Antlered Buck

Taken on Christmas Eve.

No, that’s not one of Santa’s reindeer.

It is an antlered deer and if he had composed the picture better for me I might be able to tell which one it is.

Before too long Girlfriend and will be able to do some shed hunting.

More Winter Deer

Mama and a fawn.

Those are a couple of healthy-looking deer. That fawn actually looks chubby.

Mama has likely been bred and will be kicking the little one loose before too long.

I cannot tell the sex of the youngster - but if that's a girl she'll be bred next fall.

With good conditions deer can be rather prolific. Pregnancies are at young ages and many times yield twins.

Coexist

The other morning pheasants and the turkeys were scratching in the line fence across the road.

Never seen anything like this before.

Ice Drinking

My buddy Sid stopped by to borrow my ice auger.

I'm going ice fishing tomorrow. How about you join us? I'll bring the beer.

To which I replied - Nope. No way. In fact - you can keep my auger. I haven't used it for years. You interested in some slightly used tip-ups?

I've gone ice fishing a handful of times and just don't understand he attraction. Furthermore, it's dangerous.

Just last week a couple of Flatlanders had to be fetched from the ice. According to the Door County Sheriff report these two guys walked out on the ice testing it every ten yards or so. They felt they were safe because they had fished there before.

That is until they looked and discovered the ice appeared 'shiny' behind them.

A crack had formed stranding them on an ice floe in open water.

The Coast Guard had to use their airboat to rescue the guys and their gear.

Winter Poultry

I was driving back from town the other day having fetched the Sunday paper and I spied these.


There were five ringneck pheasant across the road in front of the house.

Two roosters and three hens.

I've been seeing tracks and Girlfriend has been snuffling-up a storm when she gets on a track.

It will be interesting to see if these survive the winter and actually breed.

I should probably plant some sunflowers next year for over-wintering birds.







The resident crow flock continues to feast on the remains of some deer carcasses out in the prairie planting.


Crows got to eat too you know.




Then a flock of thirty turkeys emerged from the woods to pick through the cut cornfield next door.

A couple of them even came over to the garden to scratch around the Indian corn I left standing.


Busy Sunday for the local birds.

Snowshoeing

Absolutely pooped!

Got back awhile ago from a scouting trip by snowshoe. With as much snow as there is on the ground getting around with 'shoes' is a good choice.
























Absolutely amazing how much deer sign there is.



Tracks everywhere with some of the trails looking like busy thoroughfares.










Also came across some beds.

Looks like allowing a couple of weeks to pass following all of the hunting mayhem things are returning to normal.






Check this out.


A clover patch planted in the trail system has been absolutely trashed. The deer have rooted it up.

Note to self...

Replant those food plots next year.

Winter Deer

For almost a month I've had the trail camera monitoring an active scrape and it continues to be visited regularly. Multiple deer have been stopping by to see what's up.

Like the deer you see here checking out the licking branch and giving the scrape itself a sniff.




click on images to enlarge

Spring Turkey

I stumbled across a file of old pictures on my computer the other day and found this one.

Best guess is spring of 2000.

This photo was taken up at the north end of the property. The Dutchman’s deerstand is the dark object on the far left edge of the picture. My neighbors’s woods are in the background. The trees along the creek are above (my) left shoulder.

I was posing with this giant turkey I just shot - in the trail that runs up the middle of the property. That’s my Browning 12 ga. With a cammo sock over it. Snapshot was taken with a Yashica 35mm on a tripod. Must have scanned it at a later date.

That was back in the day when you could still see across the field from one side to the other. The tamaracks in the row above (my) right should are now more than 30 feet tall and you cannot see into the cover more than 15 yards.

And Sid wants me to cut all of those trees down…

Frohe Weihnachten!

Growing-up as a kid one of these came out at Christmastime every year.

I wonder whatever came of it?

O Tannenbaum

The staff here at The Platz wishes all of our virtual friends a Merry Christmas!

Nice Deer!

Brother In Law lives a couple of blocks from my other house in Wauwatosa.

He's situated right on the Menomonee River Parkway. He gets to see fox, coyotes, squirrels, geese and all sorts of other urban wildlife.

Including deer.

He was cleaning-out his camera memory the other day and sent me a picture of this bad boy right next to his house.

There isn’t any hunting pressure on the Tosa deer herd. Consequently, you see some nice bucks. Habituated to people they’re not very leery and don’t spook easily. No self-respecting wild deer around the Platz would ever stand still for a person to take their picture.

What a handsome animal.

Hot Tour

Does the hustle and bustle of the holiday season have you yearning for a nice relaxing vacation?

While traditional locations like Maui and Bermuda might sound tempting, the Ukraine government thinks it might just have the ticket for you.

Beginning next year the Chernobyl nuclear reactor facility will be open to tourists who want a first-hand look at the world's worst nuclear accident that occurred in 1986.

Warning: wearing your lead-lined clothing may result in delays and TSA pat-downs at the airport.

Friends

Me, Lawyer, Braumeister and Sid.

This constitutes the core fishing and hunting group.

Good friends.

Man Cave

Randi Dix - our pheasant hunting guide - has the best man cave I've ever seen.

In his barn he's got kennels for the dogs, a couple of fridges stocked with beers, a full liquor bar, a couple of electric skillets for frying-up some pheasant tenders and comfy over-stuffed furniture for lounging about.

Mounts, skins and pictures of naked women adorn the walls.

Very cool. A great place to put your feet-up after a day in the field.

South Dakota Pheasant Hunting

Been meaning to post some pix from last month's pilgrimage to the pheasant capital of the world - Dolan, SD.

In the picture below is Girlfriend working a strip of standing corn.


Typically, she ranges back and forth, quartering from right to left to move the running birds forward to a handful of blockers positioned at the end of the corn strip.

The idea is to keep the dog working close to the handler. And to keep the guys in the corn in a straight line.

A flanker on each side of the corn strip ranges ahead a hundred yards or so - ready to shoot any birds that flush to escape.

At the last 75 yards or so - those of us walking the corn let the dogs go. At this point birds take wing all over the place and walkers, flankers and blockers have plenty of shooting opportunities.

The dogs fetch downed birds or any wounded that attempt to run-off.

The farmer that planted this corn plugged a hole every fifteen feet or so in his drill - leaving a convenient path for a fall hunter. Very considerate that farmer.

Here's a daily bag.


Good eats for the coming year.

click on images to enlarge

Snow Geese

Chen caerulescens



I snapped this picture while pheasant hunting in South Dakota last month.

There were thousands of these birds rafted in a lake and flying about.

This is a medium-sized goose that breeds on the arctic tundra. Snow geese migrate south in large, high-flying, noisy flocks. The swirling white of a descending flock is reminiscent of snow.

Learn more about them here.

Acute Bacterial Rhinosinusitis

Otherwise known as ABRS.

An inflammation (swelling) of the lining of the nasal passages and sinuses. Sinuses are those hollow spaces inside your skull that are located behind your facial bones. They're like a network of interconnected caves.

The staff here at the Platz has been knocked down by a bad case of ABRS which explains the lack of activity lately.

Hopefully the antibiotics will kick-in soon and things will be up and running like a smoothly wound Swiss watch.

Did you know that if you force a sterile saline solution into one of your nostrils that it will find its way throughout all of those caves in your head and reemerge from another part of your face?

Don't take my word for it - try it yourself...

The Blizzard

Snowed-in.

A couple of the deer camp guys got out late yesterday after the plow guy cleared the drive

The U-Boat Commander and I dined upon venison steak, crashed potatoes, garden green beans and a fine Merlot last night.

Should we be desperate there is the Menu 8 - Meatballs In Marinara Sauce - Meal Ready To Eat...

It's Only Money

Amid sharp criticism that the Federal Reserve is just printing more money with the implementation of the second phase of quantitative easing (QE2), an embarrassing problem has surfaced.

As it turns out, the government doesn't seem to be all that good at actually printing money... with more than a billion recently-printed $100 bills having encountered some major quality control issues.

Learn more about it here.

More Deer

Still seeing deer - including this dandy buck and the little guy that I've been observing all season.

What's Your Financial IQ?

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. launched a website yesterday that analyzes financial capability nationwide as well as by state, region and demographic group.

People that live in New York, New Jersey and New Hampshire know the most about managing their personal finances.

Residents of Kentucky and Montana know the least.

You can take the quiz and learn more about it here.

I took the quiz.

I guess I'm not surprised why so many Americans are parted from their money.

They're functionally illiterate.

Why Lee's

One of the local watering holes holds a gun raffle during the regular deer season.

Twenty dollars and a deer to enter for a chance to win one of six firearms.

The day of the drawing Lee springs for an hour of open bar and puts on a big feed - blue gill, walleye, chicken wings, fries and all the trimmings.

Want to know a secret?

Probably the best fish fry on the peninsula.

LCS-3

This weekend featured the christening of the Fort Worth - the third littoral combat ship order by the US Navy and the second built by Marinette Marine Corporation.

These vessels are designed to operate in waters less than twenty feet deep at speeds of up to 46 miles per hour.

As a flexible platform it can change mission capabilities - anti-submarine, mine counter measures or surface warfare - in a matter of days through an interchangeable modular system.

Learn more about the LCS here.

Holiday Gift Idea

With Black Friday's unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season, you can now easily buy a gift for that "most-difficult-to-buy-for" person on your list... yes, Uncle Sam.

Thanks to the U.S. Treasury's web site, you can use this link to make a gift to help pay down our nation's debt.

No need to wake up at 4:00 a.m., stand in line or clip coupons!

As always, be sure to consult your tax advisor to see whether this gift is tax deductible.

The Good Thief

Just in time for winter reading you might want o put this on your list.

The Good Thief – by Hannah Tinti

It’s got just the right amount of adventure with rogues and scam artists. Creepiness with the grave-robbing. And the eccentric – a deaf landlady and a dwarf that makes nocturnal visits via the chimney.

Reminded me of reading Treasure Island as a kid.

Letter to the Editor

The DNR opened up a couple of parks on the peninsula to deer hunting this year. Whitefish Dunes and Potawatomi State Parks.

The rationale was that an overpopulation of deer within the park boundaries had serious consequences for the regeneration of trees and native understory plants.

DNR foresters determined that there was no regeneration at all. Nada. The deer have been browsing everything in sight.

The hunt did a pretty good job of thinning the herd.

It also generated an angry letter that was published in the Door County Advocate.

Here it is:

What could those people have been thinking? Whoever made the decision to open up deer hunting in Potawatomi State Park in the manner it was, and say it was needed because of over-browsing by the deer, must rarely walk through those woods.

I've been walking through Potawatomi Park's woods five or six times a week for the last 14 years, 2 1/2 miles on the east end. The ground cover is, to a large extent, shaded by the tall tree canopy. This leads to slow, sparse or no growth.

Park deer have an abundance of acorns, pine cones, and select forbs and berries to feed on. It is an excellent habitat. Deer hunting there must have been like shooting fish in a barrel, no challenge at all.

Normally during deer season and just before, deer from outside the park will run into the park for sanctuary. The deer population in the park during deer season can easily triple and quadruple in size. Deer know when they are being hunted, and this leads to some temporary overpopulation.

Most of the park's regular deer were born and raised there. They were mainly doe with little fear of humans. They had select browsing areas for different times of day. These ground cover areas are not very large, because the park's real herds are actually quite small and food variety is in abundance.

A permanent overpopulation is not at all healthy because of the disease transfer potential and real over-browsing problems, and deer cannot just be trapped and transferred to another place; they will die if this is done.

Right now the wooded areas of the park have the appearance of a well-managed woods. It is not an overgrown tangled mess, and only certain areas are browsed. The original park plan called for thinning of the herd, not wholesale slaughter. It that little park herd needs to be thinned, there are selective ways of doing so.

Alternative deer management programs or at least a reasonable program should be considered. After all, park deer are a scenic and natural resource and one of the things that attract visitors.

Jim Brown
Gardner


Dear Mr. Brown...

Are you a forester or a biologist? What's that you say? You're not? I didn't think so either.

About that sparse growth and 'well-managed appearance'. The reason it looks so tidy and manicured to you is because nothing is there. The shade-loving trees like sugar maple and hemlock and even the trillium get eaten by the deer. Those poor plants never have a chance at getting a start in life.

A properly managed forest should have a vigorous understory. Sure, I know that this may be an affront to your delicate sensibilities - but I'm going to share a secret with you. Are you ready?

It's OK for a forest to look tangled and overgrown.

You see, lots of other of God's creatures need that cover to live and prosper. If the deer eat them out of house and home then certain bird, mammalian and reptile species shall all be gone along with the understory. I always say that a good tangle is a sure sign of a healthy forest.

I know all of this may sound complicated - but stuff needs to be growing and developing so that we will have young new trees ready to replace the older mature trees some day. Otherwise your grandchildren and great grandchildren will not have a forest.

You talk of alternate and reasonable management programs but offer nothing substantive as an alternative.

Let me help you out.

How about a proper balance? A balance of herbivory and deer.

One last thing. None of those deer are going to go to waste. They're going to be eaten by the hunters and their families or will go to the network of food pantries to feed other hungry families.

You need to chill dude.

Your pal,

Swamp Gas

PS - Deer don't eat pine cones.

Trespasser?

Fresh tire tracks on a part of the trail that is rather secluded.

This is an on-again, off-again problem. Someone can drive-in on the gravel town road up at the north property line.

They can shine or shoot something from the comfort of their truck.

They would be a half mile from the nearest house.

What should I do?

What would you do?

How To Build A Deer Stand

Start with a small to medium sized camper trailer














Tow it to a suitable location














Install a bunch of second hand utility poles in the ground














Raise the trailer using the tractor loaders















Raise trailer as high as you can and fasten securely















Stand back, drink beer and admire work















Add a deck so you can sit outside. Drink more beer















Install a nifty stairway for easy access















Drink more beer and admire view

Build It And They Will Come

Happy Thanksgiving.

I'm feeling rather thankful today.

I have a terrific family, a terrific life, a terrific job and I live in a terrific country.

It just doesn't get much better than that.


I was out hunting this afternoon and after sitting (and following a long walk) ended-up at the ancestral campsite.

I made myself comfortable on the bench and immediately concluded that someone should tidy-up the disheveled fire ring. I got to thinking that I should have packed some fire starter. As cold as it was a nice campfire would have been welcome.

I waxed-philosophical about how hunting has changed over the years.

Back in the day the deer only had two ways to sneak across the cultivated fields. A strategically-placed hunter stood a reasonably good chance of picking-off a deer with a high-powered rifle and decent optics.

That has all changed.

More than a decade ago all of the tillable acreage was taken out of production and planted into permanent cover. Namely warm-season grasses and forbs and trees. More than 40,000 trees. First, one pond followed by a second pond - to compliment the intermittent creek. The Frau and I figured that if you build it they will come. The critters that is.

We built a vast plot of mast-bearing trees along with the cover they provide and some fresh water resources. There are some clover plots planted into small portions of roughly three miles of trails and firebreaks.

In the ensuing years the hunting has vastly improved. Grouse, woodcock, turkey and deer. Even the doves.

Which is why I often hunt with only a .12 GA slug gun. Iron sights for rapid target acquisition. Many deer are now killed within only fifty yards or so.

Last year I shot two deer with a rifle. The year before I killed two with my bow. This year I am deerless.

Far from depressed over this - philosophically-speaking - I'm kinda happy to pass on some shots and see some of the other guys bag a trophy of their own.

The Frau and I are glad we built it.

We've enjoyed countless recreational opportunites here at The Platz. We've brought a number of new hunters into the fold and made many new friends.

We have much to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Presidential Pardon

Obama pardons turkey...






Obama Outlines Moral, Philosophical Justifications For Turkey Pardon

The Hand Writing is on the Wall

There is a bar in southern Door County where you will find written on the wall:

www.VerrückterDeutscherCampingplatz.com Door County, Wisconsin, USA - Where the strong survive and the weak are killed and eaten

Each member of camp signed their name.

We asked first. And the owner provided the Sharpie marker. You can't miss it - it's written in red ink.

Deer Camp - Out Comes the Jägermeister

Those are my buddies Wise Guy and Android.

They've both been away from camp for a year. Wise Guy took a year-off and regretted it. Android was posted to Asia on business.

Between the two of them they knocked-down three deer opening morning. Android's dad, Sid, shot two more in the afternoon.

Age 72 and 26 they represent the oldest and the youngest members of our camp.

Anyone who kills a deer has to do a shot of the Jager.

Camp rule you know.

Opening Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the deer opener and I sure hope I have an opportunity to put the crosshairs on this dandy buck.

What a hog!

I cannot believe all the different bucks photographed from this single location.

If I have time this weekend I'll post some photos from camp and provide an update on what's happening here at the Platz.





click on image to enlarge

Countdown to the Deer Opener

Rumble!

One of three burst images before the camera timed-out for a preset interval What I believe I have captured is a couple of bucks sparring.

Looks like antlers in the blurred image below along with someone's hindquarters in the lower right corner.

First time I photographed a fight at a single bar.

This might also explain why we found the camera knocked askew.

click on image to enlarge

Countdown to the Deer Opener

Nice deer.

But his head gear is rather beat-up. His face looks a bit banged-up too.

So far the rut has cost this fella a significant portion of his rack.

This is the spot. Plenty of different bucks moving through here on a regular basis.

A smart hunter would probably position a ground blind somewhere near here, eh?

click on image to enlarge

Do It Yourself Budget

The online version of the New York Times rolled-out an interactive tool where you can fix the federal budget.

It certainly doesn't include an entire range of options - but it does all you to make a nip or a tuck and possibly some augmentation here and there.

Go here and have some fun with it.

Countdown to the Deer Opener

One of only a handful of daylight pictures this young buck is traversing a well-worn deer trail.

After we replaced the memory card in the camera last Saturday Girlfriend and I repositioned the camera so as to capture the traffic on the trail.

If you look carefully you can see the freshly rubbed tamarack sapling in the image below.

click on image to enlarge

Don't Look At Me - I Have An Alibi

Swamp gas blamed for deadly hotel blast...

Countdown to the Deer Opener

Too funny!

This spike horn buck looks just like a deer caught in the headlights.

I'd bet that if he manages to survive another couple of years he'll be sporting some fine head gear.

This is a hot spot.




click on image to enlarge

Countdown to the Deer Opener

A third buck. Different from the previous two.

This is apparently a rendezvous point for the fellas. Kind of like a singles bar for deer.

Nice size deer. Too bad the image is blurred.




click on image to enlarge

Countdown to the Deer Opener

This picture was taken only fifteen minutes following yesterday's deer. This guy is kind of a runt.

He's been showing-up on the trail camera as a regular. I also had him in my sights the opening day of bow season.

He caught a break that day as I'm hoping to fill my bow tag with something bigger.

click on image to enlarge

Countdown to the Deer Opener

A couple of weeks ago Girlfriend and moved the game camera to a new location. We strapped it to a tree overlooking a freshly rubbed tamarack.

We were curious to see what we might get a picture of.

We fetched the memory card from the camera this morning and sure enough there were ninety shots taken over the last thirteen days.

Here is the first of a series I'll post between now and the gun deer opener a week from today.

Cannot see for sure the size of this fella but it looks like a nicely formed set of antlers.



click on image to enlarge

The Price of Admission

This week the Dallas Cowboys fired head coach Wade Phillips.

The coach was released after the team started the season with one victory and seven losses. This is unacceptable for the Cowboys, who in 2009 charged fans an average of $159.65 per ticket. That’s the highest average ticket price ever for an NFL team.

Today, the average cost of a single ticket to an NFL game is just over $76.

Where can you find the cheapest ticket? The NFL’s lowest priced seat is $15, charged by the Minnesota Vikings.

Labs

At great risk of hurting Girlfriend's feelings...