When I woke up, I couldn’t wait to get in the woods. Everything inside me told me today was going to be a good day with lots of deer movement. It was 25 degrees when I got out of the truck, and the stars sparkled brightly in the dark sky. I never passed another vehicle on the road this morning, and I felt alive. The cool air in my lungs reminded me that it was finally my time.
As the light from my headlamp lit up the woods in front of me, I could see that the low beech leaves were gone. While a few were dangling onto trees here and there, the majority of them were gone. This excited me and made me turn it up a notch while walking. I knew I would be able to see a lot farther than we’ve been able to see the last few weeks.
I was settled against a big yellow birch tree when the sun came up. The woods were quiet, and I anxiously waited for something to show up. Unfortunately, I waited until noon for something to show up, and animals just weren’t moving. It blew my mind that nothing moved. As I sit here tonight, I still can’t figure it out. The conditions were ideal.
I wandered around during the afternoon hours to look for any new sign that might have been laid down in the last few days, but I didn’t come across anything. Actually, the woods looked void of sign. I saw a few tracks here and there, but the normal amount of sign just didn’t seem to be there.
As the afternoon headed toward evening, I sat for a little bit. Around 4:00 p.m., I saw a deer’s tail wag. I never saw it again. The deer got by me without giving me a look at it. It was in some really thick stuff, and it was a long way away from me.
When I got back to the truck, the thermometer was at 40 degrees. Dad hunted this afternoon. He didn’t see anything.