July 21st, 2008
By Arthur

It seems that everywhere I go lately, I come across plenty of wildlife.  This is especially true on our hunting property the last couple of weeks.  I’m definitely not complaining, and I hope it keeps up, it just came as a little bit of a shock to me. 

The property we hunt on is on a dead-end road that only has two houses on it.  It is pretty secluded and kind of “off the beaten path”.  It actually works out pretty good, because the animals seem to be more at ease in the open so it provides for more chances of actually seeing some good stuff.

The picture on the left I took as I made way down the road to the property.  These two fawns were standing on the side of the drive I needed to pull in, so I stopped the car and they were nice enough to hold still long enough for me to take a snapshot.  I love spring time fawns.  They are so cool to see and get a chance to look at.  I’m not sure where mom was, but I’m sure she was nearby.

Then, last Saturday morning, as I was driving in to check the cam, I noticed all these big black dots along the driveway.  Of course they are turkeys, but I was a little disappointed because there wasn’t a tom in the bunch.  At least I know there are plenty of tom attractors for next year though.

I also found an interesting picture on the cam last weekend.  I think it might be the “buck ghost of season’s past”.  I moved the trailcam to a different spot where I found some really good sign.  This is in the area that I didn’t even realize was still part of the property we could hunt, so I wanted to check it out this year with the trailcam and see where a well-placed treestand would hopefully produce some results.  I did a major no-no with the trailcam though, and in my haste to get away from the mosquito army, I faced it directly east into the sunlight.  This picture is over-exposed as a result, but I think all of you can see that that is a decent buck in the picture.  He does look ghostly, but I still know he is there.  It looks like this new area might be working out after all.  The camera only took a total of 12 pictures before the battery died, so I was pretty happy with my camera-to-buck ratio this week:)  I plan on slapping some new batteries in it and getting it back out to this same location, and letting it sit for a longer duration this time.  I’m pretty excited about what could show up.

So turkeys, fawns, and ghost bucks.  A little bit of everything showed up this weekend! 

Popularity: 11% [?]

July 13th, 2008
By Arthur

Another weekend come and gone.  I say this all the time, but I really can’t believe how fast the weekend’s go lately, and when the baby comes, I know they are only going to get faster.  It is sad really.  You live all week for the weekend, and then in a flash it is gone.

Now, moving onto more positive things.  First off, I have a challenge.  Will someone please tell me what is in this trailcam picture.  Please focus on the lower right squadrant and you will see whatever it is.  I honestly am not sure.  I keep thinking I see a face that is somewhat like a badger, although I think my mind may be playing tricks on me.  It could be a possum, I honestly have no idea.  Everyone’s opinion is appreciated though.(I know it’s not a badger, I just was giving you an idea of the type of face I see).

I thought I would share this camera picture as well.  He is just a little guy, and more than likely, I will let him pass this year if we meet, but I thought the picture was pretty cool.  Apparently he wanted to pose for the camera.  Pretty funny.  I also got some coyote butt on camera.  The camera was a little slow in the flash department, but I’m glad that it still managed to capture him/her.  I’m also glad, that despite his presence, I still saw two fawns as I drove into the property today, and also got one of them on cam as well.  A good camera check all the way around.

On Sunday we rounded out the weekend by shooting our bows.  We got my cousin Corrin in on the act, as well as her friend Jordan.  It was only Jordan’s second time shooting a bow, but I have to be honest and say she did pretty well since she obviously was shooting  a bow not custom setup for her.  She’s not real sure about the hunting aspect of it, and that I can understand, but I think we might be able to convince her to hunt those ugly ‘ole turkeys.  She has a soft spot for deer so no need to pressure there.  It obviously isn’t for everyone.  As long as she continues to shoot archery she can still hang out with us.

Corrin also had a first this weekend.  She robin-hooded one of MY arrows.  It wasn’t a complete robin hood because she was on a different angle than me when she was shooting, but it was still awesome either way.  If I’m going to lose an arrow I love losing it that way. Nice shot ‘rin.  That was awesome.

All in all it was a pretty good weekend.  Hopefully this work week goes by fast, and hopefully I can work in another fishing trip to the father-in-law’s private pond.  I’m having some withdrawals.

Popularity: 20% [?]

June 03rd, 2008
By Arthur

I know it is only Tuesday, but I’m already trying to make my plans for the weekend. There are a few things in the works and hopefully I can work all of them in and make the weekend a good one.

First off, for all of you Michiganders, Gander Mountain is having its Biggest Archery Event Ever at the Lansing Gander Mountain this weekend. This is a huge tent event and will include a 3-d Archery shoot, 100 vendors, door prizes, free seminars, a bargain tent, and a silent auction. There is suppose to be a representative from Diamond bows there, and since I purchased my Black Ice last year, I would love to visit with them and see what they have to say. Maybe they will even be nice enough to throw a few goodies my way. I might even run into Mike Adams, from UpNorthJournal, and the Hooks and Bullets blog. I know he is going to be in attendance and doing some interviews for one of his future podcasts. Hopefully our paths cross. That would be pretty cool!

The next thing I have planned for the weekend is to check the trail cam. I finally put it back out last weekend, in a spot that it has never been before, and I’m excited to see what kind of results we get. We didn’t hunt this area last year either, because I was slightly in error of where the property lines went. Once the landowner set us straight towards the end of last year though, I knew that I would be sticking a trail cam up in the area and seeing what we found. Jeff and I can’t wait to hunt this area this fall. It should be a prime spot. Hopefully a few growing antlers show up on it this weekend.

The last thing on the weekend agenda is my cousins house warming party. A few of you might remember them from last August when their house was hit by the tornado. Well they are finally getting back to normal and having a little get-together to say thank you to everyone who helped them get back up on their feet. I’m glad that things have returned to normal for them, and I can’t wait to be able to hang out with everyone under much different circumstances then the last time. It should be a great time.

So a great weekend coming up, and in the meantime I hope to get some grass planted in the backyard this week. The weather report is not looking to agreeable for that little adventure though. Now if Friday would only get here!

Popularity: 27% [?]

May 30th, 2008
By Arthur

Jeff, and my sister’s boyfriend, Justin, were out looking at some spots where they could possibly put in some food plots and stumbled across this crazy bird. Mr. Bird was just setting on a branch looking at the two of them, and didn’t even seem to mind the human presence of beavis and butthead (just kidding guys). That is when the fun started.

I’m not sure why, probably because they are guys, but immediately Jeff begins to dare Justin to try to get the bird to jump onto a stick–the bird complies. Then Jeff goes one step farther and dares Justin to get the bird to get on his hand–the bird complies again.

So now Justin has this bird on his hand, and the bird is so comfortable that it starts to climb up Justin’s arm and onto his shoulder. Needless to say, and as you can tell by one of the pictures, Justin was starting to get a tad bit uncomfortable and eventually ended up grabbing the bird and putting him back in the trees.

I am just wondering what everyone thinks about this bird. What kind of bird is it? We are leaning towards an adolescent crow, but I am still amazed by its lack of fear for humans. It didn’t seem injured or anything of that nature, so I can’t figure out why it would be so friendly. Do you think it is just a factor of it’s age?

Let me know what all of you think. We are very curious. Oh, and no birds were injured during these activities. I just wanted to throw that disclaimer in there for anyone who thought they were trying to harass the bird.

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