My little el-cheapo thermometer was reading 30 degrees, but it was protected from the 15-20 mph wind that was cutting through me in my tree stand yesterday afternoon. But hey - I had to be there! It was our last chance to hunt before the IL bow season ends on the 17th. So - cold weather and wicked wind - I laugh at! I also nearly froze to death. I really wanted to get another deer - a nice fat doe - so we'd have plenty of venison to share with the rest of the family. The buck I harvested last month was big, but not big enough for a big family that truly loves marinated and grilled venison like we do.
"Are we having fun yet?" I said that to myself several times yesterday. My stand was in a narrow patch of woods - thirty yards wide - running up between two long fields of winter wheat. The place is covered in buck rubs and scraps, and there are always deer out in the field eating. I just needed them to cross through the woods right where I was. But, even though it was a low draw between the two fields, my stand, which was about 20 feet high, was up level with the tops of the fields and got the full force of the NW wind. Yeah, it was still fun because I saw several deer and four huge Toms. Unfortunately, as two bucks and three does moved out into the field - away from me - I got my camera out to get a picture of them and...
...something spooked them and they ran strait into the woods, right under my stand. This picture is where they stopped - just ten yards below me - me, with camera in hand and almost no cover and leaning back into the tree so I'd appear like the proverbial knot-on-a-log. I even squinted my eyes when they looked up so they wouldn't see the whites of my eyes. They never saw me, but then again, it's hard to shoot arrows with a camera. Still, it's been a wonderful season and I'm thankful for every minute I got to be in God's creation.
My little el-cheapo thermometer was reading 30 degrees, but it was protected from the 15-20 mph wind that was cutting through me in my tree stand yesterday afternoon. But hey - I had to be there! It was our last chance to hunt before the IL bow season ends on the 17th. So - cold weather and wicked wind - I laugh at! I also nearly froze to death. I really wanted to get another deer - a nice fat doe - so we'd have plenty of venison to share with the rest of the family. The buck I harvested last month was big, but not big enough for a big family that truly loves marinated and grilled venison like we do.
"Are we having fun yet?" I said that to myself several times yesterday. My stand was in a narrow patch of woods - thirty yards wide - running up between two long fields of winter wheat. The place is covered in buck rubs and scraps, and there are always deer out in the field eating. I just needed them to cross through the woods right where I was. But, even though it was a low draw between the two fields, my stand, which was about 20 feet high, was up level with the tops of the fields and got the full force of the NW wind. Yeah, it was still fun because I saw several deer and four huge Toms. Unfortunately, as two bucks and three does moved out into the field - away from me - I got my camera out to get a picture of them and...
...something spooked them and they ran strait into the woods, right under my stand. This picture is where they stopped - just ten yards below me - me, with camera in hand and almost no cover and leaning back into the tree so I'd appear like the proverbial knot-on-a-log. I even squinted my eyes when they looked up so they wouldn't see the whites of my eyes. They never saw me, but then again, it's hard to shoot arrows with a camera. Still, it's been a wonderful season and I'm thankful for every minute I got to be in God's creation.
2 comments:
I'm glad you got to go one last time. I love the pictures to go with the narration. Very clever!
Mike, I always appreciate your thoughtful posts so much. I usually don't know how to respond right away...I usually just like to reflect for awhile, but I do read them all. Your ideas give me much food for thought. I appreciate how you have allowed God to work in your life. Thanks. Kevin had his "last" hunt of the season too. I don't think it mattered much that he didn't get anything.
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