The Great Outdoors

I did me best to be patient. It was the first day out on an early gun season. After seeing a lot in the morning I headed back out just looking for a big doe to put in the freezer. We saw each other at the same time. He came around the end of the corn and looked rite at me. I knew I only had a few seconds to decide. I hate the idea of taking a buck early in the season but I have no regrets.

The county I live in had a three day early gun season to help gather CWD samples. I hadn’t even made it out with a bow yet but I headed out the first morning October eight with my 12ga. It felt weird gun hunting this early. I was determined to get a doe but I was having trouble getting a clear shot on any. I did see a lot of nice young bucks. This was the nicest one I saw in the morning. He was very skinny. Other than that he did not look sick but he hung around feeding in my direction for about twenty minutes. I got quite a few good pictures of him. Hope he survives this season.

Iv been working on this project for a couple years. Finally finished it this spring. The cross boards can be turned back parallel to haul regular cargo.

Went for a short hike not far from home. We had to walk a mile in the creek bed almost entirely slate stone. There aren’t too many waterfalls in north west Ohio so this was pretty cool. I’m sure the waterfall has a name but I don’t know it. They are both located on a summer camp property one of my friends has access too.

I think it turned out pretty good. There are some dark lines in the face that may be a result of it setting and rotting. Iv never bleached a skull but this one may be a good candidate for that. In my experience they bleach out pretty well on their own. It feels good to finally have him up on the wall.

I got to work rite away boiling the skull down. This is my third attempt at euro skulls and I think I get a little better each time. I was determined not to use the power washer as much this time because I thought it damaged the sinus cavities in the last one. I had to give it a break and come back in the morning to finish up.

Christmas break. It had been almost a month. I’d thought about it a lot but didn’t have the time to go looking for him. Finally with the holiday out of the way and the family busy I headed back to the woods. I began searching the thicket with no luck. Then I made a loop around the far side of the thicket. There is a clearing in that direction that coyotes like to bring their chew toys. Iv found all kinds of things there. I was worried what would happen to it if the coyotes or squirrels got to him before I did. Just before I got to the field I rounded a corner and there it was. Picked clean. Though I was unable to harvest any meat off this deer none of it was waisted. Though this is never my intention, the animals of the forest are well and I was still able to take home a trophy.

The next day I found blood on the far side of a ravine in the direction he was last seen. The trail was hit and miss at best. After losing the trail for the final time I walked the creek believing he would eventually cross and likely stop, leaving a good blood sign. Bingo huge bloodspot. Unfortunately I followed the poor trail about thirty yards more before it led into the thickest part of our hundred acre woods. The area around where we hunt has a lot of pressure this time of year. I talked it over with my hunting partner and decided it would be best to let him go rather than bump every deer out of our woods during the heaviest part of the season. If he made it this far he may still live or go a few miles before dying. It’s one of the toughest parts of hunting for me. Losing an animal. I spent the day running through the whole thing in my head. I made mistakes. I love my rifle but I need to rethink the setup. I went on to harvest a nice doe but determined to find my lost buck I decided not to shoot at any more bucks this season.

15 years ago when I started hunting this area of north west Ohio turkeys were pretty rare to see. Now I see them almost every time I’m in the woods. We have a flock of 20 or so. I’m not really into hunting them but it’s great to see them doing so good. Last week during our Ohio deer gun week I walked in and sat down for my morning hunt looked up and realized I was in the middle of their roost.

Cleaning the shop today I found this guy hanging out under the shop light.

The recent attack on Parler by google Amazon and apple is a direct attack on users ability to speak freely.

Coming along nicely. Still a little work to do before I start on a mounting bracket.