. As I always am, I was hopeful pigs would come out when the deer ran away, but if pigs were around, they stayed hidden.
With the clear skies I had tons of light at least 10 minutes longer than previous days. But even that didn't help. As it was almost too dark to see anything, I looked up and saw the most amazing meteor that I've seen in a long time shoot across the sky and break up before disappearing, leaving a phosphorescent trail behind. The world can be an amazing place.
Back at the lodge, Denis had picked up ribeye steaks from Rick's butcher which Bobby the Butcher (that sounds like a super-villain) had given Rick - quite the fantastic gesture. Denis and Claude cooked and while it was a bit late by my standards, we all ate like kings. It was one of the largest, thickest ribeyes I've ever eaten. It may sound weird from someone who hunts, but I don't usually eat that much meat in one sitting.
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