Doc

It looks like I might get more apples than I thought I would. A little closer look and I found some branches that had a few on them. But I did have jillions on the trees at one time that just fell off when they were about the size of a grape. My peaches on the peach trees that are loaded but don't seem to be getting any larger. they are about the size of an apricot and have been that size for quite a while. This is the first year that they have been bearing, so I don't have a whole lot of experience with them and I don't know whether to expect some kind of sudden growth. But I'm starting to think that they might not develop into anything useful. I never heard of peaches getting off to such a good start and then just stopping growth.

There are a lot of things that are unique to the Northern Zone that are not necessarily a great idea. And no the world does not cease to exist when some of these bonehead ideas get implemented. But then I don't believe we are discussing the fate of the world.

Is English your primary language? .... lol. Do you honestly see any other way to interpret, "any kind of weapon" than actually meaning exactly what it says. Now you're getting ridiculous and arguing just for the sake of arguing. There is no "leap" other than in your own mind. And your childish kicking and flailing against the NYB is beginning to look a bit desperate and pathetic too.

So perhaps bow season has come to mean only "the early part of hunting season" and the equipment restrictions are bogus. Maybe the concepts of challenge and discipline simply should not be a part of what we call bowhunting anymore. Yes you're right, we have come a long way in terms of what we allow into bowhunting, but everything still requires the same basic principles and disciplines of traditional archery. All the rules of shooting form and forced consistency still apply. All those things that justified creating a special season for a very demanding way of hunting so many decades ago still apply. But maybe you feel it is time to break out of those kind of restrictions. Perhaps bowhunting as we have always viewed it has run its course and it is time to let technology take over the rest of it. The evolution never stops as you pointed out and each technological incursion serves as the precedent for the next. Perhaps it is now time to throw out even the operating principles and challenges and skills of bow shooting. Hey what the heck, the sport is in the hands of the next generation to do with as they see fit. It will morph into whatever the current participants want.

I can show you all kinds of acreage of open hardwoods where I could set up prone with a crossbow or rifle and have clear shooting in any direction, completely unobstructed. and you know it. Also, I can show you some of my shotgun ground blinds that have rests in any direction that can simulate benchrest conditions. And just like with a shotgun, I could easily benchrest my crossbow on any of those horizontal log surfaces. So, if you lack the imagination to hunt from the ground in exactly the manner that I described, then perhaps you really are at a disadvantage with your crossbow. And exactly when did you get the idea that the only way to deer hunt is from a tree stand? Oh and by the way, wasn't it you who was talking about how the crossbow would allow people to make more ethical killing shots without the need for all that tedious practice? Which way is it?

Where I live, police response time isn't even an issue. By the time they finally get there, There will either be dead bad-guy bodies laying there or ours. The law enforcement guys are spread pretty thin across the county. But even at that I'll bet we can beat 4 hours ...... lol.

Yeah, and drop down those bi-pod legs and settle into your prone position and settle those crosshairs on that scope on exactly the hair that you want to hit and wait as long as it takes for Mr. Deer to get into exactly the right range and position. Your only risk of exposure through movement is the squeeze of the trigger. What is clear is that when it comes to accuracy, the target range with the rules and regulations and equipment restrictions is not an apples-to-apples comparison to the hunting realm is it?

I have seen twin bucks that had exactly identical racks. Also, even different generations of the same family line can have near identical racks, body sizes, and even body traits. So I wouldn't say whether it is the same deer unless you have some other identifying features.

Well, I understand you trying to provide some traction for that ridiculous comment about extremes by repeating it as often as you can. I also understand that it doesn't help your pro-crossbow stance to have that bit of logic pointed out to you. But, if you had read the reply that I was referring to, guns are included in the category of "any kind of weapon" and there is nothing extreme about that interpretation. It's simple English. So Four Season Whitetails' statement takes on even more clarity for those that want to see it. Oh, and by the way, I don't think that even you are so naïve as to believe that we have heard the last of muzzleloaders being part of the early bow season. So don't be seeing firearms in bow season as being some kind of extreme notion. That may make a neat sound-bite, but in fact it has already happened. So it turns out not to be as extreme as you are trying to make it out to be.

I'm glad to see you are so open minded and generous with bow seasons. I can hardly wait to hear you proposing that muzzleloaders join us out there and then of course .... why not any kind of gun. When you say "any kind of weapon", I assume that you are including any kind of weapon. That is exactly the attitude that makes bow hunters want some rather stringent regulations put on what should be allowed into bow season. There are many hunters who are irritated at the advantages that bow hunters have fought for and earned. Most of the those are gun hunters who simply salivate at a chance to easily jump into the middle of early bow-season. And in case anyone thinks that crossbows will be the end of these kinds of incursions, Don't be so naïve. Crossbows are not the end-game of those pushing them.

I have noticed the effect on the corn .... high and low stalks depending on where the water tends to not drain away quickly enough. I saw a guy putting up some hay as silage. The field was full of muddy ruts criss-crossing it. There may be another hay shortage this year because of this slop.

Ah yes .... I'm always looking for that silver lining ... lol. You can look at it all as a good once-in-a-lifetime test of the drainage of your new place. It is a thorough look at a real stress test, and you will have an opportunity to fix drainage problems forever. That's about all the good news I can squeeze out of all this .... lol.

Lol .... These stories sound so familiar.

I have a Gravely zero-turn, and every time I turn, things are so greasy that it spins a nice little divet out of the lawn. Also, if I happen to wind up in one of those real wet areas, the sucker will get stuck super-easy. Then I have to get he ATV and drag the mower out of the slime. That makes a nice mess of things. Nothing more attractive than two muddy drag-marks with the grass ripped out. Zero turn mowers are great as long as conditions are half-ways reasonable. I cut a full hour out of my mowing when I retired the old John Deere and bought the zero-turn. But part of the theory is that one wheel stops (or slows) while the other keeps powering the mower around the turn. So they have been designed not to have great traction. And that will skid sod off the lawn in sharp turns, make the thing slide down steep slopes like a bobsled (skidding grass off the lawn all the way) and get helplessly stuck super easy. Normally it's dry enough not to be a problem, but not this year.

That's what I keep saying. I figure that summer isn't really summer without a whole lot of unpleasant contrary weather .... lol. But now I am beginning to wonder if there is going to be any off-setting weird weather, or is this just going to keep on going on and on and on, into and through the winter. Isn't that a lovely thought? You should see my tomato plants. the tops look fine, but the bottom leaves and stems for about 10 inches or so are brown and rotting. Never saw that before. They're getting pretty goofy looking.

She's got twins that I think keep her pretty wore out ..... lol. There certainly is no shortage of food here. Besides, her days are numbered. She's one of those that are eating everything in my yard. She has to go!

Well, I have to admit that I haven't seen too many of those "T"-shaped snakes lately, but damn that looks like a pattern on a snake. I'm pretty sure it would have had me vacating the area.

I'm not trying to mow to make the yard look nice anymore. I'm mowing it now just to keep the thing from turning into a jungle. The trick now is to look out ahead enough so I don't find myself floundering around in water/mud, kind of like "defensive mowing". The yard looks like crap because of the mud-streaks, and the churned up turf. I have never seen these kinds of conditions except for a very few extremely wet first cuttings. But I have no choice. I have to mow the stinking yard sopping wet because it hasn't been any other way all summer. Oh and looking at the sky, it looks like we're going to be blessed with a little more rain. Kind of reminds me of that Johnny Cash song, "How high's the water Mama. 5 feet high and rising".....lol. This looks like a pattern that is going to last all summer. Just think if it continues on into the winter ..... Yikes!

It could be. I was thinking mud splatter from another deer, or maybe flies (hopefully not ticks .... yuck!). I wish the picture was a little sharper.

.........It might be worth a try....... Can't find those hogs to shoot them? Try calling them. Just hide behind a bush and make a noise like an ear of corn. Sorry .... couldn't help myself. It's an adaptation of a joke about rabbit hunting that my old Aunt used to tell.

What do you all think are the black spots on this deer's back?

I did have one camera that somebody thought they needed more than I did. Other than that I have kept pretty good track of them .. lol. Could it be that you left them in the woods and somebody took them? If they were out during gun season, that probably wouldn't be a real good thing. How many cameras are you looking for?

I've got that one. It's a great book. Also, one of my favorite deer management books (not directly about hunting) is White-tailed Deer Ecology and Management. It's a book by the Wildlife Management Institute. Oh and then there is one of the more important hunting books: the two volume Environmental Conservation Law of New York (about due to get a new set). I have several other deer hunting books that I have picked up over the years, but get a lot of my reading material from magazines such as Bowhunter, and Deer & Deer Hunting.

Actually, my reason for wanting to use a rifle has nothing to do with distance. I simply want a deer hunting weapon that doesn't beat the snot out of me everytime I pull the trigger. I want something that I can spend significant leisurely time on the bench practicing with and actually enjoying the experience. I want a gun that I can relax with and shoot with comfort and that often translates to accuracy. I've done my time with that old 12 gauge Ithaca Deerslayer. It getting to be time to shoot with a bit less punishment. Distance??? ..... I still probably won't be shooting much over 100 yards. Most of the time where I hunt there isn't a clear shot over a 100 yards anyway.

I have no doubt that activities that concentrate deer onto an exact specific spot cannot be a real healthy thing to do. This is yet another issue that I have with baiting/feeding, and apparently the DEC is convinced its not a real good idea too. I do not always understand some of the DEC positions on various topics, but I will trust their judgment on issues of deer biology and herd health. And yes, in this regard, we are all potentially impacted by this guy that Eddie was talking to. And maybe speaking up is minding our own business .... lol.