Doc

I often wonder how much value that summer scouting really has. Yes, on new hunting property it is always good to get more familiarity with the terrain and locate potential food sources. But I am also mindful of just how much different food sources and bedding areas are from now to the more fall-tailored habits of the deer. That is one of the things that makes that type of detailed scouting so darn difficult. Typically, bow season is a time of change. Leaves are turning, and eventually falling which changes the entire nature of food sources and cover for bedding areas. Certain crops are harvested and there goes another change. And then comes the acorn drop, and everything changes again. And then the different phases of rut begin and all bets are off. Sure enough, you can never know too much about the area that you hunt, but the expectations of getting a lot of detail about fall deer patterns from the mid-summer hikes through the woods might be a little higher than the realities. One thing you might learn is something about the deer population size and quality. Even camera pics this time of year will give you an idea of what may exist somewhere in the area later on. So there is no way that I am saying that summer scouting is worthless. It's just that the info may not be current when hunting season begins. Personally, I do a lot of careful in-season scouting to get the latest and greatest info.

What gets a bit testy is when that stroll or shortcut turns into broken down fences or broken into cabins, or other forms of vandalism and litter. What generally happens is that unpermitted trespass regardless of how innocent it may start, often causes a familiarity that escalates into other less harmless uses. That is why I demand that permission be sought so that I can lay down the rules of use and make it known that I do spend a lot of time throughout the property so that they understand that they are not alone there. As I have said in a prior reply, I have found campfires, cut trees, surveyor's tape, deep rutted up horse and dirt-bike trails and even a visit to one of my stands by an coupke of kids on an ATV while I was trying to hunt, and other disruptions that for all I know began some time prior as just a harmless stroll.

Is there really such a "catch-all" law that covers any kind of hazardous driving situations? I'm not a lawyer or LEO, so I have to ask.

So are you saying that the anti-texting while driving law should not have been passed? I put that law right along side DWI laws in terms of what it is supposed to accomplish. There are some very good similarities. They have eliminated one more freedom to risk my life, and I am damned glad.

Distracted driving is in reality a single catagory of reckless driving. So far only the texting and non-handsfree cell-phone use while driving has been recognized and turned into an illegal act. That doesn't make any of the others fit into responsible driving. I have seen the make-up thing and it definitely impacted the drivers ability to drive accurately and recognize sudden (or even casual) acts from other drivers and pedestrians. I have also seen drivers wrestling with burgers, fries and coffee while coming out of fast food joints. Believe me they absolutely had nothing on their minds about their driving. I am only glad that I was not a pedestrian in front of them .... lol. It's all part of the same thing ...... irresponsible driving with no concern for the safety of themselves or anyone around them. None of it is excuseable.

Great tip about starting with small game first. It will get you out in the woods where you can work on all aspects of hunting.

My wife and myself are at least two that have never broken that law. Our phones remain off when we are in the car. I have developed such a disgust for the carelessness and disregard for safety due to that act because of so many close calls that I have simply made it a rule to turn the damn thing completely off. There is no need for me to be constantly wired, and I guess I am not so important that I can't have some time to myself. There is nothing more scary than watching an on-coming car slowly crossing the center line and coming at you with some jerk behind the wheel and a cell-phone mashed up against their ear. People get really zoned out when they are conversing on the phone. I'll never understand why people can converse with each other in a car without getting so goofy, but as soon as you put a telephone between them they seem to lose all awareness of what is going on around them.

I really don't understand what the heck is going on. If I was a cop, there would be no problem making arrests on at least the cell-phone part of that law. I see it all the time, and have had a couple of close calls involving drivers messing with their electronic gizmos while driving. I even had one case where two of us were at an intersection waiting to pull out into traffic, this lady that was engrossed in a phone conversation nearly took off my driver's side fender when she pulled out apparently not even aware that I was right there in plain sight. By the way, when she charged out into the traffic, a couple of cars going the other way had to hit the brakes .... hard to avoid t-boning her. Also, I constantly see these people with a phone jammed into their ear weaving all over the road as well as others coming at me drifting way over into my lane. If people are that absorbed with a simple cell-phone conversation, I can't imagine the carnage responsible for trying to work your thumbs and steering wheel at the same time and trying to watch both the road and a keyboard while checking out surrounding traffic and pedestrians. So the big question ..... Why aren't the cops cracking down on these people? It looks like a super easy thing for them to do.

Actually it was a whole lot different in a lot of respects, which is apparent to those of us who actually lived it. But that's a whole different topic. The point is that respect for other people's property should be the same regardless of age or era if only the parents choose to teach such values. And I do believe there is probably some truth to the comment made about those who try to justify trespass as being those that trespass themselves. Regarding your comment about not knowing whose property was where, we always knew from fence-lines just where one property left off and another began. It's not really rocket science to figure out for those that are concerned about such things. And of course with property that is posted, it doesn't get any simpler than that to figure out boundaries, as well as the name of the individual that owns that land for those that actually are interested in using another's land with proper permissions. So there was no excuse for trespassing without permission then and there is no excuse for it today, kid or adult. If people would worry more about teaching some of those kinds of values to kids as they do about coddling and making excuses for illegal behavior, perhaps this wouldn't be such an issue. Maybe kids (and apparently some of the adults) would not be quite so confused about the issue of trespassing.

So how do you go about scientifically proving that a spark from a bullet striking a rock started a fire. How many rocks do you have to pick up and inspect in order to find the right one and come up with that conclusion.....lol. More likely it is a convenient theory to close out a fire report. I love their lament about that pesky old 2nd amendment that keeps them "powerless to ban gun use".

Back when I was a kid, very little property was actually posted, but I was raised to understand that I should have permission before entering someone's private property ..... posted or not. In fact I'll bet even the city kids knew better than cutting across their neighbor's yards even when that would have been much more convenient. We were taught not to assume that I had some kind of right to use other people's property. I guess in this day of permissivness and coddling, that little item of respect has been omitted for some and apparently with the blessings of others. No, there is no excuse for arbitrarily entering someone else's property without permission .... especially (but not exclusively) when it is posted. And that applies whether the trespasser is a kid, adult, or whatever. As far as getting kids involved in the outdoors, I would suggest that the first lesson to be taught to these kids regarding outdoor activities is to respect landowner's property rights. They don't learn that by us making excuses for them to break trespass laws. I know it is fashionable to excuse everything that kids do these days, but that doesn't make it right.

Actually there is no better way to learn about the basics than hunting with somebody that has been hunting for a few years. Hunters in general are always eager to teach and share information. We all love to talk hunting so there will be no problems getting other hunters to lay out all their strategies and knowledge. Don't worry about some of the more exotic theories and methods, and just master the basics of reading sign, learning the habits and lifestyles of whatever you are hunting and setting up for an ambush. Calls and rattling and all the other little unique aids can be added later if and when you feel the need for them. But the very first order of business is to learn about the prey as much as is possible. Then spend a lot of time in the woods learning even more about the prey and checking out the validity of whatever book-learning and things learned from conversations. Then learn the fundamentals of setting up for a possible intercept and shot opportunity. And most of all, avoid frustration and discouragement when you don't see deer everytime out or things simply don't go as planned. Learn to appreciate the challenges of the hunt as much as the successes. I've never heard anyone say hunting was easy, and most hunters like it that way.

Actually in the complex scheme of the economy, the wages of CEOs has absolutely no impact on anything. Our economic problems run much deeper than that. The biggest contributer is the way our economic activity and future relate to the fact that we simply don't make things here anymore. You can't base an economy strictly on service industries. CEO wages have no impact on that ...... CEO decisions perhaps, but not their wages.

I get quite a bit of it on my windshield when I drive down the road, but I never looked at it as something to quench my thirst. But anyway, that's one way of making it.

If you do a Google search on "purple loosestrife" the very first selection is an entire page of images of this plant. Apparently there is a few different varieties that each look different. I have to admit that after looking at that page, I'm not as sure as I was that this is purple loosestrife. The leaves don't look right, and the flower pattern doesn't look right. Take a look at that page and compare the pictures to the actual plant that you have and see what you think.

One thing I noticed was that the one fawn doesn't look anything like the other two. It's real obvious in the second picture. It has a whole lot more white. I thought that was a bit peculiar.

Now those are pictures you'll want to drag out in February to refresh your mind on the better parts of the year and as inspiration to help get through the nasty winter times.

I absolutely hate trespassers. I have had experiences with horseback riders mucking up some huge ankle-twisting paths across our property. And of course there was the little gifts left behind by the horses to step in. They even cut some brush for access and strung surveyor's tape along the way. I guess that was so that the idiots wouldn't get lost ..... lol. Then there was the kids with the dirt bikes ripping up and down the hill ..... again with the destructive trails. And the people that decided my land would be a nice place to camp on (building fires and cutting trees, etc.). No ATVs yet ..... that's probably yet to come. I have been on the property for most of my life, so I have seen it all. I have a lot more problems with these kinds of people that think I bought the land for their use than I ever have had with hunters. Maybe some day I can find out where some of these jerks live and I can go and pitch a tent on their lawn. Or hack a trail across their yard with a dirt bike. I wonder how they would feel about that.....lol.

I believe you have what is called "purple loodestrife". And yes you are absolutely correct to call it invasive...... it sure is that!

They keep trying to get their cameras to reach out to longer and longer distances. Then when a deer comes into close range, they burn out. That's a problem I was wrestling with with a "white-flash" Cuddeback that I have. I still get an occasional wash-out when deer or other critters come too close. It happens with white-flash or infra-red. It's just a case of not being there with a regular camera to change exposure settings. Trail cams do have their limits.

Lol ..... Don't you just love those yellow maple leaves with the red spots on them?

As long as everything continues to hold together, I guess I've got everything that I need.

If the Oct. 1st opener becomes official, a lot will depend on the weather as to whether I take advantage of the extra time or not. I really am not all that big on hunting while sweat is running down my back and mosquitos are buzzing around my head. However, as weird as weather has been this year, who knows ..... maybe we'll have snow on the ground on Oct 1st this year ..... lol. One thing is for sure, any shots during hot weather will have to be as close to perfect as possible. We may not have the option of letting them lay overnight.

First set of triplets this year:

This is a fantastic article. It states the case for hunting quite well. The only trap that she might have fallen into is the reciting of the usual lists of agricultural animal abuses that the vegans and animal rights people are so fond of. Yes, there are clear differences between the humanity of hunting vs. the necessary ag practices of "raising" meat. But I think one can point out the benefits of hunting for your own food without lending credence to the animal rights organization's claims about inhumane agricultural procedures. In reality, it is those agricultural procedures that make it practical for us to maintain a constant viable supply of animal protiens.