Last day for phez!..a.k.a. Happy New Year

Well today was the last day for pheasant hunting so I decided to hit Berkshire on my way to work. I got there with only moments to spare. I started out on the left of the field and it started to snow...hard. It was beautiful. I walked around for about 45 minutes and managed to see just a distant fly over. I had to get back to work so I walked the woods on the side of the path. As I was almost back, I looked under a log and saw a cockbird huddled under it in the snow. I inched closer and the bird took off. I let him get some distance between us and then I took him with one shot. Got my bird and headed to work. What a nice ending to a strange season.

Not a great day! Poor Bacci!! :-(

Ok, so I took the day off of work today. Not only was it supposed to be a great day for me and Dani to go hunting together, but it's also Bacci's birthday. What better way to spend it for him than to do what he loves to do best...aside from eat...hunting!! So we headed out...all excited. Due to the snow on the ground I didn't want to drive through the woods and thought it would be better to drive to the bridge and walk across. It felt like we were there alone! There were hardly any guys there. The only guy in the parking lot was Brian. So at first light we went into the field. Didn't put up anything but while we were walking I was telling Dani about tracking birds. We got to the point and I saw two cockbirds in the point. I walked in and they took off before I could get there. I took one shot but I was too far and missed. We came out the other side and started working the edge towards the swamp. We got to the end, tracking birds all along, and made a right to the edge of the river. Bacci was in the hedgerow and all of a sudden took off towards the woods. I whistled but he didn't listen. Well I saw some deer tracks and was worried that he was chasing a deer so I buzzed him when he wouldn't come back. He went back into the hedgerow and then I saw it...his face and chest was covered in blood. What the hell!? I called him over and he had cut his ear so badly it was dripping blood...and I don't mean a drip, drip...it was pouring. Dani started crying immediately (of course). I grabbed some snow in my hand and held it to the ear to see if I could get it to stop with pressure but it wouldn't stop. So we high tailed it back to the truck. When I got there I put on styptic powder and it seemed to stop. I picked him up and put him in the truck and we went home. When I pulled into the driveway he shook his head and there was blood all over my truck. I took him out and put on more powder...again it seemed to stop and I took him inside. Again he shook and now it was all over my house. I called the vet and brought him right in. The vet said that he needed stitches and that I could pick him up later. So I left him there and went home.

Dani and I decided that sitting home was silly and we went deer hunting at the club. It was a beautiful sit...the weather was chilly but nice. I really thought we would see some deer...but I couldn't get my mind off of Bacci. We didn't get any deer at the club and when we left I went to go pick up Bacci. They retrieved my pup and as I was paying he shook his head and blood started dripping again. They got the vet and said that they would restitch him and that he would stay the night!! Happily, he's home now and mending. It really was a deep gash though!

I'm such a dope!! a.k.a. "dang snow"

Well...first Dani and I went out bird hunting. It was the first day back to birds since the deer season so we were both pretty excited. Although it was cold...about 17 degrees. We got to the spot and there were only three trucks...us, John and some other guy. Amil ended up pulling in before we got to start as well. So, we lined up and happily it wasn't crowded at all. We went through the first field with nothing, then continued on...as we got to the third field we heard a shot from the swamp and saw a bird flying to us...I shot and got the hen. We walked around for a while until we got to the side of the hill next to the lot. Tucked under some brush near the field on the right was a cockbird. I saw it first and slowly backed away until the dog could get the scent. Bacci locked on and the bird took off...I got him and headed back to the truck. A great day for birds.

Dani and then came home and got ready for going deer hunting. It was supposed to start snowing and we were hoping that we could still get the hunt in. By 1:00 it hadn't started yet so out we went. As we got to around Rockaway, it started to snow...and then the further we went, the harder the snow got. Oh yeah, I forgot my cell phone at home too. So I continued on and got to the club. After getting on our gear we went into the blind. Saw that someone else had been using it too as they left a crate and seat in it. So we sat for about an hour with the snow pouring down. To be honest, I was getting nervous. I just kept thinking of the snowy ride home and decided to leave early so I can make the trip in the light. We walked back to the truck and Dani got in. I told her that I wanted to go back to the blind with some spikes that I had brought (I forgot them on the walk in). So I went back to the blind, lo and behold there was a deer right in front of the blind!! Within the 10 minutes that we walked away!!! I knelt down quickly but the deer saw me and all I got to see of it was the butt running away. I suppose I made the right decision but it wasn't a fun one to make!!

Bow during shotgun...

It was a beautiful, chilly day out. Sunny and around mid 30's. I had two choices...go to the club with the muzzy or shotgun for bucks or head out with the bow. I wasn't feeling overly confident about just seeing a buck at the club so I headed out with the bow. Unfortunately I didn't see anything, but it was a beautiful night!

Let it snow!

What a gorgeous afternoon!! I had a gig last night so I didn't get up to go bird hunting (hard when you get to bed at 3:30am to get up at 4:30am. After doing some Christmas decorating outside, I decided to hit the Tower for some deer. I got to the stand and settled in around 2. It was now snowing pretty hard. While I sat in the stand, it must have snowed 2 inches. It was just gorgeous. I was covered in snow, as was my bow, stand, etc. At 2:30 I saw a deer, think it was a doe, walking just under the apartments...she seemed really spooky and took off shortly after I saw her. I really don't think that she was spooky at me. Then at around 4:30, I saw either another doe, or the same one, walking around by the bottom of the apartments. Again, she was spooky. This time, I think it was because as the trees would gather the heavy snow, branches would break off and fall. I think that made the deer jumpy. Either way, she ran off and as it was starting to get dark, I gathered up and headed down. The woods were beautiful, magical and peaceful. Just loved it!

First time blind...1st day of muzzy.

I finally made it back to the club. This time, with the Muzzy!! I decided to sit in my blind. When I was walking into the spot, I did happen to see some really nice trails. So I was pretty pumped. It was a really nice night...not too cold, but not that warm either. It was kind of breezy though (which has been the story of the season). Its funny how much warmer you are in the blind than in a stand. I sat in the stand from around1:30...very comfortably I might add. Of course, I didn't see a thing but it was a really nice post. It was a full moon that night, I wonder if that had anything to do with not seeing anything? I'll get 'em next time!