2025 SC Deer Hunt Days 5 & 6 - Heartache and Home

Brad and Denzil ended up sleeping in the main room of the lodge so I (oddly) had the room to myself.  I was up with a cup of coffee and a shower ready to go out for my last morning of hunting.

It rained as one last insult as we got ready to leave.  But the day was an entirely new one.  Temperatures were cool and it was a bit breezy.  Compared to the heat and humidity, it was splendid.

I was dropped off again on the Powell farm.  Having sat in the blind several times, it was easy to get comfortably situated while being mouse-like quiet.  In the dark I could just make out a large deer pop out in front of me and make its way down the lane.

As it got light, deer were filtering in and out of the area.  At one point a pretty decent 8-point came in.  I tried to figure out if it was the large deer Rick had told me to take if I could.  But just about any deer would look large next to the very small doe it was with.  And I just wasn't sure if the antlers would meet his minimum requirements.

I had the crosshairs on him twice, but just didn't think it was the right deer.  I was brought back to my bear hunt only a few weeks previous when I waited to shoot until the bear started to leave.  This time, I held off and watched the deer leave.  As its butt disappeared behind some trees, my phone buzzed.  Rick texted, "That's Him"

We chatted a bit and there were some expletives.  I can't shoot something once it is gone just as I can't suck the bullet back in once it has left the barrel.  I was hoping it would come back, but I also knew that was very unlikely.  Rick "kindly" sent me a cell trail cam picture, pouring lemon juice on a growing open wound.

I did see several more deer through the morning.  Most were small bucks.  One more decent one came in which I oddly liked as it was kind of goofy with a long cow-tine on his right side.  I thought this was the "busted off" deer Rick said not to shoot so I just watched it.  Turns out, Rick would have been OK with this one as well based on body size...

I was beating myself up about not shooting and Rick didn't make it any easier - Rick likes to pour lemon juice on open wounds.  So it goes (with apologies to Kurt Vonnegut).  Other guys in camp were non-committal about whether they would have shot or not.  This did make me feel just a tiny bit better.  Maybe.

 After another good breakfast, I had a bit of down time at the lodge.  Then it was time to head out for my last hunt of the trip.

Rick dropped myself and Bradley and Denzil off and I went to the stand where he had seen the big deer while feeding two days previous.  I know I've sat at this stand before, but looking back through past deer hunts, I couldn't find when.

Temperatures were nice, but it was really hot in the sun.  I was glad when it clouded up a bit as the sun sank in the afternoon.

Time past slowly at first, not much was moving for me.  I farted around on my phone a bit to pass the time.  But I also kept a watchful eye on what was happening, seeing a small 4-point shoot across the lane at one point.

The late day presented, as I recall from the previous sit at this location, in a very similar manner.  Late in the afternoon, three does came out.  They fed for a bit until another deer popped out - possibly the same 4-point I had seen earlier.  Two does left, but one remained, seemingly unconcerned.

As it started to get dark, the doe left and the buck walked directly toward me (I definitely recall this same behavior at this stand) as I started to pack up.  It got quite close and I was curious if I could still shoot if he was close.  Affirmative...

Another deer came out, but I couldn't see it well down at the corn.  It followed the first buck giving me a chance to see antler, but very small antlers as it got close.

I finished packing up, my 2025 South Carolina deer hunt coming to an end.

Nobody had shot that night, but everyone had seen deer - and a few of them were just a nickel short.  Dinner was the most excellent taco pie.

___________________

I woke up really early and was able to sort of sleep a bit more before deciding I'd rather be on the road.  A quick shower and I was out the door, early by even my standards.

I came exceedingly close to smacking a deer about an hour away from the lodge - and he was a big shooter of a deer too.  I'm glad I didn't, but I'm not even sure how we didn't collide.  Grow big and strong my friend!  (and stay away from cars)

I started off listening to the book Who Ate the First Oyster.  It was interesting, but I struggled at first since I really wanted a story.  After I almost hit the deer, I turned it off for a few minutes to mentally put perspective on the week and going home without anything.  I'll be second guessing this for a while, and while hindsight should be 20/20 (it isn't always), I can't say I'd do anything differently in the stand.  And to be perfectly honest, my freezer has quite a bit of animal protein, so it isn't like I'm desperate for wild animal meat.  Maybe that is just sour grapes...

After the pause, I really liked the Oyster book.  It covered many "firsts" from before recorded history.  While a bit of it was a little corny, it was overall written in a very entertaining style.  I didn't realize it at the time, but the second book I had was written by the same author (Cody Cassidy) and it was even better.  And Then You're Dead was about what really happens during very improbably ways to die - some theoretical, some not.  It was just sciencey enough to keep me thinking, but also entertaining; a few parts were very funny.  Some of the anecdotal and factoids were really interesting.

I ended up doing the entire drive with one and only one stop for fuel and coffee.  Getting an early start meant little traffic by Columbia or Asheville.  Even the I-40 construction went very smoothly and relatively quickly.  Sometimes the drive home can be painful, but I guess I was in the right frame of mind to enjoy it.

Soon enough, I was home.  S/O was gone helping her Mom, so I had the house to myself with two dogs who were very happy to see me.

2025 SC Deer Hunt Day 4 - Rain and Muggy

Evan and Don were "no" for hunting for various reasons, so it was just Aaron and me.  Rick dropped me off at a stand looking down a timber road.  It was easy to get settled and comfortable.

Sitting waiting for daylight, the morning air was heavy and unbelievably still.  The very bright moon made it almost light enough to shoot.  Almost ... but not.  I did watch a very large deer walk across the road, closer to me than the corn.  I never could see it well enough to know if it had antlers, but it was too dark (and too early) anyway.  I did hope that was a good omen.

Daylight came and I got a better lay of the land.  The corn was farther than I thought.  

A little after sunrise, I caught movement as two does and a small spike came out.  They didn't stay long before they were replaced with another small group of deer.  It was hard to tell which ones were out, but for a little over an hour, deer were in and out.

By 9:30 things had quieted down.  I packed up my stuff to meet back up with Rick.  Aaron had passed up a decent deer and seen a whopper that he couldn't get a shot off.  It was his last hunt so I was a bit surprised he passed the one up.

After a quick breakfast, Rick and I fed stands.  Forecasts for the afternoon were all over the place for both wind and rain; deciding what to do wasn't easy.  

For me this also made deciding what to wear challenging.  I didn't want to wear my rain suit in the stifling heat, but I also didn't want to get soaking wet.

It poured rain at the lodge for a little while.  This was followed by thick, heavy air.  It was painfully muggy.  There was no way I could see wearing my rainsuit.  I ended up going out in shorts; if I got wet, long pants would be far worse than shorts.  I was able to fit a lightweight rain coat in my pack.  Ultimately, I think the shorts were the right decision, even if a bit unconventional for hunting.

Doug had come into camp and he was hunting as well.  Rick took both of us out.

There was a doe on the corn when I got to my stand.  She stayed for a bit and I just watched.  Once she left, it took a bit to get comfortably situated.

Deer were running into and out of the area for quite a while.  None of them were too impressive, but there was lots of activity.

It was actually somewhat stressful for a while.  I knew Rick could see what I saw on the cellular trail camera.  It felt a little like the sword of Damacles hanging over my head by thin thread as it robbed me of my human capacity for denial.

The deer activity abruptly stopped around 5:30.

I did see a few more deer much later.  Right at sunset an 8-point came out.  I field-judged as best I could and just didn't think it would make the cut.  I let it walk.  It got dark.  It started to rain again.

Back in the truck, Rick agreed that the last deer was not big enough.

Back in camp, Brandon, Denzil and Brad had gotten in.  We ate pork chops with a healthy dosing of banter.  I was tired and turned in early.

2025 SC Deer Hunt Day 3 - Moon Unit

I was up for deer hunting and my headache had finally fully subsided.  And it wasn't raining.  Things were looking up.

I was dropped off at the same stand I had sat at the previous morning.  But it was an entirely different day.  It wasn't raining, so it was much quieter.  I was, however, surprised how much road noise was evident inside the stand.

Temperatures were mild and it was humid.  It was a really nice morning.

As it started to get light, a few does sauntered out onto the corn.  They stayed for a bit until most of them left.  One buck came in from the left and another from the right; the does fled except for one.  It was a bit of an odd mix.  Both bucks appeared to be 6-points.  They definitely weren't huge, but for a six - the one was relatively wide.

They stayed until a little before 8:00.  Then it was deathly quiet.  I was hoping for more activity, but it wasn't to be.

Rick picked me up and we made our way to get everyone else.  After breakfast, Rick and I went to feed stands.  It's always fun to see how the various stands look.

Rick texted me a picture of a nice 8-point on the stand I was at in the morning.  Having minimal deer movement in the AM followed by mid-day movement isn't unheard of, but isn't exactly common either.  It can be frustrating.

I had a bit of down time at the lodge before heading out again in the early afternoon.

I was dropped off on the Craw field in a box blind about four feet above the ground.  It was easy to get situated although I had to move around a bit to find the best spot.  Thankfully the box blind was pretty roomy.

Temperatures were hot and humid.  It was between breezy and windy which was nice.

Not many animals were moving.  It was  s l o w .  The only thing that was moving was this reptile, but it didn't stay long enough to keep me company.

As the afternoon wore on, the wind died down until it basically stopped completely - this made it stiflingly muggy.

About an hour before dark, I saw movement as a couple deer hopped out into the 2-track.  They didn't stay long; it did start deer going into and out of the 2-track for most of the rest of the afternoon.  I kept hoping something interesting would join them, but it was just does with maybe two spikes.  

One of the deer had something white on its ear.  At first I thought it was a tag, but Rick later said it was just a deer with some odd fluffballs on its ears.  Whatever it was, I hadn't seen something like that before.

The deer left as it got dark.  I was then treated with an amazing sight as the moon rose hugely directly over the 2-track.  I waited to pack up to try to get some pictures; I don't think they do the actual scene justice.

It was a pretty special way to end the day.

2025 SC Deer Hunt Day 2 - Does and Spikes

I was up in plenty of time to get ready for deer hunting, but not feeling 100%.  After coffee and a quick shower, I was better but still not good.  

As we were getting ready, Evan said something about rain, "Well, it's just wet."  Looking at the radar, rain was coming in from the east.  It didn't look terrible but didn't look good either.  I grabbed my rain suit before heading out on the porch.  Soon enough we piled into Rick's truck.  I guess a 10% chance of rain really doesn't mean 0% chance.

I was the last to be dropped off on the 48 acre Powell farm.  I found my blind easily enough and got set up.  I was glad for the covered blind since it was raining pretty hard at times.  The rain on the metal roof was quite noisy, but that was a small price to pay.  The chair was also quite comfortable.

The clouds and rain make daylight slow to make its appearance.  About an hour after daylight I saw movement as a group of four deer came in, two does and two spikes.  They milled around, in and out of the area.  They were a bit nervous, but only a bit.

Two more deer came in through the morning - another doe and another spike.  It was still a nice enough morning to start the week.

Aaron had seen one legal buck, but didn't shoot since it was too thin.  Evan and Don had seen deer, but no shooters.  Aaron had also seen hogs, but didn't shoot since they were in a direction where he wasn't sure where it was relative to the house.

Back at the lodge we had breakfast.  Still not feeling great, I tried to nap.  A walk down to the river also helped a bit.  I don't think I've ever seen the river this low.

Soon enough it was time to roll out for afternoon deer.

I was dropped off on the same stand Aaron was on in the morning.  The weather was hot and humid and the chair wasn't too comfortable - so it took a few minutes to get situated.  As I was sitting down, I saw a yearling right outside the blind.  It stayed in the area and came within a few feet of me.  It was so small that I could still faintly see spots.

The yearling left and came back a few times, but it never went near the corn which seemed a little odd.

It was a hot and breezy afternoon which did not help deer movement.  In the confines of the blind, it was almost uncomfortable with the humidity.

The afternoon progressed slowly.  Late afternoon a tall spike (maybe a 4-point) came out.  It rubbed antlers on a tree to my left, then milled around for a while.  A doe also made an appearance, but again, most of the deer showed little interest in the corn.

At one point I could hear pigs way off in the distance.  They were fighting and carrying on.  I hoped they would come in, but they didn't seem to be moving anywhere.

With time to kill, I asked Google Gemini to add a big dear to a picture from the blind.  I was surprised it did a reasonably good job - even making the deer a bit blurry fitting in with the lower light image.  I didn't dare send it to Rick, but did show him later.  I could see the steam rising for a few seconds before he realized it wasn't real.

As it got dark a group of 4-5 does came out to my left.  At last light, I saw them working toward the corn (finally).

It had been a slow night all around.  I had seen more deer than anyone, but not the right deer.

Dinner was rice and field peas, which I really like before calling it a day.

2024 Deer Hunt - The Ethics of No Guts No Glory

The last six weeks have felt like a lurching scramble as I tried to get fall chores done when the weather was still mostly summer.  I reluctantly parked the motorcycles, but realistically only lost a day or two of mediocre commuting.  Final lawn mowing was late and hopefully late enough.

Work has been lurching from one issue to the next as well – yet every issue is also the same.  Amor Fati.

 With a pig in the freezer keeping my bear company, there isn’t that much room.  I was borderline about even going out for deer (the warm weather hasn’t helped).  Then Mike told me a neighbor was planning on hunting near the 2 creeks and his property line.  Ugh…

But I have the time off and even if Opening Day mayhem is not my favorite, it would not be fall without deer hunting; I would miss it.

So Friday after work I squeaked out of work a few minutes early.  After stopping at home to let the dogs out, I headed out to Mike's to put up my stand.  The recent rains had made the creeks hard to get through, but I found a way.  I didn't see the blinds on the neighbor's property, and where they were I decided would be almost a non-factor for me.  As usually happens, just walking back to put my stand up made me a bit more excited about hunting.

Saturday morning came and I woke up at my usual way-too-early hour.  I gave myself the luxury of a single cup of coffee as I watched TV with the dogs for a while.  "Hunting Tech" was on Modern Marvels which seemed only fitting.  Based on what it showed, it was probably at least 20 years old (I subsequently looked it up:  2002).  It was so nice just sitting with my older dog in my chair; she was absolutely content just snoozing under a blanket.  I almost didn't want to leave, but time eventually demanded it.

I was out the door right at 5:45 and made my way to Mike's.  Temperatures were warm for November in the mid-40's but were expected to change little through the day with clouds and only light wind.  Overall - I'll take it.  I hoofed it down to my stand and got set up easily enough.  Sitting there in the dark listening to ... nothing - it was almost magical.

Right near legal shooting I heard Mike's neighbor on his 4-wheeler going to his stand.  I don't think he hunted the last few years, at least not while I was there.

Since I'm nearly out of space in the freezer, I had decided that I was only going to shoot a nice deer or maybe if an absolute gimme walks in front of me.

Morning came slowly with the clouds but it was nice just being out there.  The squirrels were overactive, also taking advantage of the nice day before the cold front a few days in the future.

Mike's neighbor shot around 9:30.  It was LOUD; I almost jumped out of my skin.  Normally he climbs right on his 4-wheeler and noisily drags his deer away, but I didn't hear that this time.  It was one of the only shots I heard on opening morning - a far cry from some previous years when WWIII is happening in Eastern Indiana.

About a half hour later I saw a small buck in the ravine.  It plopped down on the ground after milling around a bit.  I thought, "I guess it might be bedding down, but that is just not normal."  A short time later I heard Mike's neighbor on the 4-wheeler - coming from Mike's property.  The buck got up and scooted toward the east, but not fast.  "Hmmmmm," I thought.  "I'd bet a paycheck Mike's neighbor did a poor shot."  Best thing for him to do would be to leave it alone.  I thought about what I could do, but decided there was really nothing I could do at that point.

After annoyingly buzzing around for a while, Mike's neighbor left.  I wondered what actually happened.  Did he do his best to track for a bit and the 4-wheeler was just a last ditch effort?  Was it just a half-assed attempt to find his deer from the start?  Poor shots happen - no question.  But I couldn't help being a little judgey about his roaring around and hoping.  I felt really bad for the deer.  It will probably hole up and die a painful death or the coyotes might get him.

The morning progressed into afternoon.  I was enjoying the time in the stand.  With the nice weather I had dressed old-school in some of my ancient hunting clothes; this just always feels right with deer.  But I did desperately wish I had my neck gator.  With even light wind catching my coat, I felt a brutal chill.  It was sitting on the seat in my truck and I almost went to get it, but decided to tough it out (real old school).

Around 2:00 I caught the glimpse of a big deer way at the south end of the property.  It looked to be a small-rack, large-bodied deer.  I could only see bits and pieces through the brush, but it was nice to see.  About a half hour later a small buck came in to my left.  I watched it as it milled around toward me.  It finally made it about 15 yards away - about as much of a "gimme" as I was going to get.  But I chose not to shoot and just snapped a few pictures.  Watching animals in a totally natural environment is one of the best things about hunting.

About an hour later I saw a deer in the ravine.  When it plopped on the ground, I (almost) knew it was the deer the neighbor had shot.  I watched it get up, move a few yards and bed down a few times, "Gosh that thing looks like it is in pain."  Then I saw the exit wound...

What are the ethics here?  I have almost no shot due to the distance and brush, but that animal is obviously in pain.  It also is not the deer that I "want."  No ... if it gives me the shot, I HAVE to try.

I watched it for another 10 minutes until it stood up with what looked like a clear lane to the vitals.  The last thing I wanted to do is shoot and wound further, "Make this count, Beagle."  The gun went off almost without me thinking about it.  The deer ran and I heard a crash.  It was likely the longest shot I've ever had on a whitetail.  So if my original plan was a nice deer or a gimme, this was neither.

I walked my climber down the tree and went over to the ravine.  The buck only ran about 15 yards.  Sometimes I do things and instantly know it was a poor decision - any introspective person does this.  This time I instantly knew it was the right thing.  Nope - a small six isn't what I "wanted" and I wasn't desperate for meat, but six hours of misery was already too much.  And yet, I won't claim it to be a righteous or courageous ... hopefully principled.

I packed out my stand and came back with my knives and sled.  I had tons of daylight to gut the deer and get it out.  That crappy sled makes hauling deer out so much easier.  In all fairness to Mike's neighbor, the shot wasn't terrible but not good enough.

I stopped in to talk to Mike and Mary for a few minutes before heading home.  It took a bit to get the deer strung up in the barn and things put away enough for the night.  Sunday would come with much work left to do.

________________________

I took the dogs out early Sunday thinking about the previous day.  It was a gorgeous morning and I was a bit wistful that I would not be hunting.  But a stunning moon halo told me that nature is its own gift, even without a rifle in hand. The stillness of the morning, the soft glow of the halo, and the energy of the dogs reminded me that the outdoors always holds something magical, whether I'm hunting or simply taking it all in.

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 7 - The Week Ends

I was up early, packed and on the road by 3:30.  I felt bad that I woke Kevin up, but he's an early riser as well.  I hope to be back in camp with him again some time.

I worked my way north on 2-lane roads - happy Mr. Google would point me to all the turns.  Eventually I got routed onto 4-lane divided and I could relax a little more.

I was listening to Trail of the Lost by Andrea Lankford.  It was a reasonably good book about searching for people who go missing on the Pacific Coast Trail.  It kept me entertained for the entire drive home.  The book did jump around a lot without any theme to the jumps which made following any one story impossible; it might have been different if I was reading the book instead of listening to it.  The book also spent too much time on the whole idea of psychic phenomenon finding lost people.  It didn't exactly give credence to it, but it took credibility away from the overall theme.  I suppose for the families involved, grasping at any straw might be worth it.  I would have really liked it if the book could have ended with at least one of the main stories resulted in a found hiker (even if deceased).  But maybe that is the point ... these people go missing and many are never found.

I'm genetically predisposed to hate tolls, so the West Virginia tollpike made my skin crawl a little bit.  Even though the cost is insanely higher than the one Illinois toll I pay going up to Canada, at least the view along much of the road is quite pretty.

Eventually I started heading west.  Traffic all day was tolerable.  Once home, SO was mowing the lawn when I got there (she is still wonderful).  I thought about taking over from her, but I had much unpacking to do, some major clean-up and a hog to get in the freezer as soon as possible.

The dogs were thrilled I was home and after a long day, I tried to relive the week in my head as I went to sleep that night.  But sleep came easy.

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 6 - Under The Banner of Darkness

Kevin and I were up early for a thermal scope crash course.  I was using Rick's 7mm-08.  I had used this in 2021, so I was privileged to use it again.  We talked a brief plan and Rick dropped me off at the stand I had missed the hog on last year.

I made my way down the dirt road and toward the "front stand."  The plan was to scan a few areas using the scope to see if any pigs were in the area and make my own plan if there were.  The front stand was empty, although thinking later, I wasn't 100% sure I was in the right place.  

I made my way around to the other stand.  I got to the edge of the field and saw a deer bedded down nearby.  I paused, trying to think of what to do.  I just didn't have many options.  I tried sneaking around, but (of course) this failed miserably and the deer huffed and took off.  I was hopeful this was far enough away from any pigs.

I started to slowly work down the field and scanned a few more times.  When I got near the actual box blind, I scanned the first corn pile, but it was empty.  Thinking this whole thing might be a bust, I scanned the other pile and it was wrecked with pigs.

Now what???

I thought about shooting from the blind, but I wanted the stability of the tripod.  And setting up the tripod in the dark would be really noisy in the blind.  I left my pack at the shooting blind.

I made my way around the blind and down a bit, inline with the hogs.  I set up the tripod and scanned to find the hogs.  There were several pretty big ones, a bunch of little ones, and many of them were bedded right in the corn pile.  My heart was racing; I had to back up and just take a few seconds to calm down, "Calm down idiot, you've done this 500 times before...."

I stepped forward and watched the pigs.  There was a pretty big one on the left, I waited for it to get away from the other pigs.  Boom!

Recoil was minimal, but I still couldn't see anything after the shot.  I heard pigs scurrying away everywhere.  I scanned the area - no pig.  I!  Could!  Not!  Have!  Missed!

More scanning and remembering to unzoom the scope showed a white hot pig doing the 100-yard dash on the ground.  I watched it for a bit to make sure it was really done.

I didn't want to bugger up the stand more than needed, so I grabbed the gun and tripod, and headed back to the stand.  It took me a few minutes to get everything set up to hunt for deer in the morning.  I was absolutely drenched in sweat at this point.  Looking through the scope, I triple check that my hog is really - really-really dead.

Morning light came slowly.  It was another beautiful morning with much less humidity.  I didn't figure I'd see much early with all the commotion, so I just sat back and watched.  Hunting mornings are even more magical with a pig down.

Shortly after daylight, some turkeys came out to the pile.  They did not want to come out with the hog there.  One brave turkey did but only for a few minutes.

Hogs always look so small once they are on the ground.  And this hog was deer colored.  I had a lot of second-guessing myself as the morning wore on.

Not much else was moving that morning.  I did catch a glimpse of two bucks running the back treeline.  One was mildly interesting, but neither one was a shooter.  Temperatures stayed cool and with the wind picking up, it was almost cold at times.  I still enjoyed the morning.

Rick came and got me a short time later.  I watched Kevin and him load up my hog while I packed up.  They picked me up and we headed back to the lodge.  Apparently a neighbor had heard me shoot and called the game warden about someone poaching deer at 5:15AM in the dark (note, shooting hogs at night is 100% legal in SC).  I thought this was quite funny, but am also glad that people care enough about wildlife to do this.

My hog was a really nice eater - 150 pound sow - with spots!  It was in the cooler on ice shortly after 11:00.

Breakfast was homemade donuts, eggs and bacon.  I was glad I had the chance to stay another day.  Well worth it.  And still one more chance at a buck for the trip.

After a last great breakfast we had a lot of downtime.  A few of us took the opportunity to walk down to the river.  The level had risen a lot.

Soon enough it was time to head out for the last sit.  I was on the White Trash / Washtub stand.  The box blind had seen better days, and there was a very active wasp nest in the corner.  I had a quick conversation with the wasps, "I'll leave you alone and you leave me alone."  The truce lasted the evening.

It took a few minutes to get settled, but once so it was quite comfortable.  This isn't always the case after spending so much time on the stand.

At least there are interesting things to watch.

Does filtered in and out of the area all evening.  I kept hoping something more interesting would show up, or that hogs would come out and push everything else away, but that didn't happen.  

The area had clouded up considerably and darkness came early.  I met Rick on the road and we picked up everyone else.  Everyone had seen deer, but nobody saw any shooters.

Back at the lodge we had a final meal.  I packed up most of my stuff to prepare for leaving in the morning.

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 5 - One Sock Too Many

We met early again and left on an absolutely stunning morning.  Temperatures were cool with clear skies and almost no wind.  The day felt right.

Rick dropped me off and told me there could be a huge bar hog on my stand.  I snuck in as quietly as I could but didn't hear anything.

Waiting for it to get light my mind wandered to all the fall chores waiting for me when I got home.  At least I wasn't thinking about work.

As it started to get light, I started scanning to see if there was a bar hog there.  I saw a few black blobs, but they ended up being just dark weeds.  A bunny squeaked by me.

As it started to get light, the magic of the morning continued with light fog and heavy dew.

I finally saw movement on the corn as I saw a small deer.  It was a pretty 4-point.  So no shooting, but it was still fun to watch.

The 4-point only stuck around for a few minutes before it left.  A 3-point popped out right in front of me shortly after.  It looked nervously across the lane for a bit before snorting and running away.  I was hopeful something more interesting was over that way, but nothing showed.

The sun was rising and temperatures were as well.  A few spikes meandered around for a while.  Two of them did make their way to the corn and did some light sparring while eating.  Seeing the fake fighting was fun, even if it was just spikes.

With one last spike on the corn, I heard Rick's truck come in as the spike left.

Kevin had seen just a few deer, Lisa had seen a few does and Mike was lonely.

Back at the lodge, we had French toast followed by some needed down time.

At 2:30, we were once again on to road to hunt deer.  Chad from Florida had come in.  One guy was still on his way.

I was dropped off on the Nelson Green middle stand.  It initially looked a little exposed, but once settled, it felt like a hog stand; I just had to see hogs...

Shortly after getting settled, I heard rustling.  Much like the previous morning, it didn't really sound like a deer or a hog.  But after a few minutes, a deer did pop out, but it was walking very oddly.  Looking closely, it only had three legs.  I'm almost positive this is the same deer we saw that I called "clumsy."

A while after this deer left, two more came out.  One of them was a spotted fawn.  So I'm quit sure the three deer I had seen were the same from the previous morning.

I had a long time where not much was happening, but I was able to let my mind wander and enjoy the time.  A third deer stepped out and this was a totally different deer - at least different from the small doe and fawn.  Looking through the binoculars I saw what initially looked like an 8-point with antlers right at its ear.  It ended up being a 7-point.  I tried to size it up and took a few pictures to get Rick's opinion ... Right on the Edge.  

On edge or not, I'm sure it met the criteria.  I still hemmed and hawed for a bit, but eventually passed.  After all the deer left, I was definitely second guessing myself.  And I wondered if it was a clean 8-point if I would have shot it?  I had decided to stay another day, so what would I have done if it was still my last day?  Too much navel noodling after so much time in the stand.

Right at almost-too-dark a doe popped out.  I was hoping something else would, but that was it.

Everyone had seen deer that night.  Chad had shot (I heard him shoot twice), but it ended up being a clean miss.

Dinner was cube steak and beans n' rice before turning in early.

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 4 - Game of Minutes

After another early morning, we all met at the truck.  Lisa was also joining to hunt, although not staying in camp since she was house sitting for her sister.

The morning was pleasant but cool and very humid.  But it felt like a hunting morning.

I was dropped off at Nelson Green Hunting with Lucy stand.  I carefully made my way back since Rick said there was likely to be hogs nearby, if not on the corn.  As I got close, I heard hogs so I slowed way down and was as quiet as I could be.  I felt a little bit like my dog.  When she sees a squirrel or something she thinks she can stalk, she goes into beagle-stalk mode, but her tags are jingling and her nails make noise on the road.  Every step I took sounded much, much louder than it was to the hogs more intent on their food than anything else.

I managed to get into the stand quietly enough that the hogs were still there.  I carefully got situated and waited for daylight. There were two piles of corn and both had hogs on them.

The stand needed some work, it was tilted at enough of an angle to be a little uncomfortable until I found a good way to set.  The Lucy board was on the last of its lifetime.

Right around the time it started to get light enough that I could probably see shapes in the binoculars, I no longer heard the hogs, they must be able to tell time; they were gone.

The gods damn that man who first discovered the hours. - Titus Maccius

I enjoyed the morning partially because it was the first one where my headache was completely gone.  I also like cloudy cool days.  But apparently the deer and hogs did not.

As the morning wore on, I heard some noise right next to me.  It did not sound like deer, hogs or squirrels.  Slowly looking over the treestand, I saw a very small doe right next to it.  Apparently it was just a very clumsy deer.  It heard me shuffle and ran a few feet away looking around - only a little nervous.  Then it made its way slowly away.

As it got close to the time to get picked up, I think the same deer came out and walked in front of me.  This was followed by a spotted fawn chasing it to the left.

Everyone had seen something, but no shots.  

Breakfast was some of the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had. 

Rick and I fed a bunch more stand before getting a huge load of corn.  Feed them pigs!!!!  Nothing is ever easy here, but we got one and a half hoppers full of corn - at least enough for the few days I have left.

After corn duty, it was just a few minutes before we had to pile into the truck to take off again.  I sat on the stand where I missed the hog last year.  I really like the stand, even if I did have a shirt tail at it.

It was easy to get comfortably situated.  I hadn't been sitting too long when a few turkeys came out.  I was semi-dozing before I saw them and in that first glance, I thought they were baby hogs.  I ain't hunting turkeys!  

I caught a fleeting glimpse of a deer on the far treeline.  All I could really see was that it was a deer, probably a small buck, definitely running.  I recall deer walking this same line from the previous year.

The afternoon wore on and a very well defined edge of the clouds rolled overhead as the area suddenly got very sunny.  This was actually kind of nice since it was almost (almost!) cool in just a T-shirt.  The sun picked my spirits up a notch.  Although it was not the nice serene hunting evening that I enjoy so much.  The house(s) nearby was painfully noisy with kids screaming, dogs barking, ATV buzzing, lawn mowing.  And I think the sound echoed in such a way to make it sound even worse than it really was.  I was somewhat annoyed at times.

Around 6:00 I heard a shot that I figured had to be Mike who was sitting on another stand on the same farm.  I didn't hear anything more, so I was hopeful for him.

The rest of my evening passed quietly.  I did glimpse another fleeting few minutes of two does along the far treeline, but that was it for me.

At dark, I met Mike at the meeting spot.  We talked quietly while waiting to get picked up.  It was a beautiful night.  Once Rick came, we headed back to the lodge to get Dixie.  Kevin hadn't seen much.  Lisa had seen many deer, but no shooters; she headed back to her house.

The rest of us went to go to find Mike's deer.  Rick turned Dixie loose after making sure the GPS was working.  We found no blood and it was looking hopeless until Dixie went on point.  We made our way to Dixie and found Mike's deer, barely visible in the water.  Mike was looking elsewhere so I pulled it out, soaking my shoes in the process (water shoes thankfully).  It was a fairly nice 9-point with one broken tine.  Mike's shot was a bit far back, probably hitting liver and exiting the gut.  It likely would never have been recovered without letting it lay and without Dixie.  Watching Dixie do her work was impressive as was her excitement after finding the deer.

Rick and Mike got a few pictures before loading up to go to the processors.  Then it was back to the lodge.  I couldn't decide whether food was the right thing to do at the late hour, but I was really hungry.  So I had a quick bowl of chili before turning in on one of the latest nights I've had in a very long time (actually not true - a few bear hunting nights were pretty late...).

One more day to go...

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 3 - Game of Inches

We were out the door again around 5:15.  Tom and Joe left around the same time.

Rick dropped Kevin off at a farm a ways away, then looped back and dropped me at the Powell farm.  Instructions to the blind were simple enough.  I walked past a deer on the way there and it didn't blow out until I was well past it.  Odd...

The stand was a raised box blind.  As it got light I could see a small deer on the pile.  At first I thought it was a doe, but with a bit more light I could see spikes on its head.  It stayed for around a half hour before sauntering off.

Shortly after it left, a doe stepped out right in front of the blind.  It went into and out of the trees for a bit before disappearing forever.

Shortly after it left, I saw more movement by the pile as two deer, then a third made their way in to the corn pile.  Two of the deer were small, a small spike and a rather tall spike.  The third was more interesting.  When I originally saw it, it was facing away from me and its rack went out past its ears - just barely, but it was past its ears.  I spent quite a bit of time looking at it.  I convinced myself it was good enough and had the safety off while looking through the scope, waiting for it to turn broadside.  When it did turn broadside, I wasn't sure I was looking at the same deer, the antlers looked small.  I put the safety back and and just watched.  It was a wide but not huge (and young).  I passed and texted Rick a picture.  

The three deer stayed for quite a while.  They moved in and out a few times.  It was a bit hard to keep seeing that wide rack every time it faced away or towards me.

Other than a brief showing by the tall spike, they left just a few minutes before Rick texted to say he was on the way.

It took a while to get picked up.  Thankfully the mosquitoes had chilled out since I had shut off my ThermaCell while I was waiting.

Kevin had seen a few deer including a small 8-point.

Back in camp, we had breakfast before going out a feeding several of the stands.

Mike from New York had come in to camp to hunt for two days.

After a bit of lodge time, we headed out for the afternoon.  I was on the same stand I sat on in the morning.  It was easy to get situated, but there was absolutely no air moving so it was stuffy and hot.

Not long after sitting, two does came out followed by a third that only stayed for a few minutes.  They kept me entertained for a while.

This was followed by a very long time with nothing happening.  It was hard to sit still.  I tried to occupy my brain, but I actually got a little be bored which almost never happens when hunting.

Around 6:15 a doe popped out from the right.  This was followed almost immediately by a buck about 50 yards from the blind on the left.  Unlike the morning's deer, this was a very tall rack and an 8-point.  But!!!!!  It wasn't very wide.  I snapped a few pictures and texted Rick.  Beautiful, but no...

This one hurt.

It came and went a few times until it ate corn for about 10 minutes.  Then he left leaving me alone for a bit.  It got oddly dark quickly with the weird lighting; the sun was setting directly away from me and with the corn in a hole, I lost most of the shooting lane early.  Full darkness came with a few does and a spike on the pile.

Dinner that night was exceedingly good taco pie.

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 2 - Little Miss Tiny

I woke up to a sultry, humid day.  I didn't want to wake anyone, but around 3:30, I couldn't take it anymore and got up to a quick shower.  I putzed around the lodge a bit while everyone else was getting ready.

We all got ready and Rick came out to get us around 5:15.  We all headed out.  The two NY guys were dropped off first.  I could feel a headache coming on - quickly and with strength.

I was last to be dropped off on a quadpod stand looking down a lane.  My flashlight was only kind of working and I wasn't familiar with the stand, so I felt like I was banging gongs while trying to get situated.  Once I had everything set up, the stand was actually rather comfortable.

It was still quite dark, so I dozed a bit while the morning woke up.  I was hopeful as it got light, but the morning moved slowly with nothing showing up on the corn pile - at least nothing more interesting than a squirrel.  

My head was pounding with a migraine, so I took advantage of the slowness to semi-doze a bit.

Soon enough, the morning was over and Rick came to get me.  He came from beyond the pile which surprised me a bit.

The only deer any of us saw was a small 3-point that Kevin saw.  Reports from friends of Rick were similarly slow.  The deer had to be somewhere, but on this morning they were just not active.

Lisa had family issues to attend to so we went to a small restaurant for breakfast.  The menu was minimal, but the sandwich was good (enough).

Back at the lodge, a more proper nap and another walk down to the river seemed to help my head quite a bit.  I wasn't 100%, but going in the right direction.

Early afternoon came around and we piled into the truck to head out.  I was dropped off at a small field about 100 yards walk from the road.  It was hot.  It was hot HOT.  And humid.  It was uncomfortable.  The only saving grace was a decent breeze.  It took a few minutes to get situated, but once I had everything set up I was able to get comfortable.  I looked angrily at the sun since I knew it was going to be beating me up as it set.

The afternoon passed somewhat slowly.  At one point the Air Force jets started flying around.  Thankfully it wasn't for very long since I still had a headache and I knew from previous hunts that they could be painfully noisy.

As the sun started setting, the wind stopped making the day stop about the way it stopped.  As it got to dark to see, a very tiny doe popped out right in front of the stand.  It milled around a little bit before turning around and going back the way it came.

I got out of the stand and went to the gate to wait to get picked up.  The mosquitoes hadn't bothered me all night, but they were brutal while waiting.  Thankfully Rick picked me up before they carried me off.

Back at the lodge, Joe had missed a deer, Matt had seen some but no shooters.  Kevin had an evening similar to mine, seeing only one turkey.

The evening ended with spaghetti and garlic bread.

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 1 - A New Route

It has been a chaotic week.

• Work:  An absolute mess.  Too much to do made worse by management-created problems - years in the making approaching rapidly.  I turned a coworker away when she asked me for help and my frustration was up to 11.  To be clear, it was something my manager doesn't want me doing and it isn't part of my job, but having accepted the blunt realization my career is over, I generally do what I can now to help people.  I feel terrible about this.
• Weather:  Hurricane Helene came through turning everything windy, sultry, humid and wet.  Gross.  The week ahead looks like wet will continue.
• Home:  The lawn needs mowed (of course) and fall chores are lurking.  
• Personal:  A family issue is looming.  I may be a terrible person.

But!

• I was able to leave work with my inbox in a decent place.  And the work will be there when I get back.
• While Hurricane Helene was brutal*, we did need the rain and there was no significant damage locally (I'm not minimizing the devastating impact Helene had South).
• The world won't end due to long, sodden grass.  I have must-use vacation days coming to take care of fall chores.
• While I may be a terrible person, I'm also able to accept my faults.

*Apparently Helene was more brutal than I originally knew.  I-26 was shut down and I-40 was gone in Western NC. I know this is much worse for many people in that area.

_______________________________

After a Saturday getting a few things done and packing up the trucklette, Sunday morning arrived.  With all the roads closures, I had to choose a new route.  I also parked my Garmin GPS to take advantage of the slightly more real-time traffic and road information with my phone.  This was not to be my typical brainless drive that I'm used to.

I was out the door around 3:30.  It was raining, but roads were clear.  I had to argue a bit with my phone to get it to go the way I wanted.  It did give me a route through Western North Carolina, but I didn't trust it.  All it would take would be one road closure to create problems.  Plus, the roads that were open were likely to be difficult.

So I routed east then south.  The drive went easy enough.  I was listening to How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key.  I had almost deleted this book since his other book was only mediocre.  I was sooooo glad I didn't though.  This was a totally different book and was beautifully written - it was almost lyrical in many places.  It was both funny and sad, sometimes at the same time.  In fact, I'm I actually glad I read his other book since it did, in some ways, set things up for this one.  One of the negatives about listening to books is I couldn't write down some of the better quotes.  And searching for them didn't help me find them either - possibly because his writing can be pretty polarizing, and this is (obviously) a polarizing subject.  I was surprised how much of a religious tone the book had since that wasn't a major tenet of his other book, but unlike some reviews I saw, I didn't find this off-putting; he was telling his story.

But the book made the drive go exceedingly fast.

Right near the West Virginia/Virginia border there was a bear dead on the side of the road.  It briefly brought me back to Manitoba.

The only negative with my route was that I was on 2-lane roads for the last couple hours.  But I guess ... that is the same with my other route too.  I'll probably get to see how it is on the way home.

I got to Rick's just as three guys were getting ready to go out.  I was in the small bedroom with Kevin who I hunted with the previous year.  I unpacked and got as settled as I could.  As I was unpacking, I realized I forgot my binoculars.  I don't use them for hogs, but not having them for deer could be a real handicap.

There were three other guys plus Kevin in camp.  Kevin wasn't hunting either so we lollygagged around camp and took a walk down to the river.  The three out hunting all saw several deer, but no shooters.

Dinner was rice and black eyed peas before turning in relatively early.

2023 Indiana Deer Hunt (Part 2) - Moonlighting

After a very rainy and blowing Tuesday at work, I had Wednesday off.  I opted to not go out in the morning allowing me a chance to have a quiet morning and walk the dogs.  I also watched some TV as I've been working through rewatching Moonlighting.  It is shocking how quickly this show went from pretty good (even ~35+ years later) to very bad.  Fonzie is all lined up on that shark.

Early afternoon I packed up everything and got changed into heavy camo clothes.  After telling the dogs they are awesome, I headed out to Mike's.  While driving, 7-8 deer ran through a field with one going right in front of the trucklette.  I saw this as a good sign?  Maybe not for hunting this year, but with the population low, seeing healthy does makes me glad the EHD outbreak wasn't worse.

Once at Mike's I got all my gear and hoofed it down to my 2-tree.  In the daylight I was able to set up easily and get comfortable.  Temperatures were a bit cool but with quite a bit of wind - at least the direction of the wind was almost perfect.

Not much was moving however - not even the squirrels.  But I was really enjoying the time in the stand ... outdoors ... in my element.  At one point I noticed a healthy-looking coyote behind me walking off to the west.  Even with minimal shooting, no doubt it's had a fill of offal over the last few days.

I let my mind wander where it wanted to.  I couldn't help but think how much more I like morning hunts than evening hunts.  Not only does stand fatigue set in during the end of the hunt, but the world is an intensely noisy place - both literally and figuratively.  Mornings are usually blessedly quiet.  Somewhere not too far away someone was chain sawing with a vengeance.  It was annoying, but at least far enough away that I could mostly tune it out.  Much more annoying was a really, really loud dog barking all afternoon.  No doubt the deer are used to it, and barking dogs living in rural areas are kind of a thing.  But every time it started up again I grumbled.  I was looking forward to the quiet of the following day's Thanksgiving morning hunt.

Shadows started to get long as the afternoon approached evening and I noticed movement ahead of me to my left.  A small deer was very carefully working its way towards me on the ridge in front of me.  I told myself that it could be a spike, although I knew it definitely wasn't.  I carefully got my gun up and looked through the scope - doe confirmed.  I put my gun down but kept it in my hands only to avoid more movement.  I sat watching the doe.

I noticed more movement directly in front of me on the ridge.  I'm not 100% sure where its path was from, but saw the hard antler of a buck; without looking closely I knew it was a shooter.  I had only seconds to act so brought my gun up, the deer paused, I fired.  I was a bit worried I missed as it quickly took 3 running steps, then 2 slow steps, and it dropped.  I reloaded my .243 and watched for a few minutes.

I got out of my stand and walked the short distance to it.  I may be am the luckiest person in the world with every deer over the last fours years a 10-point or better.

It was getting dark so I quickly packed out my stuff and returned with my knives and sled.  Field-dressing was a messy issue since the Hornady SSTs have a tendency to turn the insides into deer soup - but they do work.  The deer was much larger than the sled, so I had to wrap the antlers in my pull chord to lift his head when I pulled.  But all things considered, it wasn't too bad getting the deer out.  I paused for several minutes after crossing the creek at the bottom of the ridge.  There was just enough water for a small, clear pool to exist.  The moonlight reflected in the water creating visual poetry.

The drag is about a quarter-mile, but a difficult one - especially the last hill.  Many deadfalls and evil honeysuckle make this much worse.  I was drenched in sweat by the time I made it to my truck but was still able to slide the sled into the Maverick bed.  Mike came out around this time, "Mike, you need to grow smaller deer."  Mike graciously let me wash up my hands and I talked with him and his wife for a bit before heading home.  

Right near home, four more does ran across the road in front of me.  I slowed down to let them pass.  Out the passenger window, they almost glowed in the moonlight.  The next day is Thanksgiving and I have much to be thankful for.

_________

Post Mortem

SO suggested we hold off on our Thanksgiving feast to be able to take care of my deer.  She is wonderful...  And Thanksgiving day was a day of cutting, grinding and freezing followed by deer nachos for dinner.  The turkey will wait.

My shot was a few inches farther back than I would have liked, but I can't argue with the buck only taking five steps.

I noticed two things while processing my deer.  First, there was some kind of damage in the neck of the deer that wasn't from my bullet.  I couldn't see much external damage, but a thin area in the lower neck might have been from something healing; I'm really not sure what was going on.  I ended up cutting through the skin in this area so my back and forth on what to do with the deer is going towards a skull mount.

Second, I was able to recover the bullet on the offside right under the hide (48% weight retention).  This is nearly perfect performance since it means that little bullet dumped every bit of energy inside the animal.  Two holes may bleed more for tracking purposes, but I'll take five steps over tracking any day.

2023 Indiana Deer Hunt - The Great Skunk Hunt (Part 3)

I generally like how the Indiana DNR manages deer.  While it would be a change likely to cause revolt, I think more states should adopt the one-antlered-deer-per-year rule.  There are some years I see as many bucks as does. It can be frustrating some years, but it can make people think before breaking the trigger on a small buck. 

The county where I hunt must be ground zero for 2022 EHD outbreak as the state said "NO!" to shooting any does.  I am glad the state is taking action, but I also see a few years of tough hunting ahead until the population rebounds from the 2022 outbreak.  Estimates are that the deer heard is around 30% of what it normally is.  That is brutal.  This makes it start to look more like the deer hunting I did when I first started hunting about a million years ago.  I may at times look at the past with rose-colored glasses, but not when it comes to those kinds of deer numbers.  The "DNR expects the population will recover in about five years."  So it goes...

I always internally debate putting my stand up the day before the gun opener.  It makes opening morning much easier, but it is extra human intrusion right before hunting.  Friday was very rainy, but it was lessoning after work.  After going back and forth several times, I made the quick trip to put of the stand; this was the right decision since the remaining rain broke up overhead, leaving my stand dry.  It also got me more excited about deer hunting seeing "my" woods all ready for me.

________________

I woke up opening morning at my usual too-early.  My usual angst and love-hate relationship with deer hunting had given me a low-grade migraine.  By getting up early I was able to nap with the dogs; this also made them very happy.  Soon enough it was time to get ready and head out to Mike's.

Once at Mike's, I made my way to where my stand was set up and easily got it up the tree.  Temperatures were cool with clear skies and almost no wind.  The love-hate relationship was leaning heavily back into love.

Shortly after it got light, I saw a decent(ish) buck working generally toward me after wheezing a few times.  He was moving and through some thick brush, making getting him in the scope difficult.  Additionally with no wind my scope was fogging up from my breath.  Adding to all this, the lighting was weird since I was looking toward the sun while the deer was in deep shadows.  I finally got a grainy bead on him in the scope, but knew better than to try to shoot.  I let him continue on.  Had I known how the next few days were to go, I might have tried harder, but there is no question I made the right decision.  A short time later I heard shooting off toward the southwest where he was headed; unlikely I'll ever see that deer again.

The morning continued on and I heard much ruckus across the ravine - seeing turkeys on the ridge.  With turkey populations struggling in much of the East, it is nice to be able to see them.

If it weren't for my headache, it would have been a nearly perfect day.  Temperatures rose from just below freezing to around 50F with bright sun and no wind.  It was so sunny, it was actually annoying at times since I was generally facing south.  It was also a very long time to sit without seeing anything else.  I was glad for the rambunctious squirrels since they at least gave me something to watch.  As it got darker, I started seeing bears in all the shadows; I must be mentally ill - or deer hunting was bringing me back to Manitoba.  Eventually it got dark and I was done for the day after seeing only the one deer.  I couldn't help but think back to several years previous when I would routinely see double-digits of deer most times I went out.  It wasn't only me though as I heard unbelievably little shooting for opening day.

________________

Sunday came and I felt a lot better, but the energy level was a bit low after seeing so few deer on opening day.  But after spending a bit of quality time with the dogs, I was out the door again.  I was in the stand well before light.  It was once again just below freezing with a crystal clear sky and no wind.  I sat comfortably in my stand and let my vigilance rise.

As it started to get light, I saw one deer on the ridge across the ravine.  It was too far away to see whether it was a buck or doe and was too far to shoot anyway.  I could just see it milling around before working its way off to the west.  

I like hunting in the ravine, and for the last two years it has worked well for me.  But I was seeing deer go back to the pattern which would put them past my "favorite" stand.  And as much as I know the ravine can be a deer highway, my untested belief is that it tends to be used more during the pitch black of nocturnal behavior.  Around 11:00 I decided to head up to my favorite stand.  It took a few minutes to get down and pack up my stand and I was sweating when I made it to my two-tree.  But it was worth it.  Once settled in, I instantly felt at peace.  I'm not sure if this was because I like the openness a bit more, or because I was away from all that heinous honeysuckle, or if the stand just has better feng shui (can deer stands have feng shui?  I say, "YES!").  This was supported by hearing something behind me just as I was finishing a snack and seeing four does go bounding toward me and off to the south.  It seemed like the universe was briefly aligned.

But that alignment was short-lived or I was imaging it.  Other than one more (maybe?) deer in the ravine, the rest of the day passed without seeing anything.  It was still a great hunting day - if a bit (a lot) slow.

________________

Monday came as a vacation day from work and I was once again headed to Indiana.  It was a bit warmer, but felt colder since there was a stiff breeze.  I got set up in the stand and once again waited for daylight.  I was wearing my windproof fleece - so I wasn't cold, but it wasn't like the first two days.

I was hopeful as it got light and kept a vigilant watch.  With the wind, it was hard to hear anything.  The most interesting thing I saw was a cute little raccoon working its way to the south.  It was young and struggled to climb a large tree, only to give up and work its way back down.  Trash panda...

By around 10:30 I was clock watching.  The forecast was for a good chance of PM rain and lots of rain on Tuesday.  I wasn't seeing enough deer to justify sitting in blowing rain.  I called it a morning.