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.