Hunting recap

I hope everyone had a good week and a great and memorable Thanksgiving.  While this was a sad year for me there is still lots to be thankful for.  Except for my brother Tad the rest of my brothers and sister were able to be together on Thanksgiving.  Several of us were able to take in the Wassail dinner concert at the Rittenhouse Inn on Saturday 11/28 to kick off the Christmas season as well.  It was a good time.  This update will primarily be a recap of my hunting week.  

Running
I was able to get out for a run mid day on Tuesday 11/24 so at least I won't have 9 days with no running. I got out for an 8 mile run in 1:03:58. The legs really felt fresh with the few days off. I hope having 5 more off won't put me back too far. As long as I'm distracted with the hunting season it's probably a good thing to take some kind of a break from training for a while each year. Things should become more regular during December although I won't pick up the mileage until January.


Hunting
This was a very different hunting season. It was sad and lonely at times missing dad, it was frustrating spending so much time on stand and not seeing anything, it was fun to hunt with my friend Wayne, my brother Todd and my daughter Kylli, and it was both satisfying and successful by bagging one of the best bucks of my life.


The season started off so slow. All the preparation and anticipation for opening day ended up just disappointing. I think I mentioned in my last post about how opening day is like Christmas morning as a kid. This season was like coming down and finding nothing under the tree for you. On opening day Wayne and I got in the woods early. A good hour before legal shooting time. For both of us after 11 hours on stand and no sightings it was quite frustrating. Especially when you hear a few shots close by. Sunday turned out pretty much the same way. I did see one deer briefly as it quickly passed through my area. Again another 11 hours with nothing to show for it. Monday morning it was raining and forced me to change stand locations. I was glad for the early prep work and to have a dry place to go, but still no deer sightings. Monday afternoon I went back to my primary location only because I felt it was the best place to be successful. Five more hours (now 27) looking at the same thing and no more sightings. Tuesday morning Wayne decided to head back early. He would have hunted in the morning had we been seeing anything, but they way things were he left right after getting up. I stayed up north as my wife and daughters would be coming the next day and I would go back with them.

Tuesday was a strange day. I decided to change spots and hunt out of my primary bow stand. As a gun stand it's a little tight as you can't see very far in the woods, but I've seen several deer at this location and welcomed the change of scenery. I've hunted alone a lot. In fact probably most of the time, but never felt as lonely in the woods as I did this day. I have to walk past what we call "dad's stand" on the way to mine. His not being there really hit me on this day as thoughts of being with him on past hunts kept circling through my head. Wouldn't you know at the very end of this day, the last minute of legal shooting time one of the nicest bucks I've ever gotten shows up. After 41 patient hours of waiting I didn't hesitate a second as the first shot presented itself. I heard the deer run 5 or 6 seconds and then silence. I knew I had gotten it. I quickly got down and checked for any sign of a blood trail to follow. With the fading light, no snow, and my small flashlight I wasn't able to see any thing. I went down the old trail in the direction the deer went but could not find it. I had resigned myself that I would have to find this deer in the morning hoping wolves, coyote's, or bears did not find it before I did. When I got back to mom's house she told me my brother Todd was coming early and that he would be there soon. When he arrived about 7:30pm I asked him if he wanted to go out in the dark and look for it. I'm glad he said yes. We went back in the woods armed with a lantern and bigger lights. After a brief search we were able to find the deer. Only 30 or so yards from where I had stopped earlier. What an impressive deer. Beautiful dark horns with eight perfect points. He was very muscular looking with swelled neck and glands from rutting. Probably the most handsome deer I've ever gotten. The drag out was very hard. With no snow and all up hill, this heavy deer was quite a workout to get back to the truck. We stopped on the way home to register and weigh the deer. He weighed 184 pounds. We arrived back at the house at 10:30pm. I just have to believe dad in some way had something to do with this deer showing up and being able to get it.   Here he is.

Wednesday I was looking forward to the rest of the family arriving for Thanksgiving and having my daughter to hunt with. The rest of my season was going to be all about trying to find a deer for her. She is quite a trooper and patient hunter. Despite our best efforts and spending lots of time in the woods over the next few days there was nothing more to show for it. I can't tell you how I wish I had a better story to tell here. Unfortunately the last several days there were no deer sighted by her or I. On Saturday night our last time out we both heard some deer milling about, but they didn't show up before we had to leave.

This puts another season in the books and certainly one with mixed emotions. December will bring a few more opportunities both with bow and gun. Hopefully I can put Kylli on one during the special holiday gun season. She has been able to harvest a deer the last three seasons and it would be nice to keep that going.

Gardening:
When we took in the Wassail concert at the Rittenhouse we were able to see how beautiful the tree we delivered a few days earlier really was.  Dad really picked out a special one for them this summer.  I'm glad this last one turned out to be so special.  The owner of the Inn mentioned a few words about the tree and dad to make it even more special. I'll post a picture once we download them.

The hunt is on

Running:
Catching up a bit.  Thursday was an off day from running and a travel day.  My friend Wayne and I headed north to Bayfield to get ready for gun hunting.  I did make it out early Friday morning for an 8 mile run in 1:06:08.  If I don't get a deer soon this could be my last run for about 9 days.  Maybe I'll have to take a mid day break sometime in the middle of the week anyway.  9 days off is a long time.

Hunting:
Thursday when we arrived we made it out to the woods to finish getting the stands ready.  While we were doing that we saw a nice buck chasing a doe around.  Certainly looked promising along with all the sign we saw.  Opening morning of gun season is always like Christmas morning when you were a kid to me.  It is so exciting to be out there.  This opening day turned out to be one of my worst in a long time.  11 hours on stand and not a single deer.  The weather was fairly warm so it was easy to sit, but all that time with no action wears on you.  Sunday turned out similarly.  Only saw one deer that obviously had been spooked.  He quickly entered and exited my area without giving me a shot.  I never even got a good look to see if it were a buck or doe.  11 more hours in the same place with only one sighting.  At least part of the afternoon went OK as I listened to the Packer game while I was sitting there.  Time to make a change on Monday. 


Gardening:
Only thing happening here is we took some time to go to the Christmas tree field and cut a few.  We cut one for Wayne, my mom, a big one for the Rittenhouse Inn and one for me.  All of these were Concolor Fir's.  They are really beautiful trees.  They have a different kind of smell to them, actually kind of citrus like and are real blue like a blue spruce except they have long soft needles.  I'll post a picture at some later time.

Lunch time running

Running:
Three days in a row running during work lunch breaks.  I ran the same 7.5 mile course each day.  Two big hills to get through on this run.  One on Springdale and another on Davidson.  The hill on Davidson is the same one I run on my 5 mile route.  The first one is at mile 3.5 the second about 5.5.  Monday I ran it in 1:00:11, Tuesday 1:00:52, and today 1:00:06.  Thursday will be an off day and a travel day.  I might get a run in Friday depending on what needs to get done.  Hopefully early morning before anything starts.  I hit 1700 miles even YTD after my run today.  So far my totals through today.
WTD 22.5
MTD 94
YTD 1700
ODO 24966


Hunting:
I had hoped to sneak out for a morning or evening this week.  That didn't happen for a variety of reasons.  I'm heading north in the morning to get ready for the gun season that starts Saturday.  I'll be heading up with my friend and coworker Wayne.  Right now I'm really looking forward to this season.  I didn't see a lot of deer on my previous trips up to Bayfield, but there was a lot of good sign.  Certainly more than last year which turned out OK.  My daughter will be hunting here in the back yard on opening weekend and then hopefully heading up on Tuesday after school.  She's done this the last two years and got a deer both times.   


Gardening:
Gardening chores around here the last few days were just keeping the pond clean and cleaning gutters one last time.  Friday I'll be heading into the Christmas tree farm to cut a few trees.  We have an agreement with the landowner to get a few last trees off the property this year.  After that I'll be totally relying on the patch I have in the back yard for all my trees.

Packer Game

Running:
No running on Saturday.  Sunday I had tickets to the Packer/Cowboy game in Green Bay.  A friend and coworker had an extra ticket and asked me to come along.  He's done this before and I'm really grateful he thinks of me when he has an extra.  It was a great game and lots of fun and the Packers even won 17-7.  I wore my dad's lucky fleece Packer shirt so maybe that was the difference.  He would have so enjoyed this game.  Sunday morning I did get out for an 8 mile run before I got ready for the game.  It was a really nice morning for a run.  I ran it in 1:06:08.  


Hunting:
Saturday I got out both in the morning and afternoon for a hunt.  I was disapointed to not see anything.  It's hard to tell if the big 8 point is still around or not.  The scrape seems to be inactive at the moment.  That could be because he's busy chasing does, or that someone else got him.  I hope it's the former.  In the afternoon the landowner (a non hunter) chose to come out and say hi to me while I'm in the stand.  This didn't help my chances of seeing something.  Nice guy, but I can't believe he did that.   I hope to get out once or twice this week before or after work, but don't know if that will work out.  Lot's to do this week before I'm out for a while for gun season and the Thanksgiving holiday.


Gardening:
The lawn is cut for I think the last time.  All the leaves are picked up and the garden cleaned up about as good as it can be.  I'm sad my rototiller won't start though.  I'll need to bring it in for service and get by without turning all the leaves over in the garden until spring.  Let it snow.

Work day routine

Running:
Back to the work day routines for a while at least. My runs over the last few days have all been during my lunch breaks. On Wednesday I ran my 4 mile and 2 mile loops for a total of 6 miles in 47:50. Thursday was one of those days where I wasn't sure I would get out because of a production issue. I got out a little late, but still made it. I decided because of time to just run on the treadmill. I did a typical 5 mile run in 40:00. Today I went out with my coworker Kevin. We've run together a few times over the past few months. It was good to have the company today. We ran the usual 5 mile route in a decent clip of 37:37. I have a little more than 300 miles to get to 2000 for the year. That has been my minimal annual goal since 2004, but I'm not sure I'll be able to make it this year. Losing 8 weeks completely to injury back in the spring is the only reason I'm not past it already. Running that many miles in December probably isn't a good idea, especially with no goal race on the agenda.


Hunting
No hunting since I got the deer last Sunday. I'm itching to get out again. I'll likely go both morning and evening on Saturday. Now that there is something in the freezer I'll likely be a little more patient and make sure it's a decent size buck before I shoot. At least until late season. Sunday I'll be going to the Packer/Cowboy game in Green Bay so there won't be any hunting on that day. Gun season opener is one week from tomorrow. Can't wait. Here's an interesting video I found about a bow hunt gone bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD5zjUbWpXY&feature=player_embedded



Gardening
Saturday afternoon will have to be spent on a few remaining lawn chores. With the lack of daylight and the priority shift to hunting this doesn't leave a lot of time right now. I have most things done, but one last mowing and picking up the final leaves is in order for sure along with a few other odds and ends.

Bow hunt long weekend

I guess I have some catching up to do. I just spent four days up north bow hunting and just got back last night.

Running:
Thursday and Friday I worked 1/2 day from home last week. This allowed me to bow hunt a little and also get my weekday runs in. Thursday and Friday mornings I ran my favorite home loop of 6.5 miles. This run is very nice. Lots of rolling hills on quiet county roads through the country and part of the State Forest. Thursday I ran it in 52:06 and Friday in 53:21. Friday afternoon I headed on my way up to Bayfield. I took Saturday and Sunday off from running. Lots of other exercise though which I'll discuss a little more below. Up in Bayfield I have a couple of favorite loops to run as well. The challenge up there is finding the flattest route you can. No way around still hitting lots of hills. Monday I ran an 8 mile loop in 1:05:28 and Tuesday I ran a 6 mile loop in 47:50 before packing up for the drive home.

Hunting:

Last week Thursday I was able to get out hunting near my house both morning and afternoon. Both uneventful as I saw nothing. Friday morning I again went out and was able to get my second chance at the big eight point. So many things can go haywire bow hunting. Around 7:30 the big guy made his way towards his scrape just as the previous week. This time I waited until he committed moving forward before I drew back. He headed straight towards the scrape only 20 feet in front of me. I thought for sure he would stop at the scrape so I was waiting until then for the shot when he would not be moving. My mistake. He didn't stop. He walked straight through. By the time I grunted at him to stop in the next opening he was already 30 yards away. I took the shot which sailed right over his back. I was sick. I retrieved my arrow and left. As mentioned earlier I then headed up to Bayfield for some hunting. I hunted most of the day Saturday with no result. It was rather windy. I took a break mid day to complete a few other chores. Sunday morning was a different day. It was cold, calm and quiet in the woods. About 7:30 the woods erupted with activity. A spike buck first showed up and then a doe with a buck hot on her heals. The small buck really bothered the big one and he spent time chasing him off. They chased around me for a good 1/2 hour. Lots of fun to watch, but no shot. Sunday afternoon when I got back on stand it didn't take long for a smaller buck (3pt) to make his way up the trail I was watching. He stopped right in front of me to sniff a scent canister I had put out. I decided to take this deer. I made a good shot and was able to see where it fell. It was a heavy enough deer without any snow to drag on. Plenty of exercise for the day. I spent most of Monday and part of Tuesday morning butchering the deer. The temps were so warm it needed to be taken care of quickly. This kept me out of the woods as much as I would have liked, but it was good to fill the tag. I probably won't get a chance to bow hunt up there again this year. I still have tags available for hunting here. Also this weekend I spent a bit of time putting up a couple of gun stands and repairing a couple others. Everything is ready for the gun season opener two weekends from now. It was sure strange for me not to be helping dad with his stand or having him help me. This gun season is going to be filled with loss and emotion for me.

Gardening:

Being gone I didn't get much done gardening in my yard. I did notice that a buck is frequenting my back yard again this year. He wrecked another two of my Christmas trees by scraping them up with his antlers. I also assisted my mom with cleaning and shutting down her pond for the season. I also helped rake and mulch lots of leaves from her yard. Those big maples sure drop lots of leaves.

I'll take a bottle

Running:

With the start of the work week it was back to lunch break runs again. After the weekend off the legs felt pretty good. Monday I went out for a 7.5 mile run in 59:58. I purposely sprinted the last few blocks to make it in under 1 hour. Yesterday was one of those days at work that I didn't think I'd get out. I was working on a production issue through lunch time. I finally decided at 3:00 in the afternoon after finishing things up to go. I ended up on the treadmill to save time, but got 5 miles in 40:00 into the books.

Hunting:
For you hunters there is an interesting post on the whitetail365 blog. As a hunter scent control is talked about as the most critical element to success. This guy says deer aren't afraid of human urine. He even pees in the deer scrapes to rile them up. I don't think I'll try it. http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/whitetail-365

I haven't been out since the weekend. I will have to find a way to get out either before or after work a couple times over these next couple weeks. Prime time to be out there.

Gardening:
Spent some time cleaning up the pond for winter. This involved cutting back some of the dying vegetation, cleaning all filters, fishing leaves out, adding stuff to retard algae growth, and beneficial bacteria to keep the pond healthy. Not time to add the heater just yet.

Hunting weekend

Running:
There was no running for me this weekend.  First time that's happened since back in May I think. 
On a positive note for USA running Meb Keflezighi won the New York marathon last weekend.  First time someone from the US won the race in 27 years.  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/sports/02men.html?_r=1


Hunting:
Full out hunting, both AM and PM both days.  Saturday morning was very windy.  With the rut about underway I went anyway.  Earlier in the year I would not have.  I should have stayed home or gone running.  I stayed 4 hours but saw nothing.  Saturday afternoon was still breezy but the forecast called for things to quiet down a bit.  Got out with about three hours of light left.  I heard some deer moving at last light, but again saw nothing.  When I got back to the car there was a deer I scared as I was putting my stuff away.  Sunday morning I think was my chance.  It was cold and quiet.  I saw nothing until 8:00.  All of a sudden I picked out movement.  It was the big guy I had seen last week.  He walked in on the same trail I had seen him last Sunday.  He got to the same place behind the trees and brush and stopped to scent his scrape.  He then turned left and started to walk towards an opening I have.  I drew back.  Just before reaching the opening he stopped.  Now I'm at full draw.  He did not move for what seemed like forever.  My arm was in pain and shaking holding the bow back.  He was so close I couldn't let up though or he would hear/see it.  Finally he started walking and I knew this was my chance.  I let loose the arrow, but completely missed.  All I can think of is I wasn't still at full draw because of the length of the hold, or lost my peep sight, or maybe the tears in my eyes from the pain of holding so long.  The deer ran off seemingly not scared or unaware of what happened.  Maybe he'll be back, but he'll likely be off chasing does the next weeks.  I think this was my chance though at this big 8 point.  I passed on the ballgame Sunday and went hunting instead.  I had deer all over me all afternoon.  Several does and fawns and a young four point chasing them around.  I could have taken a shot at a few of these, but passed.  Maybe because the big guy left the area for awhile the others were free to roam about.  Another fun weekend of hunting.       


Gardening:
Finished putting remaining lawn things away.  Also got all the leaves picked up and the lawn mowed for maybe the last time.  Still have a little work to do on the pond before it gets too cold.  Feel good about catching up a bit though.