Monday, October 19, 2009

The morning afield, October 19, 2009

It got down to 22 degrees overnight here at the Bolt Hole. The result was quite a bit of frost on the ground making the leaves like corn flakes to walk on. Nevertheless, I was out before 7 AM and on my way for a short (distance) walk in the woods carrying my muzzle loader.

I'd walk for ten or fifteen yards and then stop, look and listen for 10-15 minutes. I scanned the tree trunks for rubs and the ground for droppings and tracks. I only covered about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile in the 3 1/2 hours I was out. I tried to cover areas where we had spotted activity in the past but there was nothing to see today other than a few old piles of droppings, a few red squirrels, and birds--mostly chickadees and small woodpeckers.

I'll head out again a little later this afternoon and pick a spot to sit for the evening hours. Without any sign and very, very few (like none) other hunters in the woods, however, things do not look promising.

It did warm up a bit while I was out. It was 41 degrees when I got back to the cabin and is now over 43 degrees at 12:15 PM. The sun is shining brightly and there isn't a cloud in the sky. A slight breeze is blowing from the west, however, and that may bring some light showers late tonight when the temperature is supposed to drop into the low 30s.

2 comments:

threecollie said...

Nice here today too for a change...hope you get one.

Rev. Paul said...

There is something special about deer season ... the woods, the air ... the time spent afield. Enjoy!