Rebel Darling

I admire your thoughtful posts and well composed photographs. Thanks for sharing them. Very much appreciated. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Seven geese just buzzed my stand in formation. They were right at the canopy, so close I could hear their wings loudly. There's also a barred owl calling out and a crow making a racket. Still just the squirrels on the ground, and they're apparently on break. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Decided to bring a can of Buck Bomb out. It was just sitting there. Forgot to take the cap tape off prior to heading out, and that rrrrriiiiiiiipppp spooked something. Oh well. Let's see if the scent brings a stray around. At the moment, just me and the squirrels on the mountain in 4L. Light breeze, right around freezing, mostly clear. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

This afternoon's hunt in 4H is the most recent in a string of hunts (7 days and over 30 hours) with no deer sighted while in stand. I chose this spot because I had seen intense rut activity at the same location right before Nov. 15th two years ago. That was before I became a bowhunter, and played a part in my decision to become one. I didn't have the opportunity to hunt that forest last year. In addition to a dearth of deer, I've been getting sloppy. On Thursday, I lost my headlamp somewhere in the Pine Bush. I didn't turn it on walking out because it was so bright, and it slipped off my hat at some point. On Friday evening, which was one of the windiest I've hunted, certainly the windiest I've ever been in a tree stand, I lost my hat and an arrow. I have no idea where I lost either. The arrow fell out of my quiver at some point on the walk out, and my hat must have blown off my head in the wind. I wore my balaclava on the walk out, so I didn't feel it blow off. It was dark, the wind was blowing hard, and I couldn't find either when I doubled back. I had already walked the 3/4 mile out before I realized they were missing. Saturday evening, I forgot to bring in my new headlamp, but lucky for me, I knew the night would be clear and the moon already high by the time I climbed down. I was also on familiar property, so I stayed until dark. It was a beautiful evening, but I'd been scolding myself for all my recent mistakes. I jumped the spike buck on the way in on Saturday, and was so unaware that I got within 10 yards of him and didn't see him until he blew at me and turned to run. I bleated at him using the Primos can, and he responded by blowing twice and running further. I think that was a stupid move on my part. I educated him to that specific sound, associating it with a threat. It's not like he didn't know where that bleat came from... Sunday morning, after leaving my buddy at a stand I hadn't hunted all season, I got lost in my own woods. Fortunately, I could see a light on in my house, so I headed that way, raising a hell of a racket through trail-less brush, over blowdowns and freshly fallen, untrampled leaves. I started over, forgetting that I had drug a scent rag all the while, through all that crap, no where near my destination stand. Great. Ha. I think I'm exhausted both mentally and physically. I probably need a long break, but I don't want to take one. Work is slow this time of year, so I have lots of flexible time, and I'm stubborn on my goal to tag my first buck during bow season. That said, these "hunts" are starting to cost me, and my resolve is waning. So... If I hunt tomorrow morning in the rain, which I plan to do, and I see no buck, the remaining bow hunts will be doe or buck. On Friday, if I haven't connected, I'll be heading to my buddy's parents' house. They are tired of the amount of doe in their backyard, and I'd love to share harvest meals with those folks. Hopefully, at least some of those does won't be locked down with a buck. In other news, all trail cams on my property show nighttime movement between 1 and 4:30 am. I did get a good sized 8-point buck (largest one I've seen on the property) checking does in the food plot, but there has been zero daytime movement from either bucks, or does. Is the night movement a response to the biggest damn moon in years? It's been fairly clear during the nights and evenings, and the moon is up before the sun falls behind the ridges. Pair that up with warmer afternoons, and probably too much pressure from me, and my mind says that the deer around here have had little incentive to move during the day. I attached a broadside look at that 8-pointer...

Congrats on your first ever deer!

Another deerless day in 4L. Guess they didn't appreciate my limerick. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Come on you stupid deer! I'm in a tree stand right over here. I've got a hand on my bow, arrow nocked, ready to go, and I'll use them once you appear... I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Folks across the valley from me, over in the Helderbergs took three doe last week and noticed the same. They're also thinking a rough winter is ahead. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Red squirrels are aggressive. Little punk just ran off a fat grey a hundred yards from here. Then he came back, climbed a tree and stared at me. I swear I felt his hate... I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

And now back to our regularly scheduled program, "Squirrels Gone Wild." I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Nine turkey, all bearded are scraping their way across the woods, about 50 yards behind me. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

I wish this squirrel would stop staring at me. It's kind of freaking me out. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Heading out soon with my buddy. Going to situate him in a stand I haven't sat yet. Hope it yields for him. I'm heading up to the stand where I shot this season's doe. Found an 8 pointer in the trail cam. Hope he gets the daytime itch for one of us. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

I jumped the local spike buck on entry this afternoon in 4L. That was the extent of my deer sighting. Saw more visible signs of the rut, though. Big scrape under hemlock branches, some rubs starting to show. Taking my buddy out tomorrow morning with the hopes of him tagging his first deer.

Congrats to all knocking deer down! Sitting in a small pine stand at the end of a small hill ridge. The finger cuts across a swamp. 4K and tree surfing something fierce. Cold air dropping down now. Looking for antlers to amble on out of that swamp. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

I'm out of likes - too many harvest photos, apparently. Nice. This just in - "Oh, I also added soy sauce... and nutmeg."

Good eats for a long time! Great doe, man.

At first, the wife said, "he should follow me on Pinterest!" But then I got this for ya, ha... https://www.campbells.com/kitchen/recipes/slow-cooker-creamy-beef-stroganoff/ I think she added a little more pepper than the recipe called for, and it was a welcome addition.

That's a great public land buck! Hell, that's a great buck anywhere... Congrats, man!

I'm a firm believer in "buy it once," and practice it every chance I get. I remember what my friend's grandfather said: "save your money and buy quality. You're too poor to afford cheap things." I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Gets more weird daily... Right handed all my life, did the simple "diamond" test at the shop and discovered I'm left eye dominant. In other news, I did see some beauty today, bookending the daylight. Here's now: I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Back down in 4J, Pine Bush. Any deer will do. Getting warm. Question: do you blind call, or wait for deer to arrive, and then call? I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

4L was dead again this morning, and I got cold just thinking about some coffee. I did have another stare-down with a coyote pre-dawn. This time I charged right at it, and it scampered off quick. Saw a small rub and scrape, so that's promising. I think I'll head down the mountain and try and close out the day in the valley.

Well, saw a spike from the kitchen this morning. Nose down, way too close to the house for a buck with us starting at him through the window for him to be anything other than rut-headed. I immediately decided to sit over that scent trail, and wait for another buck (or something, anything, Bueller?) to come along. No such luck. Saw no more deer for the day. Population density is dramatically different than last year. It's a very frustrating change, which makes this the most difficult and rewarding activity I've set out to learn. 30 seconds of adrenal elation that carry me through weeks enduring stiff limbs from still sitting, sore backs from poor posture, the cold, hunger, boredom, frustration, impatience, the deluded wild imaginings of flickering leaves as white tails, and boulders as bedded bucks... Saw nothing but a lot of sign, trail, and an empty hunting blind in 4H yesterday, and like I mentioned above, nothing while on stand in 4L today. Felt the damp in my bones and joints today. The backpack is working better in stand than the waist-pack. I've concluded, though, that I could use a better compartmentalized backpack. Pockets, and the deep chamber are great, but I'm missing the organization of the waist-pack. It had a convenient spot for just about everything: calls, scents, gear both small and large, cellphone, food, handwarmers, etc. I'll continue to use the backpack with the climber and hang-ons, though. The convenience of its carry makes a huge difference on the carries in and out and that deep chamber is a great spot to stow additional layers and the harness. I think I'd also like a pack that I could easily affix to the climber while on my back. I remember someone posting on another thread a product like that. Well, this knowledge is a step forward... I'm also learning about the serious limitations of the climbing stand. How many friggin' perfect trees are out there? Not many, which makes heading into a new spot pre-dawn a crap shoot, or a spin around the roulette wheel. One of these days I'll drop into 00 and clean up, but right now I've been wandering around the woods looking up with the headlamp and stirring up the forest floor with a helluva racket. No bueno, as my friend would say. So, when the climber is concerned, scouting in new areas in advance is a plus if not a must, unless I'm hunting afternoons or general daylight, in which I can employ more of a run-and-gun approach. Come to think of it, I'm also disappointed with the tree width limitations. The wider trees are usually straighter for longer lengths and have fewer low branches. I've eyed a number of oaks tucked into hemlocks that would have been great ambush points only to be disappointed when trying strap around the base. I usually end up in a tree out in the wide open, which is also frustrating... I'm hoping that next year I get to hunt a bit more smarter, and less harder. Time in the stands (especially without seeing any action) is starting to wear on my mind and body. I am fatigued for sure, and have probably spooked every deer into nocturnal behavior in a 30 acre radius. More to learn the hard way...