Talk'n Turkey

Yesterday I told you about my pal Braumeister and his fancy get-up in the ghillie suit and how he saw all sorts of deer but was armed only with a shotgun for hunting turkey.

When he was hunting for deer and all he had was his bow - that's when he saw turkeys.  Turkeys are very hard to hunt with a bow since the only sure shot is a head shot.  

Here they are.

Brau was set-up in hiding very close to where this trail camera was located.  And he mentioned that one of the birds was strutting.  Which is strange to see in the fall but there is photographic evidence just the same.

Those same birds eventually made their way over to where I was hiding in a blind.  And I took a shot at the strutting bird with a bolt from my crossbow.  Of course I missed since the head of a moving turkey is exceedingly hard to hit - even with a crossbow.

That shot startled the birds but they strutting bird kept right on strutting...

Ghillie Suit

This is my buddy Braumeister in his ghillie suit. 

He looks like some creature that just crawled out of the swamp doesn't he?  He uses this to blend-in with his surroundings when he hunts deer and turkey. 

And blend-in he does.  Last weekend he had four deer approach him at a distance of about 15 feet.  They knew something wasn't quite right but Brau never flinched or gave away his position.  The deer probably weren't spooked by something that smells like musty jute rope.

In case you're wondering why my pal Brau didn't kill one of those deer - all he had was a shotgun for killing the wily turkey.

Of course he didn't see any turkeys.  That's because nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

You can learn more about the ghillie suit here.

Talk'n Turkey

The turkeys are on the march.  Saw a bunch of them while out hunting deer last weekend.

This is a particularly nice series of shots of a couple of bachelors.  They were captured on two different cameras a quarter mile apart.  It took them about a half-hour to travel that distance...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Peek Behind the Mask

Who is that masked man?

Close Call

Braumeister was out hunting this morning for turkey so all he had with him was his shotgun. 

Of course, he reported some skittish female deer within bow range and a buck out of range.

Lucky for the deer he wasn't hunting them.

Of course he saw no turkeys.

Here's that buck... 

Date and time-stamped!

Retro Middle Ages

Weighs-in at a modest 6.5 pounds, has a pistol grip, a stock, Bull-pup trigger, a scope and shoots arrows at 320 feet per second.

 

A significant advancement in medieval weaponry...

Deer Stand View

A weekend of bowhunting is on tap with Braumeister and Smokey Joe.

Here's a 360 selection of pictures from last weekend.  Taken from the Park Bench stand on the creek...

Ten Days Ago

...the deer where out and about.

A group of three.

And a curious doe.

Someone Lost Their Lease

For almost twenty years there have been a couple of condo deer stands on the property across the road.

For any of you uninitiated readers a condo stand is generally described as a small building on stilts.  It sports walls, a roof, windows, furniture and sometimes even a wood stove.  It's a comfy way to sit outdoors, regardless of the weather, and shoot a deer.

Our deer stands are old-school.  The hunter is exposed to the elements.

In any event I noticed one of the condo stands was missing the other day (how could I miss it - it's huge you can see it a half mile away).  And just as quickly a team of guys, a tractor and a loader and a flatbed trailer showed-up and carted the other one off the property and down the road to parts unknown.

Someone lost their lease.

Fall Colors

The girls and I were out for a walk and enjoying the autumn out-of-doors.

Nice colors at an aspen stand we regenerated the winder of 1998-1999.

The Frau and I clear-cut about two hundred aging aspen along the north property line.  Unless aspen are regenerated by disturbance (fire, cuttings, etc.) they mature, decline and die-off.  Following that the trees regenerated but root suckers.  Today we have a robust stand of mature trees.

Populus tremuloides: Quaking aspen is a stunning gold.

And Populus grandidentata: Bigtooth aspen is a stunning orange-red.

 

Generations

A couple of days ago I blogged about a yearling buck possibly growing into a big buck.

More pictures via the trail camera here...

That mature buck is build like an ox!

By comparison the little buck is a gangling teenager.  Hard to believe the nubbin buck might grow into a brute like above.

A wonder if they're related?

The Birds

While hardly a chapter from the famous Alfred Hitchcock thriller The Birds - I observed a rather predictable autumn phenomena. 

Large flocks of single species of birds. 

A couple of days ago it was starlings.  Yesterday it was cedar waxwings.

I was up in my deer stand when all of a sudden a large flock of cedar waxwings congregated in the trees above and adjacent to me.  A very loud, raucous and gregarious flock it was.

And then they were gone!

Learn more about it here.

Generations

This little buck fawn is just beginning to sprout his nub antlers.

If he can survive the lean-times of winter (which based-upon last winter's late starving time) would be an accomplishment. 

And he might grow into a Buck of these proportions.

We'll see...

End of the Season

The tomato season that is.

Picked the last of the tomatoes this morning and began to pull the plants out for the compost heap before the monsoons chased me indoors.

It is deer season.  And if the rains abate I'm going out later to see if I might get some venison in the freezer this weekend.

Trail Camera Art

If you leave a trail camera out long enough and keep it's batteries charged and the SD cards fresh then before too long you  might just capture a 'keeper' picture or two.

Mind you this is rather low-end camera technology but they are patient and diligent sentinels - these motion-activated devices.

And once and awhile they'll take a picture like these when the lighting and shadows are just right...

Bucks On the Move

Even the young bucks seem to be on the move.

The little fellas - even though they are just beginning to feel their oats - are starting to become more inquisitive of their surroundings.

Like this nubb'n buck...

Playing Fast and Loose With The Camera

I lost a camera last year when a buck took it upon-himself to spar with his inanimate, electronic and infrared neighbor.

Yesterday, While on a walk with all of my girls I happened-upon my first rub of the season.  A buck had rubbed and busted-off a red osier dogwood alongside one of the trails.

Looking forward to more sparring before too long.

Thankfully the cameras are affordable...

Girlfriend

It's been almost three months since Number One Lab - Girlfriend - had her knee stabilization surgery.  And a slow but steady recovery.

We took a nice long walk today - about a mile and a half - on the circuit to check the trail cameras and swap-out the SD cards. 

Girlfriend had to do the entire tour on a lead as she not allowed to run, and jump and leap just yet. 

But it was a terrific walk nonetheless with plenty of places to stop, drop and roll...

Die Kartoffelernte

The potato harvest is in!

From left to right:  Yukon Gold, Superior and German Butterball.

Haven't bought a spud from the grocery in years.  If you store your taters at 40 degrees with the proper humidity they'll keep all the way to next season's harvest.

Small And Grande

Same day, same location.

In the morning  a smaller fork-horn buck.  Probably a two and a half year-old...

And in the late afternoon a very large muscled buck.  Probably a three to four and a half year-old...

A Question?

Is this deer knock-kneed?

La Dee Da

A nice sequence of six pictures.

A doe enters the Camera's field of view.  She stops.  Turns and gives the camera the hairy eyeball.  And walks off stage.

La dee da...

 

 

 

Whitetail Deer Behavior

Sometimes you see dogs doing this to assert their dominance over other dogs. 

I've never seen deer do this. 

It's a fawn for sure.  Rearing-up and placing its front foot on mom's back.

Meet the Guys

Still purging trail camera pictures from the laptop.

Here's you opportunity to meet some of the guys hanging around the neighborhood...