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.