Selfie

Moved trail cameras around a couple of weekends ago and happened across this selfie.

Stay tuned for anything interesting captured on the SD cards in the new locations.

Selfie

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From the weekend before last (that would be ten days ago) and from the trail camera furthest north (think active scrape and all the YUGE bucks that paid a call) there is yours truly scattering a bag of stale peanuts within range.  Stay tuned to see if this profligate waste of stale legumes catches anyone's attention.

Trail Camera Rescue

On or about the weekend of December 3rd I refreshed the SD card on a trail camera situated on the east-west trail that parallels Silver Creek's north bank.  After that I couldn't access it.

Torrential rains caused the trail and adjacent woods to flood like a small lake and I either didn't have tall rubber boots on or it was too deep to attempt an approach with the Polaris ATV.  Following the rain there was a period of freeze thaw cycles that left a skin of thin ice on the flood.  Consequently the camera was stranded for more than a month.

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The good news is that the recent cold snap froze the flood solid.

And the batteries did not give out.

Today I fetched the SD card and downloaded some dandy selections from the 250+ photos that were recorded.  I'll post them in the coming week so stay tuned...
 

Down Comes the Meat Pole

The previously-killed deer were frozen solid by the single digit temps and there was no way we were going to butcher these critters by ourselves today.  Besides, the visiting hunters had to return home to their own families on a snowy and hazardous day.

So following breakfast I drove to town with the fourth deer (from this morning) to be processed by the butcher at Marchant's.  And Six Deuce, New Guy and El Diabla Roja took down the frozen three and sent them back to Eagle, WI.  For a deer camp that could use three more deer.

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And they disassembled the gallows in a matter of minutes and put it away in the barn.  Everyone wins!

 

 

Out Comes the Meat Pole

Six Deuce and I got the meat pole assembled in ten minutes.

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Little did we know that it is also a drive thru model...

Deer Camp - Day Three

This off-road machine can haul 1,500 pounds of payload, including 500 in the cargo box and weighs 2,100 pounds itself ready-to-drive.

With just a 107-inch wheelbase and 12 inches of suspension travel the MRZR can get over and around most obstacles quickly and easily. If it does get stuck a winch and the four hunters it hauls should be able to get the UTV out of trouble.

It has occurred to me that deer camp should have something like this.

We could really stack 'em up....

Out With The Old and In With The New

The Polaris got a clean lung today....

 

ATV Still Life

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I have no clue how this picture was taken.

I'm not in it.

The dogs aren't in it.

Nothing is moving that would activate the motion detector on the trail camera that snapped this picture.

Furthermore, it is perfectly framed.  No editing or cropping needed.  Not one bit.  It is as if the four-wheeler took a selfie of itself.

Trail Camera #3

North of the creek and just south of the middle guard tower deer stand this has been an active location recently.

Last weekend I uploaded 229 digital photos covering almost two weeks and captured some like these...

A sandhill crane out for a stroll

Brau

Frau 

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Photobombed

It is one thing to have a selfie taken with a trail camera.

It is altogether another thing to be constantly photobombed by the black Lab. 

Eight days apart - two different locations.  What gives?

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Canine Chaos Theory

If I take the four wheeler out for a spin the dogs just have to come along.  The mere sound of the staccato thrum of the motor propelling the Polaris will send them into a frenzy of barking commotion.

It really is so chaotic that they only way to reduce the likelihood of toppled furnishings is to carefully and discretely stage the event.

Begin by leaving a pistol and SD cards on the kitchen counter the evening before.  Casually dress for outdoors ask The Frau to distract (or hold) the dogs and leave thru the overhead door of the garage.  Start the ATV and drive to the garage entrance while the dogs are fitted with their e-collars.

Let slip the hounds. 

Pistolero

Never leave home without it.

Running the Trapline

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Ran the proverbial trapline last weekend to check the trail cameras.  Three of them were entirely blank.  Which might imply that the memory cards were somehow corrupted.

Will have to see how they perform as things begin to transition into full-blown mud season.

Running the Trapline

A metaphorical trapline.  In this case five trail cameras.  

Been moving them around a bit as I haven't seen a wild turkey on any of the images in months.  Today I placed a three of the cams on locations the cagey birds have been known to travel.  These selfies were taken only a couple of hours ago.

Will see if they're out there.

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Spring turkey season is just around the corner...

Circuit Rider

Traveling the circuit to monitor the trail cameras.  

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Two of them got new sets of batteries, found out one of them has a corrupted SD card and I couldn't retrieve the photos from it.  That's shame since it was a cameral located next to a big and fresh buck rub.

The dogs get some exercise too.

Workhorse

Commonly known as an all terrain vehicle (ATV) or four wheeler this versatile machine is frequently found on a farm, ranch or cabin in the woods.

Ranchers round-up cattle and repair fences.  Tree farmers haul equipment.  Hunters fetch dead deer.  Ice drinkers drag their shanty, tackle and beer.  They're really quite indispensible.

Our own Polaris is often pressed into service to haul firewood.

The machine turned ten years of age this year.  Still running strong - but overdue for an oil change.

Some snapshots of it performing some tasks...

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