Hunting Season: Days 10, 11, and 12And More

I'm calling it quits for the season. I've got some venison in the freezer and there's 8 inches of snow in the woods making moving around difficult on my knees and hard on my back. The thin layer of ice underneath doesn't help either.

Oh, the deer are still around. I saw tracks through that new snow when I hauled the carcass out to the back field. A regular set of highways heading right up the hill toward where I normally sit. Don't let anyone tell you they shy away from a gut pile either. A couple sets of tracks went right to that pile. For all I know, they were eating the stomach contents (lots of partially digested grass) just like northern caribou hunters will run for their spoon when they knock an animal down. (Lots of good vitamins in that stuff...or so I'm told.)

All day Thursday was spent clearing the driveway and parking area of that 6-8 inches of snow that fell Wednesday night. Friday was spent recovering from that labor, hauling the bones out to feed the wild critters and feral cats that might wander by, and just poking around the house doing some chores.

The sun has disappeared and the clouds have been spitting flurries for two days. The temperatures hae ranged from a low of 22 all the way up to 24 degrees. Thankfully there has been virtually no wind to speak of or those temps might get uncomfortable fast.

Flocks of geese have decided to head (mostly) south having found the farmers' fields suddenly covered with snow. (I say "mostly" because today, they seemed to be heading more southwest. Perhaps their leaders' magnetic senses are a bit scrambled.) My feeder birds are going through sunflower seed like crazy. I'm sure some of the seed's getting stashed away in little nooks and crannies in the trees somewhere because those nuthatches, titmice and chickadees are returning much too quickly to be carrying seed out to the trees, spending time cracking open the seed and eating the heart of the seed. There has to be a stash being filled someplace. There have been a dearth of squirrels so far this year. Last year we had as many as 12 at a time all trying to feed on the deck. This year we've, at most 3 or 4. I wonder if they've migrated, decided to stick with the acorns--of which there was a fair crop, or got hit by a disease.

Saturday I'm going to be cleaning my rifle and putting my hunting clothes and gear away. At least this year I got to use one of my tags.

Oh, I'll probably be watching the Army-Navy game on TV, too. This weekend, as they say, "it's the only game in town." Navy's got some cool looking new uniforms from the folks at Under Armor. Lots of color and flair. While not as good a team as the last couple of years, they should still be able to handle Army...again.

In ten days, Terry and I will be flying out to Anaheim to spend Christmas at/in Disneyland with our kids. I'm really looking forward to it. Not the flying part, the Disneyland part. Sure, the kids are in their 30s and I'm 65, but what does age have to do with going to Disneyland.