We Watch Deer. Deer Watch Us.

Trail cam photo from a week or so back.  Since starting deer hunting five years ago our number of functional trail cams has gone from three down to one.  Temperature swings, ant infestations.  Just cheap Chinese electronics.  

We'll be up doing some hunting prep in the days ahead.  So some functional cameras would help.  I took Hank to one of "his stores", dog and guy friendly places.  He was creeped out by the giant inflatable black cat lawn decoration.  Halloween too damn early, I was creeped a bit myself.  But here he is helping me pick out a couple of low cost 'cams.  

This is about the maximum of his Brave Hunter mode.  Chipmunks frighten him and he thinks skunks want to be his friend.

Frog Mummy

 

I was up north the other day, doing a bit of prep on the new deer hunting property.  There are two nice box stands, each about 15 feet up in the air.

Unfortunately they seem to have been built by and for a guy who we figure was 7 feet tall and preferred to stand for hours on end waiting for a deer to maybe saunter past.

As this can sometimes take a while, it's preferable to have an option to sit down.  But normal chairs, while they might give you a shot at passing flights of ducks, do not get you anywhere close to being able to sight out those ridiculously high up windows.

So I built this out of various stuff.  Free swiveling bar stool, steel milk crate, etc.  Works pretty well but we'll have to add or subtract a bit more underneath plywood to accommodate hunters of various heights.  

As I was taking this picture from the door way I looked to one side and saw something rather alarming.....

Yikes, it's a mummified tree frog!  Although it has a rather zombie like appearance I guess its just part of Nature.

Well This Seems Like a Bad Idea

A sign along a rural road.

 Oh, surely you remember the Morlocks from H.G. Well's Time Machine????

These guys:

Cannibalistic troglodytes of the, or at least of a, distant future.  Living in dank caves I don't expect their home decor skills would be much.  And if you brought them a deer carcass the best case scenario is that they'd eat it.  Worst case, they'd eat you too!

Kidding aside I'm sure this family of Morlocks are swell folks.  The name btw is German and translates loosely to "black haired one".  Kinda the opposite of the Wellsian version.

Sir Edmund Hillary's Dog

 The property we bought for fun and hunting came with several nice and very new deer hunting stands.  That is about 15 feet up a ladder that looks to be at about a 60 degree angle.

Hank loves to visit, its the only place we let him run free off leash.  He rolls in stuff, waters other stuff, barks at mysterious noises.  He regarded the tree stand with suspicion.  When I went up to have a look around, he stood at the bottom and barked like mad.

When he stopped barking I got suspicious.  When I turned around....sure enough, he had found a way to scale that ladder.  He was very pleased with himself.  When I started to go down the ladder his expression changed.  Yes, this was yet another situation he'd gotten himself into with no exit strategy!

Trail Cam Photos

We seem to have a fairly diverse critter population up on the new Land.

A tom turkey guarding a little patch of food stuff we scratched out to make the spot more enticing for photo ops.  The deer seems intimidated.

A cute little owl!  You only see one of his glowing eyes because he's looking over his shoulder.  Owls are very good at that.  As this is a little patch of clover we started it's likely he just scored a mouse.

It's well into spring now, so you can start to tell the bucks from the does.

Last time we were up Hank was running around like a Wild Dog.  He stopped to roll around in what I tentatively identified as coyote droppings.  Next day this was on the trail cam...

We've also had a black bear wander through, but it did not show well on camera.

You'll note that all these pictures are from just one spot, and at that, one of the most open and frequently trafficked by humans.  Who knows what is lurking deeper in the forest?

Hunter-Gatherer Land

I'm going to use the "Homesteading" tag here, even though the new project is not at this time being considered as a residence. 

We had an opportunity to buy some land.  Not much on it but a garage, but there is an electrical hook up.  Other than that it is just....there.  A place for the younger generations to have adventures, and for the Hunter Gatherer demographic to, well, hunt and gather stuff.  Also of course a place where endless keep busy tasks will be available.  Hey, retirement demands things to do.

So, lets boil some maple syrup.

Let's explore some of the numerous deer stands that come with the place.

There are lots of blackberry bushes.  Some members of the tribe are hoping for edible mushrooms, although the few fungi we saw this early looked like tough, probably toxic stuff.

Hank the dog is not used to being off leash.  His opportunity to romp, roll, sniff and lift his leg freely was probably the happiest day of his life.  And the next time we make it back up it will be again.  Dogs are blessed.  They remember very little.  Sorrows, such as they experience, leave no mark.  And every time that the sun is shining and they find something stinky it is their Best Day Ever.

Naturally the trail cams have already been deployed.

Homesteading. Again?

Well, not exactly. 

Not looking to live on it, but we've recently become part owners of some land.  

So, why?  What's it good for?

Well, hunting land.  Bit of an off year 2024, in part due to a shortage of public land tags.  This location specifically, and the private land tags generally, are less problematic.  It comes with a variety of tree stands - and one hunting tree house! - already in place.

Firewood.

Blackberries.

Looks like a few spots to catch frogs.

A place for grand kids to play.  Lots of fun for them now, and when the grandies are teenagers.....hmmm, wait a minute.....  Oh, let their parents worry about parties in the woods.

A place for dogs to run around.

As an investment land has always had going for it that "they ain't makin' any more", and this should be a better bet than trying to figure our the stock market....or whatever the heck crypto currency actually is!

Not expecting to build an off grid house and live there, but maybe if the economy really tanks I could probably get by on a diet of blackberries, venison and frogs.

 

The Stockyard - a rare Business Review

Sometimes you just have to say nice things.

Vojtik's Stockyard is an unusual business enterprise.  Two locations a short distance apart, one is a meat packing business the other a classic Wisconsin bar and grill.  I've enjoyed the work of both.

When we were laboring in the heat of July, building that off grid house, The Stockyard (restaurant) was our go to place.  Food.  A cold beer.  Several glasses of ice water.  We left considerably restored.  That by the way is the base meaning of the word restaurant, and they did a darn good job.

They also have their earlier building just up the road a stretch.  This used to be the restaurant in front, meat packing out back.  Now its all meat, all the time.

And they do wild game processing.  Deer mostly, but I'm sure if you pulled up with a defunct bear or some such they'd rise to the occasion.

As I've mentioned the business side of this is delightful.  When I asked how to get the ball rolling when I had a deer I was told: "First, go to the bar".  Deal.  Paperwork done in five minutes then then up the road to drop off the deer.  I admit, this year's bag was of a rather small critter - which I consider a testament to my skill as an archer! - but the guys who pulled it off the truck were cheerful and enthusiastic.  "Nice deer!"

The process - inadvertent pun - on the other end is also simple.  They call you up.  You go to - you guessed it - the bar.  And they have a refrigerated trailer with everyone's processed steaks, sticks and sausage ready in a marked tub.  

Time did not permit a celebratory beverage at either end of the procedure but you sure could do that.

I have the deer in my freezer now.  I had cleared plenty of space.  More than I needed as it turns out.  And the first venison stick has been sampled.  Mmmm, good stuff.

So, on the off chance you are looking for cheerful, efficient game processing in rural Western Wisconsin, head to the Stockyard.  Or if you are laboring outdoors in 90 degree heat, also highly recommended.

Cheers

Deer....

 The youngest hunter in the family gets his second deer!

Those not in the hunting community might wonder how this is possible.  Well, without explaining the byzantine rules in detail, you can basically always get a permit to take a buck, as seen above.  There is an over supply of these harem collecting guys, especially during gun season when The Party is Over regards next year's fawns.  I guess it makes sense from a "don't have babies during the short rations season", but there's only about two weeks where bucks and does have much interest in each other.  As mentioned in my bow hunting reports, this is the brief spell of time where they act with the decorum and sense of college students on spring break.

Also, the DNR keeps a close eye on deer numbers, and issues greater or lesser numbers of "antlerless" permits - does and this year's punk teens - with an eye to reducing winter starvation, car-deer interactions and crop loss.  The deer seen above was taken on an "Ag-Tag", but honestly the DNR wants new hunters badly and youth hunters get a whole bunch of extra opportunities.

Writing on Thanksgiving morning there are still a few days of gun season left.  Oh, and you can still hunt with a bow until the end of the year.  And, there is a short second chance gun season for any unfilled anterless tags.  But if you are keeping score at home here's the tally since we started a family hunt in 2020.

2020 3 Hunters 3 deer

2021 5 Hunters, 3 deer

2022 4 Hunters 5 deer (see above regards multiple opportunities)

2023 4 Hunters 1 deer.  This was a bad year after a punishing winter

2024 (so far) 6 Hunters, 3 deer.

We have gained hunters over the years despite one early regular having a new baby and staying close to home the last two seasons.  This year we have all three of our boys hunting, plus a grandson and one of the daughter in laws.

Our overall "success rate" is 15/22 or 68%.  This compares favorably to the state wide 50% rate.  To be fair some hunters, both in our group and in the larger community, are more serious than others.  Last year our dtr in law had a perfect shot at a doe with two cute fawns.  The deer knew she was a sitting duck, so she just looked up and made cute/guilt inducing eyes....so of course she and her brood were allowed to pass in safety.

I'll update the numbers if necessary when final reports from our "satellite locations" drift in.   

But there will be venison in at least most of our freezers for the long winter ahead.

Opening Weekend 2024

Slow start to opening weekend of deer hunting.  The family takes a while to collect itself from various locations, and there is a general shortage of tags for our immediate around the cabin area.  Two hunters out at first light.  Some deer seen, none brought home.

Having gotten a deer earlier I stayed behind.  When it got light enough I did take Hank out for a walk.  As he is a small brown creature who likes to carry big branches around he had to be decked out for the occasion.

I heard exactly one gunshot in our 45 minute walk.  He might have heard a few more distant ones because he was pulling like crazy to get back to the safety of the cabin by the end of the walk.  He fears the Great Thunder Dogs.....

We started the Family Deer Camp four years ago.  In the first year it was just three of us gathering in a dreary Covid limited time.  One of our party in fact shot a deer but was too fatigued by a recent bout to drag it out unassisted.  But we went 3-3 with enough time and effort, all within walking distance of home base.

Fast forward.  No longer just guys eating junk food, the gathering is now our defacto Thanksgiving with all the kids, their wives, their dogs.  We eat better.  But the area around the cabin yielded zero deer.  In fact I was the only one who even tried to hunt in walking distance.  A tough winter two years ago clobbered the herd, so "antlerless" tags were cut way back.  But that does not seem to have deterred others, and areas we had all to ourselves until recently now have multiple hunters working them.  Hey, public land, so its fine.  But less productive and not conducive to doing the occasional drive to move deer along.

The two deer bagged thus far were:  my grandson getting one on a friend's property an hour south of here during Youth Hunt weekend, and my bow hunting success far to the south.  No deer hanging in the garage.

When I went out for a few hours on Saturday evening I encountered pleasant weather but saw nothing larger than a squirrel.*

Oh well.  Lots of good family time which is tastier than venison.  And as the weekend concludes various branches of the tribe head out to other places, in some of which there are still deer and permits.......

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* peculiar highlight of the weekend:  Somehow a flying squirrel made it inside and drowned in a toilet.  Zombie Toilet Squirrel.  Nobody had that on their bingo card.  Now Family Lore....

Up in the Air. Also, straight down.

Tree stands going up.  The younger hunter on the right has already gotten the family "on the board" with a nice deer during the special youth hunt weekend.  He may be the best shot in the crew, as one might expect from a kid who can make a soccer ball, baseball or hockey puck go where ever he directs it.

That stand is for the gun season that starts 8 days from now.  After my misadventures with getting deer tags I had to switch tactics this year.  I've been down on The Homestead with a crossbow.  It is a different sort of hunting.  It takes time and patience.  You see deer that you can't reach, given the roughly 40 yard range of my bow.  Well, 30 given my skill level.  And....when a deer unexpectedly steps out from behind a bush and walks directly UNDER your tree stand, well, that's an impossible shot, leaning over the railing and twisting up and over.  I think the grand kids will have some new works of taunting art for the fridge over that one.

Eventually a deer did turn up in the right spot, and I will have venison for the year ahead.

Seasons Change. Dogs? Never.

There's a Far Side cartoon I've always really liked:

Honestly, I think it sells "Bob" short.  Ever since wolves snuck up to the stone age campfires and started trying to be helpful, they've been playing the Long Con.  "Hey, take care of us and we'll protect you from danger".

Right.  What exactly do dogs bring to the table as compared to sturdy cave people who have spears and the use of fire?  Well, they can still bark their fool heads off in response to perceived threats....  Right, Hank?  The Enemy is inside the perimeter!!!!

Here's Hank's response to me making the dreaded Lawn Mower move.  Not run mind you, just move.

Well, he's sure giving it his best effort.  With the strange transitional weather we are now experiencing it won't be long before I'll be running the even bigger, noisier Red Machine.  I test started it right after I finished mowing/mulching.  Strangely Hank ignored it.  Guess a dog has to know his limits.

Karma of the Caterpillar

What a remarkable summer.  It started early, and just kept on going. We are still enjoying warm days even as the October shadows lengthen.  The deer are grow plump, and alas, clever.  And wooly bear caterpillars are everywhere, crawling hither and yon on their enigmatic missions.

I write something about the woolies every fall, as they are said to be a harbinger; an oracle.  Their color pattern allegedly predicts the severity of the upcoming winter.  

A few days ago while out at The Homestead I saw my son's lunatic dog jumping about and snapping at something on the ground.  She's a bit like a malicious cat in this respect, she'll capture baby bunnies and such and toy with them.  I do not approve.

So I went over and found that the object of her taunting was a curled up wooly bear caterpillar.  Well, I rescued the little guy, took him off to a safe location and said: "Hey, how 'bout a mild winter?"

I knew this was a big ask from a little guy, but it is rather their forte, so what the heck.

An hour later I went for a stroll down their dirt road.  Just enjoying the day and getting some fresh air after an afternoon breathing through a respirator while installing insulation.  And right there on the road I found something extremely implausible.  This:

It's a box of ammunition.  Now you might think this is not totally implausible as there is a rifle range down the road a bit and yes, things do bounce out of pickup trucks.  But I've never found ammo laying around - other than my archaeology experience at Ypres - and to have this appear just when I'm getting discouraged about hunting prospects.....and to have it be in the somewhat atypical caliber that I actually hunt with????

Thanks Wooly.  I know one small bug does not have the power to change the climate for a continent.  But hey, a box of ammo that retails for around $37?  You've out done yourself.

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Addendum.  Lest any one doubt the Power of the W-Bear it should be noted that the spot where I got a deer (albeit with the crossbow) was about 75 yards into the woods directly even with where I found this gift of the caterpillars!

Bowhunting - October 2024

Bow hunting, specifically with a crossbow, is a different breed of cat.  It's a quieter, more solitary undertaking.  No compressed 9 day season as with firearms.  No traditional "hunting camp" gatherings.  You pick a time, go out to the woods and sit.  Quietly.  Very quietly.

Many consider it more true hunting.  The deer have almost every advantage.  A rifle can do the job at 100 yards.  A bow, especially with a novice hunter....30 or 40 yards tops.  The one advantage hunters do have is that this is the time of year when the deer go crazy and chase each other around.  Sort of like a gang of distractible middle schoolers.

Here's the view from the tree stand:

Another difference between this a gun hunting is that for the latter you need to wear blaze orange garb....so you won't get shot by other hunters.  Not much risk of that with short range weapons, so the priority is on camo.  Here's the annual tree stand selfie.

Because I'm hunting on my youngest son's Homestead I have a bit of a drive in the pre-dawn hours.  I'll often stop in at a convenience store for coffee on this trip.  I guess I'd better not do this while so attired!

Warmer weather means once you - hypothetically - get a deer you need a plan.  In November just hang them up in a cold garage for a few days and process them when you have time and hands to do so.  Warm weather and without a large hunting crew.  Hmmmmm.

There is a place down the road that does this work.  They'll take it in the field dressed state and turn it into nicely packaged venison.  I stopped by the other day to ask what the procedure was.  A very pleasant young man said:  "Well, first of all you stop at the bar down the road, they'll have the paperwork".

Best Step One Ever!

My second day of hunting I did a better job of time management and was up in the stand before first light.  It was a wild, windy morning.  Plus side:  No way the deer would smell or hear me.  Negative side, if I had a shot I'd have to make some serious accommodation for windage.  

If.  I saw no deer.  So, time to change uniforms do a bit of Homestead work.  Specifically, help install insulation.  Honestly, silly costumes, doing things with modest at best results.....feels more like cosplay than serious hunting and honest labor....

 As my scamp of a grandson got the family "on the board" during today's special youth hunt weekend I can't let up.  Back in the stand tomorrow, weather permitting.

The Insufferable Insolence of Deer

I think I've shown you my fridge art before.  Birthday and Father's day messages from my adorbs grand children.  They seem to make much of my intermittent success at deer hunting.  A gigantic deer with rude emanations seems to amuse them.  Well, it amuses me too.

Life imitates art.  On the front lawn of our in town place deer are wandering in and, well, see for yourself.

Hmmff.  They grow bold.  Sure, they have hearing, vision and a sense of smell that can detect me a mile away.  Sure, they are fast, can jump high and are basically find safety by just stepping behind a tree.  Ah, but I am more determined than they are.  Very determined.  They shall pay for their insolence.

Deer Hunting 2024 - Sagitarii

Deer hunting update.....

The process for permits in Wisconsin is a little complicated.  What deer you can shoot, where and when varies a great deal.  As mentioned in my first hunting update, permits to hunt in the immediate vicinity of our cabin were in short supply this year.  So when I went into the online lottery system it was with minimal expectations.

But....you are assigned a spot in the queue to wait for your chance to sign up for tags.  This is random, and I got the lowest number any of us have ever had.  Great!  It was only a few minutes before the queue shortened.  I was number 1000.  Then 500.  But at about number 400 something happened.  The power went off in our house.

This knocked out the modem, and kicked me out of the queue.  When I logged back on with my phone I was at number 20,000, and the preferred tags were out of reach.

Evidently a guy who built a compost bin for us in the spring had hammered the corner posts down into the ground without worrying about where power lines were.  I don't know why it took so long to finally fry, but I guess it is just as well that we were not out of town for a week.

So, deer hunting will be different this year.

I have options, the one of which is bow hunting down where the Homestead is being built.  Lots of deer there.

But for assorted reasons, gun hunting is less appealing there.  So it is time to learn how to use a crossbow.

Last time I was down my son and I took turns practicing.  A ladder makes a decent approximation of firing from a tree stand with a rest.  House is coming along nicely btw.

So far I seem to be quite consistent at the ranges we'll be needing.

We also spent time putting up a tree stand that covers some promising spots.  And did a bit of brush clearing to get roughly 40 yards of clear shooting.  Later that day the trail cam we set out started to send us encouraging data.......

Sagitarii btw were archers in the Roman Army.  They used standard bows.  Something equivalent to a crossbow was known by the Romans but it was much bigger and designed to be deployed on the ramparts of forts.  I may look into getting one, but don't think I can haul it up into a tree.

A Hoppy Harvest Ahead

I don't really have a "green thumb".  When it comes to gardening I'll toss a few seeds in the ground and let Darwin take over.  But there is one thing I'm really good at cultivating, and this year's early spring and ample rain has helped a great deal.

The hops are climbing all over everywhere, exploding off the fence and onto anything nearby.  Such as this festooned bit of lawn art.

Deer Hunting 2024 - A Season of Uncertainty

It has been a busy summer.  It will be a busy fall.  But there is something largely missing.  Preparations for deer hunting.  I have not had a single trail cam out.  My target practice has consisted of a single foray to our middle of the woods hillbilly range in which, admittedly, three generations of the family each showed proficiency with various calibers of weapons.  

I have not even visited our usual tree stand locations, although that's mostly because my walks now include the Exuberant Dog who would tangle his leash on half the trees and lift a leg on the other half.

The basic problem is that there are not many deer around.  Here's a chart of winter severity for 2022-23.  It explains why I did not see a single deer last season, other than a few really smart ones who decided to insolently park themselves on people's lawns.

Confusingly on this chart green means a very bad winter, deeper shades of red a milder one.  Our main hunting area was one clobbered by a combination of cold, snow and a prolonged winter.  Lots of deer did not make it.  Hence the empty woods in the fall of '23.

Deer tags go on sale Monday.  There will be few issued in our county.  That's fair.  You don't devote time and energy to this hobby without a respect for both the deer and for the future of hunting.  Ironically, while there are still not a lot of deer Up North the ones you do see are looking fab.  The winter of 2023-24 was almost non-existent, so survival was excellent and they've all had lots to eat.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources always comes in for criticism.  Not from me, mind you, but from many.  And the dialing back of permits for the upcoming hunt has been pretty significant.

So we strategize.  We look at backup sites.  I may try my hand with a crossbow to get in on that season, which precedes the November rifle hunt.  

Maybe we'll get deer this year.  Maybe not.  Both the weather and the inner workings of the DNR are beyond my control.  At least it should be fun.  Our first official three generation hunt and the new possibilities of hunting on The Homestead.

Fingers crossed for permits on Monday.  It's an online sign up that my archaeology friends will find oh so familiar.....

It's Beginning to smell a lot like........

We had our Christmas a bit early this year.  That's fine, since Covid had messed up Thanksgiving we felt as if we had a little holiday togetherness coming to us.  And a gathering on the 23rd just worked out better all around.  Our three young men.  Their three young ladies.  Also three each of grandchildren and dogs.

I can sincerely say that this is a sufficient degree of Presents for me.  But I did get a few odds and ends.  Including some industrial strength scent blocker.

This is a product concocted for deer hunting, it makes it harder for the critters to detect you.  And to be fair, all the non successful hunters in the tribe got some.  But.....is there some other message here as well???

Somebody seems to think so, and anything they can smell over their own horrid dog breath must be impressive.

Merry Christmas all.

Deer Hunting 2023 - Sounds of the North Woods

I've called it a year for deer hunting.  Oh, unless I get antsy and decide to try the "second chance" season in early December.  I've spent a lot of time up in trees looking at....other trees.  Deer numbers apparently are way down this year.  We had a nasty late winter storm that was hard on the critters so this is not a big surprise.

The woods have been quiet most of the time.  Oh, I've heard some gunshots but not as many as most years.  Some afternoon to early evening sits I have not heard a single report.  But I have heard other interesting things.

My first morning out for instance.  I was creeping to my stand in the pre-dawn darkness.  The woods were still and mysterious.  Until I touched the ladder of my stand.  At that point the flock of turkeys that was roosting in the tree took off in all directions while making prehistoric sort of squackings and screeches.  I'm not saying that's why I have not seen a deer from that stand all season, but turkeys are basically Mother Nature's Car Alarms.

On another early morning walk in I heard something that was both creepier and more encouraging.  Coyotes howling to each other in the distance.  A reminder that the dark woods really do not belong to Man.  In the past when the predators have been in chorus the deer were up and moving.  But alas, another morning with no sightings.

Eventually the standard hunting spots were abandoned in favor of backup sites.  On yet another predawn mission I crept along a river bank with an elaborate climbing stand strapped to my back.  I'd never actually set one of these up alone, much less in the dark, so when the sun rose and gave me a pleasing vista I was happy.  Until about 7:30 am when rock music started blasting from somewhere over the hill.  7:30....c'mon people!

As it happens the site was across the river from the headquarters for "Birkie".  This is a ski race but they use the course for other things.  Evidently this includes a day after Thanksgiving "Birkie Turkey" bike and running race.  The music must have been the Warm Up before the race started.  It was close enough to be annoying - and who knows what the deer thought of it - but not close enough to make it out.  I think it was some kind of generic 70's "RAWK".  Scrawny exercise fanatics really like their fifty year old rock 'n roll.

Oh well.