Dec 28: If you miss these trail pics, you miss out.

Goodness gracious. How much more can I possibly take. This totally fricken bites. I've hunting for the last 2 12 months and have seen, nor heard any action. The trail camera's tell a different story, which makes me feel like even more of a failure. We purposely have 4 stands and a ground blind so we're not in the same area all the time. However, I've really been addicted to the sight unseen at one specific area. I can't seem to make myself go anywhere else but the timber stand. The timber stand sets in the timber rather than on the edge. It's only about 40 or 50 yards from the bean field. The deer have their bedrooms between the field and the stand. There are fresh rubs all around. OOOOOHHHH how I love rubs. I have a strong desire to take it home with me, frame it on my wall and look at it everyday. Why would anyone love rubs like I do? I have no idea, but my infatuation with a rub and a scrape is out of this world. There's no description of how I feel inside when I find a scrape and rub...if only I could chunk it out of the earth and take it home with me......

Anyways, where was I? The timber stand. There's a dry creek bed immediately behind the tree I'm in and a bluff behind the creek bed. The deer trails come up over the bluff, down to the creek bed, they cross the creek, walk directly underneath the stand to the bean field. We put a trail camera and a food plot in the area just to see what was passing through. Out of 108 pictures in 6 days of these bad boys, you can see why I'm getting discouraged. These are what's luring us to the hunt. I hunted this area for 13 hours, frozen, hungry (that's my fault) and did I mention frozen and now sick because, once again, I didn't see a thing? Stupid bulls, I'm gonna get you. How can these guys be there all the time, and when I head out, they hide? As much deer pee and scent eliminator I have on me, and as quiet as I am, I don't know what's going on. I'm just glad I'm not the only one. Out of ALL of our bowhunting friends, I know of only one guy who has snagged his buck, and he's been doing this since he was old enough to pull a bow string. That makes me feel a little better. Maybe theire getting smarter, I don't know. Anyhow, here's what's making me miserable:

Let's fight.

Check out the width on this thing.

This one is amazing to me...a little...well...let's just say a necessary kill.

Nov. 24

Well I got a deer. I didn't get him with my bow. And I didn't get him with a gun. I got him with my bare hands as he attacked me. I was walking back from my tree stand and I had on me Doe-in-estrus-urine; and this is the rut. He smelled it, as I had feared one might do. I was scared the whole time though, looking over my shoulder, keeping an eye on my surroundings as I walked out of the timber with no flashlight and no knife. I forgot my knife, that's bad! Before I knew it, out of nowhere he came and the buck charged me, so I whipped out an arrow and like a raging injun started hollering and charging back. I pierced him through the heart, his blood stained my hands. The look in his eye was saying "you won, girl-of-tree."
Okay Okay, this didn't really happen. But I thought it up as I was walking back from my tree stand last night with no knife, no flashlight (I forgot them..) in the middle of the rut with doe piss on me. Tales like this are what consume our mind when we've had an uneventful season. Nice thought, though!

I went out last night and it was a perfect night. It was a north wind, about 55 degrees and clear. I headed out at about 3. I stayed until around 6. I came down just in time: right before I couldn't see my hand in front of my face...good thing, because I forgot my flashlight. I figured if I could make it to the deer blind up the hill, then I could see the silo, and make it to the silo free and clear. And I made it, without being attacked by a buck who smelled the doe urine on me. (Right before I left the house, I looked at Jason, and with all seriousness, pulled out the doe-in-estrus urine and said, "'ll just put it on ME." He looked at me with horror on his face and a very strong and serious "NO!" (tee hee hee, I'll just put it on myself later...) And I did. Then I learned my lesson. You don't do that when you forget your flashlight and your knife. I have to admit, in the dark, with strange noises, knowing there's bucks looking for that smell of a doe in heat, I was scared. I booked it hard back to the four-wheeler!

While in my stand that night, I did see a doe. A really big one. There was a bluff behind me and she came down over the top of it. At first I think she sensed me but didn't sense danger, yet. So she cautiously kept moving her own way...down the bluff, across the dry creek bed that would eventually take her right under my stand into my shooting lanes. Stupid me. As soon as she started down to the creek bed, I just had to get a look. As soon as I turned my head, she leaped straight up and took off back up the bluff and through a bunch of timber, her white-tail bouncing along in alertness. That was the most action I've seen in days. So, until next time....

November Hunts

So I've been out to all different stands 5 times since the rut started about Nov. 10. It's such a gamble because your chances are really good at getting your deer because during the rut the deer are on the move...big time; but to your disadvantage they are completely unpredictable. This means they aren't taking their regular trails, they aren't following their normal patterns and they can wander miles from their normal feeding and bedding areas. I've had no luck at all and neither has my husband. I thought for sure I'd snag one this month but it hasn't happened. In fact, oddly enough, we haven't even seen so much as a squirrel. Such a bummer. However, thanksgiving week will be the peak of the rut so maybe I'll get one next week. Until then...happy hunting!

November 1st Hunt

About 10 more days until the rut. I can't wait; I'm tired of seeing doe. I still have not gotten a shot at anything. I could have had about 4 doe by now...but that's not what I want. I went out last night at 4:30 and it was 80 degrees, no wind. Jason moved the stand on me so I walked about a 1/4 mile in the wrong direction. Woops, guess he forgot to tell me that. Once I got to the stand I fought off another wasp. I also ate a couple spider webs. Once I got up and got settled, the only activity I had for awhile were squirrels and 2 racoons. And then...something very large and solid fell into the river. I'll never know what it was, an enormous toad I suppose? All I know, is that it scared the pee out of me when whatever it was went "kerplunk." On this particular night there were alot of gun shots being fired not too far away. Other hunters on another property or the land owner just fooling around I do not know...but I think it messed up my evening. I did see one doe, a very young one and she didn't stick around very long. My evening ended with a massive bite I got on my wrist. It swelled up to the size of a golfball. My whole arm is bruised and very tender to the touch. I'm super ready for colder weather; ready for things to go dormant. I don't remember it being like this in November, ever.
Anyhow, I came down about 7:15 and on the way back on the four-wheeler I scared up a pheasant and about shared a face plant with each other. Even though I haven't shot anything yet, it's definitely never a boring time!

October 27th hunt

This past weekend I went to Oklahoma to my Nee-Naw's (that's my grandma...but we don't ever call her that. She's never been called....except for one time when I did it and she cried.) She has some beautiful land and I got to hunt with my 2 cousins and my uncle. My cousin is in the Navy and I don't really get to see him that much so this weekend was extra special. We bowhunted about 40 yards away from each other. He was in a stand, I was still hunting between two cedar trees. My younger cuz was in a pop-up blind on the other side of the ravine. My uncle was across the bank with his bow. We all had bow's except for my younger cousin who had a rifle. 3 Firsts for me: Hunting with someone else, hunting in western Oklahoma and hunting on the ground.
We all got in place by about 4pm. It was incredibly windy, and aobut 65 degrees. Alot of time while hunting you fully depend on your ears, especially when it starts getting dark, and for what's behind you. My luck was down the drain this day. The wind was howling so loud, the oil rigs were pumping making extra racket, and the cows seemed to have a good time circling around me moo-ing to their hearts desire. Very early into the hunt I thought it would be worth it to just get up and get out since there was no chance I was going to get a shot at any deer. However, I figured my movement would ruin the hunt for everyone else...so I stayed put until dark unless someone else shot something and needed help tracking. About 7:30 I came out of my stand because I saw the pick-up lights come on. I started packing up and heading up the bank of the ravine. And that's when I saw all three of them. Uncle G, JL & JD. Apparently, my cousin who was 40 yards away from me shot a doe, then, turned around and shot a buck. Darned my luck! How could I have never known all that took place? They had been searching for the buck for an hour and half. He shot the first doe at about 4:35! He's always shown me up...but it's okay this time. Because that day is a day I will cherish forever...and the day after when we spent 4 hours crawling through rough thicket, searching for the buck by the blood trail he left for us...Just my cousin and I. Hopefully, this will be a new tradition in our family. Because I love it way too much.
Thanks for Sunday Uncle G, JL & JD.
Thanks for Monday in the pasture cousin J. Love ya.

By the way, we never found that darned buck. But to J's credit...he shot the arrow completely behind himself and it was the first thing he'd ever shot with his bow. Way to go.

October 13th Hunt

I went to the river stand at about 5pm. It was windy (30-40 mph) and about 71 degrees. The wind died down at sundown and I never saw a thing. I never even heard anything. Although a squirrel quite content with himself kept me company. Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful evening. But no matter, I enjoyed myself immensely as always. Jason didn't tell me he moved our trail camera by our field stand. There were 75 pictures on there. I know there's at least 4 bucks and many doe. Here's a few pictures of whats out there.

Got whiskers?

Three!

A fox is always cool.
And....anyone want to turkey hunt? I spooked some up last night as I was headed out.

So, obviously I'm takin' a rest on the river stand and focusing on this area for awhile.

Anyways, on my way out it was super dark and like I said, Jason didn't tell me he moved the trail camera. Well, apparently I parked the 4-wheeler right in front of it and when I came back in the dark I had to load up with flashes in my face. All I could think was I have to get out of here, but I couldn't get it started because I couldn't get it into neutral.

Come on! Get in neutral before one more pic....

Isn't the Cuddeback Camera awesome. No other camera captures color and detail quite like this one. We took back the Stealth Cam because, well, it just sucked. These things aren't cheap people. Now I have proof I hunt. Anyone want to go with me sometime? I have a blind we can use. Just let me know!

Oct. 3rd Hunt

Saturday evening seemed like a perfect time to go hunting. I strapped my bow to the four-wheeler, suited up and went on a mile long ride to the creek. I parked about 1/4 mile away from the stand. We are pretty sure the deer are bedding to the south of the creek in a meadow and the river stand is located just to the north bank on the creek. It overlooks a low-water crossing where the deer have to cross to get to the bean field north of the stand. So, from South to North you have the meadow for bedding down, then they cross the river, take the deer trails through the woods that lead to the bean field. The river stand should catch them as they come across the river.

This particular evening was about 70 degrees, an approximate 10-15 mph wind and it was about 5:30 when I got into my stand. I dropped some doe pee on some cloths to hang in the tree next to me before heading up. This year I'm using a quiver attached to my bow and I'm not too accustomed to it. I'm a person of habit and repitition, and last year I used a traditional, pliable, over-the-shoulder sling for my arrows so the fact that I have them now strapped onto the bow seems to throw me off kilter. Stupid, I know. But it messes with me. Everything seems...off. So, naturally I made a real stupid mistake and didn't strap the bow on my hoist before starting up. I always seem to get into little pickles like that. It's not that it's hard to climb a tree stand with one hand. After all, this is one is a ladder stand. My dilemma came as I reached the top. This particular stand is an old rifle stand that has been out in the forest by the creek for who know how many years. J moved the stand from it's original spot to a tree about 20 yards away...a better location. We put up the stand in it's new spot but never tested it. I guess I figured I'd be the one to test it out. (Not really, that's just my excuse.) As I neared the top, I realized I didn't have many options to place my bow while I turned around and strapped myself in. (I recently read that 1 in 2 bowhunters that hunt from a tree stand don't us a safety harness and 1 in 3 bowhunters who use stands have a fall accidents.) I finally positioned it to where it was secure enough to sit on the foot rest but half the bow was hanging off 30 ft. above the ground. I cussed myself for forgetting about the hoist laying on the ground. I had no choice but leave the bow there. I grapped my strap and unraveled it to then realize there was no way I was reaching all the way around this tree to grab it from the other side. The was a large branch extending to the right side of the tree so I attempted to reach for it only to see my life flash before my eyes. The stand free fell on one side about 2 or 3 inches (okay, I know, but it was still scary) and I thought I was going to fall. That's when I realized that the only people who have accidents who use a safety harness have fall accidents trying to get themselves strapped up. Geez. So now I really had to get things taken care of because if the stand was going to be unstable I'd rather be hanging from the tree than climbing down the ladder one-handed if the stand fell. I prayed this was just the settling in of it and hurried to get harnessed. I grabbed my bow, and finally got comfortable. After all that, I stayed until about 7:00pm. For awhile I watched some ducks float by. Beautiful blue, green, yellow and red. It was a duck hunters paradise. Nice trophy drakes. But no deer. Then a woodpecker came along and made his presence known for awhile. He watched me and didn't really care that I was there. He pecked around on some branches above me. Woodpeckers look like their on dope. They act like it too. Still no deer. Then came the wasp. I hate wasps. Why now? Go away, don't ruin this for me! Next was a tree spider the size of my hand. He didn't seem to care about getting too close but now everytime my hair blew in the wind on my neck I about freaked out. Good thing I was strapped in. To top everything off, something bit me on my forehead and drew blood. Yes, I had an itchy bump with a drop of blood running down my forehead. That's when I unstrapped, and went home. The sun hadn't even set yet.

I think I'm going to wait until everthing goes dormant for the winter. That was absolutely no fun. J is going out tonight; but tonight it's raining and 45 degrees. He'll probably get the grand-daddy out there on his first hunt of the year. That's alright, because that means I have to step up my standards. I wonder if he has any idea I'm going to try and out do him. We're competitive like that. Good luck sexy.

TOO HOT

Mosquitos, tree spiders and sweat don't mix with hunting. Not unless your trying to survive. Good thing it goes into January. I promise I will have some good posts as soon as it cools off.

Deer cam: 2 bucks I went out just to scout on Monday evening in a blind. I just took binoculars and waited. The sun was just about gone when a deer appeared from around the bend by the bean field. Then another, and then the third. They were all bucks. One was independent, not yet ready to mess with the other two who were antler locked the entire 30 minutes I watched them. They were showing their dominance. The first buck was obviously the most dominant of the 3 but yet all of them were no more than 1 or 2 years old. Through the dark it was hard to tell how many points they all were. I think the biggest one was maybe a 6 point and the other two were little spikes.
After they romped around, fought and munched they walked with 5 yards of my deer blind.
I'll probably hold off on these guys until next year and the next year to let them get bigger. There's still the rut. I will patiently be waiting. I'll probably go out to the stand and actually hunt this weekend.

Here's some video of Hunting spot under water...

Turn up the volume, you can hear the river roar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRWvPYqpnhI

under aqua

REMEMBER THIS?

If this was taken today, he'd be underwater. It's above his head now.

Bummer!

I'm chompin' at the bit. I want to get down to my river stand NOW but I can't because everything's under water. If I'd only known we'd get 12 inches of rain in 1 night I would have kept the trail camera at home for a few days. Now the only way to get to the stands from here is a 2 mile walk. CRAPOLA. Tomorrow, I'm determined. The water will be cresting but I'm dying to see what it looks like.
I'm almost flooded in as I'm surrounded by 3 rivers, all within less than a mile of my house on all sides. I put my lake shoes on and took Riverlyn on a hike through the water-covered roads to see one of the bridges that was overtaken with water. I imagine by tomorrow it will be washed down stream. The earth is comletely washed away from all sides and the river is STILL RISING. It has to quit raining before the rivers can crest and it won't even stop raining until after tomorrow, maybe tomorrow p.m.?
Anyways, my trial camera is probably completely under water and THAT SUCKS! If it's not under water by some chance, it's going to have some amazing pictures on it at least!

SETTING UP

Deer Haven

Friday we went to Gander Mtn. and got the last few necessities to start off the season. I got new fletching put on my arrows and now they fly super fast. Might I add, they are pink and white! I also got a new quiver. I hate quivers, but you gotta have 'em! We sighted in our bows and made Saturday plans to set up our stands and scout a little. Scouting is an absolute must for a successful season. So, Saturday we printed out a satellite view of area and found the prime spots. Then we took the four-wheeler about one mile past the bean fields into the forest that follows Hickory creek and the Little Walnut River. We have 3 stands. One sits about 30 yards off the bank of the creek and looks over a clearing that leads to the 3 different paths the deer take. Scouting is helpful here because we were able to pick out the rubs and scrapes at the trees (which means a buck was there), and also deer dropping and prints. Along the deer paths we saw many areas where they bed....or as our neighbor calls it, a deer's bedroom. Our second stand is just south of the soybean field where they frequent for food. This spot will be great for a North wind day as we will be down wind from the deer coming into the field. Our third stand is right in the middle of the woods right over their path. We'll be sure to catch them coming from the river to bed down, or going from the bean field to the river. Money! Here's Jason, my hunk of husband putting up old stand (the first stand I ever climbed into with no ladder, just pegs...so hard!)

MMMMM! MMMM GOOD! I'm pretty sure my hubby has the sexiest butt in the world. (I really was helping I promise!)Here's the creek, the money spot. Also a great fishing spot. A freind just caught a 44lb. catfish out of here. Soon, I will bowfish this place! And here's what J's sexy back looks like AFTER playing Tarzan in a high, wet tree. He works so hard for me. I don't know what I'd do with out him!

No, that's not his tail and he didn't poop himself, it's his stylin' fanny pack strap. (He keeps his tail hidden.)

After getting everything set, we went out to the edge of the bean field that faces our stands, climbed a tree, broke out the binoc's and glassed the area. I knew as soon as the sun started going down, we would spot one. Scouting is just as exciting as hunting. It pays off too. Because now, I know there's a buck out there. He came out from the trails right near the stands, wondered through the beans to catch some dinner, then wondered off back toward the creek. We didn't see any does though, they probably caught our scent from setting up earlier in the day. Today we dropped some corn and set up the trail cam and from here it's just wait 'til the season starts. Next we'll set up a ground blind on our back few acres for days when we only have an hour or two to hunt. I imagine the next part of this blog will have the pictures from the trail cameras, and the part after that will be talking about the arguments J and I have about who gets to hunt first. He'll have to fight me for it. Literally.

FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL

What a girl!

Wednesday was the first day of preschool!!! She was excited. I can't believe she's old enough.

Here's one of the many awesome faces of River. Too cool for her own good, man!
On another note, this is why I haven't been blogging, I've been having much more fun blogging.

Day 1: Setting up this blog. I hope you enjoy the experience. Since opening day is not for a month and a half I won't have any hunts posted until then. (Also, I've read that archery season has been extended this year until Jan. 31 2009. Jackpot! However, I hope to have saawwweeeet pictures coming soon. We recently set up our trail camera and went back to check it at the Hickory Creek just a couple days later because the camera listed 53 pictures. Man, was I excited to see was out there. We eagerly downloaded the pictures and much to our amazement was...nothing. The wind blew some branches around the camera and it triggered the shots. In case you don't know what a trail camera is, it's a digital weatherproof "box" you strap to a tree. Usually, it's pointed at a food source or water source, somewhere you know deer will be frequenting. When there's movement in front of the camera, it triggers it to flash a picture and then stores it until you get to it. That's how you know your granddaddy rack is out there. There aren't a whole lot of pictures this time of year because the deer are still feeding in the crop fields. And, well, you just can't put up a trail cam in the middle of a corn field. When it gets cold, they'll be desperate and come looking for food and water. Occasionally, well, okay ALOT of the time you get some pics of 'coons and 'possums in the pictures just chillin' with the whitetails....sometimes those pictures can look really creepy! Racoons are freaky lookin' and opossums are well, just plain 'ole ugly.
So, step two will be tidying up the equipment, getting my doe tags and buck tag, and practicing shots with the new "Rage" brand broadheads. Attention hunters: check 'em out. You can use these broadheads to target practice and your shot will remain the same as opposed to switching out your target points from target practice to broadheads while hunting. I HAVEN'T TRIED THEM YET. But hopefully this weekend, I'll get to check 'em out. I think I'll do some scouting this week, and then in a couple weeks I'll actually go sit in the stand with my camera for awhile. I'm sure I'll get in a nice little dip in the creek too!
Step three: Prayer. Prayer for patience, Prayer for serenity, Prayer for thankfulness, Prayer for a husband willing to have equal time in the stand...dang I wish Riverlyn was old enough already! And Prayer for Day 1 to get here real fast.