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!

I finally had a foursome!!

Ok, so it was still a little crowded, but no where near what Thanksgiving was. This, however, was a great day. We started out into the field and managed to put up a bird. A nice hold for Bacci and I got it on the second shot. We walked through that field and into the next where a flyover came right at Greg...two down. We decided to head into the swamp by first hitting the edge. Greg put up a hen...three down. Then we headed into the swamp...omg! I walked with Bacci while Greg was to my right. Suddenly the dog started acting really birdy. As he worked the scent a foursome took off!! I shot...don't know what at, but I shot...missed everything. We worked that for a few minutes and saw a hen under the brush. I tried to get Bacci on the scent, but then we saw Mikey with Caroline on top of the hill. They shot at two birds that took off from the hillside and one landed in a tree. They didn't show any interest so Greg and I figured that it would be Dani's first shot at a bird. As we walked to the bird, the wind shook it from the tree and it took off....We both shot and she came down in the thickets. We walked over to where she fell and searched for her. As we did, she flew up and we shot....she came down again. A minute later, Greg said "uh oh"...he bent down and picked up the first hen! The one we just shot was a different bird!! We didn't want to waste it so we walked over to the VERY tough thicket and looked for her. We searched for about a half hour and couldn't find her. My only hope is that we missed her and she ran away. What a day!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Went bird hunting in the Thanksgiving day tradition. Not much to report from that day...Dani and I were only there an hour. Just as we were lining up, the massive crowds came...a sea of orange. To our left was a group of guys that started talking loudly in another language...got me thinking...then as the first shot rang out, some guys to our right literally ran into the field...at that moment I turned to Greg and said let's go...and we turned and went up the hill. We both ended up with our limit.

Strange bird day...

This was the day of the not-normal birds. The weird day started as me and Greg being the ONLY trucks in the parking area. Not that we would be lucky enough to be the only guys there...the crowd, although light, parked across the bridge. We started out in the field as usual. Nothing. We doubled back to head up the hill, as we got to the edge of the last hedgerow near the point, there must have been a bird in the tree. I didn't see him, but as we got there, he came flying directly at us, over our heads. By the time Greg and I turned around to shoot...we both missed. Then up the hill...Bacci got on the scent near the top and a bird went up. Greg shot, and it went down...then some other guy tried to claim it. So Greg told him that he thinks he got it but the guy could have it. The guy got ticked and left. Greg kept it. Bacci then kept going forward and put up a bird...out of range. We went down the hill and offered to help a guy and his daughter find a bird that had just ran into the thicket. I tried to get bacci to cooperate but he just ran into the field....a minute later, a bird went up in the field. I threw a few shots, but missed. Finally got bacci to help the guy, but nothing. Then we went across the road and into the mountain. After a while of walking...Bacci found a fresh, dead bird. I kept it...then later on, he ran down another cockbird...it took off and Greg and I both shot and missed...again. Just a strange day. We worked for a while longer and then called it quits. It was strange...the birds weren't cooperating, Bacci wasn't cooperating...but still fun.