Saturday October 30

This morning didn’t start off very well. I had some issues with low blood sugar so I got a later start than I would have liked. Although I was in the woods before daylight I was disappointed that I wasn’t earlier. Dad accompanied me for the second time this year. At the end of the day he said it just wore him out. I think in some ways he was admitting to the fact that he’s getting older and the physical part is finally catching up to him.

We both ran into hunters this morning which wasn’t what we anticipated. I heard a lot of gun-fire in the first couple of hours. When the first shot was fired I clicked the radio on and asked if dad copied me. I didn’t get a response so I turned it off after about 5 minutes. I forgot my watch so I was trying to get in touch with him so he would know I didn’t have a time-keeper.

A short time later I saw him coming up the hill. I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. When we sat down together he told me that he thought the shot was from my gun since I got on the radio after it was fired. To make a long story short it kind of put a damper on our morning. It was one bad thing followed my another. I sat for another couple of hours as did dad in another place a little higher up the ridge. He saw a fisher and a coyote but he couldn’t get a shot at the coyote.

When we got back to the truck Doug and Daryl  were waiting for us. Some of the shooting was them. They shot a coyote and had a hard time putting it down after the initial hit.

The wind howled during the afternoon. It remained a steady SW wind as it was in the morning. I sat under some oaks for the evening. I saw a doe and two really small fawns. They came in at 5pm and were still feeding 75 yards from me when I got up to leave at 5:55. They continued feeding and never moved when I slowly walked away.

When I got back to the area where I shot the small buck on Thanksgiving when I was a kid I slowed down. Something inside me told me to be on the alert. I slowed my walk and a deer suddenly bounded across the hill in front of me. I pulled the gun up but couldn’t get a good look. The deer stopped and turned to look back my way. I pulled my binoculars up and identified the deer as a buck. He had a nice little rack. I’m not sure if he was a 6 or an 8. I pulled the gun up and debated inside my head. I chose not to pull the trigger and within seconds he was gone. I’m still not sure why I didn’t pull the trigger. It might be because I’m headed out of state for almost three weeks. I’m really not sure why I did what I did, but after he was gone I stood there wishing that I had pulled the trigger.

The last few days have been exciting. I’ve seen a few deer and a few nice ones at that. I’ve also realized that this is the first year in the last four years that I’ve really felt like myself in the woods again. My drive to succeed is back and my willingness to be in the woods every chance I get is also there.

I’m not sure if I lost that in the divorce process or if it was from hunting where the giants roam in the Midwest.  Whatever the reason is I’m glad I finally feel like the old me in the woods.

I’m unsure of where I’m headed in the morning. I might sit in a funnel area without much sign. For some reason something keeps telling me to sit there. Even without sign I’m still confident when I sit down under the tree. I could always go back to my oak flat, but I think I’ll give that a break until our next calm evening.

Hats off to my buddy Andy who killed his first buck ever tonight. He shot a small buck with his bow on his own land in Fort Edward. My other buddy TJ saw some small bucks chasing does tonight. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

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