Ottertail Country

Ottertail Country
Ottertail South

November 6, 2007

What I did on my vacation.....

It's been a while.... someone asked if the logger was stuck. No, just mired a bit.... I really was going to just let this go, but for some reason I CAN'T SEEM TO DO IT.......


This is from a couple weeks ago, just past full moon at the Ottertail.... thinking about hunting, logging is the reality...






Peg took a few photos last Sunday of the logging. I had quit at 3:00 so I could go hunting, Chuck kept on and hauled out what we had cut.





The piles are getting higher, over a truckload of pulp ready, quite a few sawbolts, a number of hardwood sawbolts. The pile of hardwood pulp is a bit short and we'll have to cut and haul a bit more.



Then the hunting routine.... I went hunting for the first time on Oct. 26th, Friday. Saw 4 deer, a couple of small bucks and does. It was good to get out and actually see some game.




I went on the 27th to a different stand, saw 5 deer, a couple of small bucks. Again it was a very enjoyable evening.





So, I went again on the 30th, Sunday. Near the end of the evening, the buck in the photos came walking in, chasing the does and fawns away. He stopped long enough to get a shot at him!! The light was growing dim and I found no arrow near where I shot. I decided to go home, call the tracking crew and return with some light......




The expert trackers, Ivan and Jerry, solved the mystery with some keen eyesight and deer savey. The buck had not gone very far, just a hard tracking job. When we saw the size of the buck, we paused to have a beer (Yes, the tracking pack contains a few cans of brew....). It was a beautiful night, good friends and my blind luck of having this big guy walk by.....




We had all planned on taking off work Nov. 5-9 to hunt during the rut, and this deer did not change my plans. It took the pressure off, now I could spend some time doing "hunting related" activities....



My first day of vacation, the 5th, was really windy, snowing, slushing, etc. I went to work in the morning for four hours.... so much for time off. That afternoon was spent cleaning the Ottertail... the great room, bunkhouse, etc. It's nearly ready to kick back and enjoy the season in the warmth of that wood heat.



Today, I slept in till 9:00.... must have been over extended the last few weeks... anyway, I headed out to Lance Meier's place near Spirit to get some hunting supplies. He's an ambitious young man, lot's of machinery, trucks, etc. I think his dad is Gene Meier down on YY. On the way home, I came over a hill and there was a flock of turkeys in the road. They immediatly flew up, they were beside me on the right, the left, I was going under some of them as they flew up.... I was surrounded by turkeys. Reminded me of some days at work......



Next I headed for Prentice. I had noticed a broken window in the neighbors porch and had put a piece of plywood in the opening. Today I was taking the window frame to the Prentice hardware to get it fixed. Then I headed to the Boondocks, a truckstop/restaurant for breakfast. I ordered hashbrowns, 2 eggs over easy and a bloody mary..... hey, I'm on vacation during hunting season.....! I sat in a tree for 2.5 hours this afternoon until dark, saw no deer, but did the house ever feel nice and warm when I got home!





____________Hey, carve that pumpkin, would ya???____________


9 comments:

yram said...

Did you shoot that beautiful specimen of a bird?

Carlo said...

No, but I did shoot the deer.... the others are file photos used as filler.....

Anonymous said...

Nice photos, nice hunting, nice nice nice!!! Congratulations dude!!! :-)

Anonymous said...

Nice buck Dad, I do miss tracking missions.... :-) ~Rosie

yram said...

Have fond memories of sitting in the tree stand (was it horse tree) and watching the snow fall and the grouse in the tree tops. cool....

Anonymous said...

Yes, it was a treeseat quite high up in Horse Tree, and the grouse landed in the neighboring trees at about the same height as that seat. It was neat watching them pick buds......

Carlo

Anonymous said...

Nice deer Gene!!! Glad you decided not to give up the blog. It is really nice to see the happens from the south. Hello to all.

Anonymous said...

Good to see all the pictures again. That deer sure was a plump fellow. Has there been any snow up there at all??

Lucy

yram said...

What is it about the vomiting pumpkin that makes it so obvious (other than the entrails flowing out of the mouth) that the pumpkin is not feeling well? It is carved so simply yet the expression is clear. Interesting.