PA "Holiday"

Monday was Pennsylvania's Unofficial State Holiday.

Yeah, that's right. It was opening day of the deer season. And here, in the clingers' section of Pennsylvania, they even close the schools.

I woke at 5:30 AM to have some breakfast and gear up before heading out to sit in the woods. Just 27 degrees and quite windy when I set out, clear skies and lots of sunshine meant it was to reach 42 degrees by mid-afternoon. Unfortunately, the wind never let up and the hillside and trees kept me in the shade until nearly noon. Luckily, I had dressed in several layers and my insulated boots kept me warm while I waited...and waited...and waited some more.

The waiting was a practice in futility. I never saw a deer of either sex let alone one of shootin' size. (The area I'm in requires at least three legal points--that's one inch long--on one side.) In fact, I didn't hear much shootin' taking place anywhere near me. The closest shots seemed to be at least 1/4 to 1/2 mile away. (The wind made it difficult to judge distances of sounds. Yeah, sound can be blown away or toward you almost like it was a solid material.)

Oh well, there's always tomorrow. Or not.

I noticed that the sky became filled with cirrus clouds (Mare's Tails) as the afternoon wore on. Those clouds are supposed to mean rain within 24 hours. And that's what the forecasters are saying. Showers will begin sometime in the morning--most likely around 9 AM. By the afternoon it will (they say) be raining hard. And that will continue through Tuesday night and on into Wednesday. There are even flood warnings out for the Northern and Southern Tiers. Good thing the PA deer season runs two weeks.