Fastest post ever!

I left early today to hit the woods.  It is supposed to rain all weekend and I want to get out.  It's been hot and buggy but the weather is supposed to change this weekend.  I'm looking forward to it but it is starting to get windy.  I decided to go up to the tower and try it out.  I got to the woods and started in.  I had an idea where I wanted to go and I headed out.  I made my way to a tree, meandering around looking for the right one.  I hooked my stand onto the tree, tied my bow to the haul line and before I climbed in I saw a doe 20 yards away!    She looked at me and then kept feeding.  The rule is that you have to be in an elevated stand so I couldn't shoot her from the ground.  I knew she wouldn't hang around but I got into my stand...she didn't move?  I started to climb, slowly...each time she looked at me I stopped.  I managed to get about 10 or so feet up and started to haul my bow up.  She kept feeding.  I got the bow and nocked an arrow.  She started to walk towards me.  I didn't have my face mask or gloves even on yet!  As she got between me and my tree I drew back.  She stepped out at 15 yards away.  I made a noise...she stopped.  I held a little low and let the arrow fly.  She took off running and at 60 yards, I saw her crash.  I waited 30 minutes and got down.  I looked at my arrow and it had nice blood...there were spots of blood on the ground but not a lot.  When I got to her, I saw the the shot was perfectly behind the left shoulder and into the right.  I got my doe.

It's a hot, sticky night...

After sitting at softball today I decided to head out to the woods.  It's hot, damp, sticky and i just KNOW it's going to be buggy.  I decided that I wanted to sit behind my company because I'll have the thermacell cranking and I didn't want to mess up the other spot.  I drove to work, got dressed in the lot and then drove around to where I would park.  I noticed that there was a guy up the tree in the corner...I didn't want to mess him up so I decided to move to another spot.  Back to the dump.  Instead of going all the way in, however, I wanted to try a little closer.  That's where I've been seeing all the deer go.  I found a tree and started to climb.  I also started to sweat...profusely.  I got up and just as I hit the top, bang, I dropped my thermacell.  I may be able to make it with dropping some things, but tonight, the thermacell isn't one of them.  Down I go.  I got it and climbed again.  Now I'm sweating so much...and the skeeters and attacking me.  As soon as I settled I put on the the thermacell.  That thing is great...it sure kept the bugs at bay.    Once I did get up I realized that I was in a gully, so even though I climbed up about 15 feet, I was a lot lower on the high sides of the hills surrounding me.  I could move, but that would require me to get down and up again...no way!

I sat for a while and saw nothing.   As i scanned the woods my right eye kept twitching.  It's hard to look around the woods with a twitching eye!  Then, just about at dusk, a doe and fawn (same one from last week) came walking in the woods from the field/path headed right towards me.  I couldn't move too much because they were looking right in my direction and from where they were, I was hardly off the ground.  I was unsure whether or not I would even shoot because she had her baby with her.  She is limping since last week...so maybe.  They walk to my right and the only broadside shot that she presented me was with the "yard" on the other side of her.  That made me uncomfortable to take that shot.  Then she walked behind me and gone.  I wasn't really set up for the shot anyway (she was walking with purpose, not just meandering).  Could I have made a shot?  Maybe...but I'm glad on this hot, sticky, buggy day to not take a risk at shooting in an unsafe direction.

Getting better...

Went back to the Recycle and this time I took my climber.  I only set up 17 yards away from the ladder stand but I was hopeful that this would be better.  I got to the woods around 2:30 after being at Dani's softball games. I sat for a short time, until around 3:30 and a doe came walking down the hill from the old stand sight.  As she walked down the hill towards me I stood up and it wasn't too bad with the pain.  I let her come to within 25 yards of me.  She was almost right next to my ladder stand but still through the trees.  I couldn't quite get off a shot...as the old saying goes, just a few more steps.  Well, she looked in my direction...not necessarily at me, but decided she didn't like something and she turned and started walking up the hill again.  About halfway up she walked towards the front of the property and then away.  All in all, it was a really nice post...beautiful weather, minimalized pain and saw deer.  Maybe I'm on my way back to liking this again.

First time out, I guess...

If you don't count the hour of skeeter swattin from last Saturday this is my first real post.  I left work early and went to the recycling center.  I climbed my ladder stand at around 2:45, sat down and started to get ready (put on my face mask, gloves, etc) and I saw a deer to my right.  I stood and prepared without gloves or a face mask.  The doe walked the other way but man, it was really painful to stand there.  Over the next few hours I would see several deer including a doe that decided to nap 40 yards from me from 4:00 to 5:30.  Then, up on the "field" I saw a bachelor group of 4 pretty nice looking bucks.  Nothing came close enough for a shot but there are deer there.  I don't know if I'm going to go back into the ladder stand anymore.  First of all I don't feel secure in it, but secondly, standing is painful.  In my climber I can stand and lean against a tree.  I'm hoping that helps...it was quite disappointing to be in so much pain just from standing there.

Opening day of bow

It's opening day of bow...and for some reason, I'm not really excited.  I don't know why...maybe it's my back that's bringing me down, maybe it's the hot temps...not sure what.  I'm going out on opening day though.  So I decided to go to the recycling center.  I had a week earlier gone there with Jeannie and Dani to put up a ladder stand (which is a story in and of itself).  I got to the woods and in the stand at approximately 5:30am and WHAM!  The mosquitoes start attacking me!  They are brutal.  By 6:30 I can't take it anymore, I have to leave. I climb down and go to Daniella's softball game.  Then it starts getting really hot...the thought of the mosquitoes and the heat are certainly not making me want to go back...so I don't.