Love at first sight

Last night we had a massive thunder storm with severe thunder storm warnings and tornado warning all night. One daughter and my wife had been up since three am and me and the other kid got up at five, but it was still raining so I couldn't go out hunting as I had planned. As the clouds broke and the rain stopped my wife went to take a nap. I was about to go out hunting when she went to lay down so I stayed in with the kids.

I kept thinking that the deer might be out for a wander as the sun came out, but since I don't know what I am doing I didn't think much of it. After about a half hour I cracked the front door open and and standing next to a small pile of corn right in the center of the road is a deer. When I open the door her little ears pop up and she looks straight at me, but doesn't bolt. I slightly shut the door and grab the rifle out of the gun case. I tell both kids to hush since they are sitting on the couch about twelve feet from the door. When I open the door her head whips back around and looks straight at me, but she doesn't bolt.

Now the deer has turned side ways and I aim the rifle out the door and have a nice clean shot, but I know if I try to go outside through this door the deer's gone. I should have took my shot standing in the entry way, but I thought the kids would freak. I didn't know if would effect their hearing and since my oldest already wears hearing aids I didn't want to risk even a tiny bit of hearing loss for them. So I drop the rifle down and gently shut the front door. Looking out the window I can still see it so I try to go around back.

When I pull open the back door it lets out a big ol' SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK. Crap salad, now I know it's gone and when I get to edge of the car port the deer has bolted. I don't know how to guess how much they weigh or how old they, but this one looked Delicious.

Next time, I would make the kids go in the back bathroom and shut both doors. I would also listen to my father who said we needed to WD-40 the hinges on the door, just the day before.
I must admit I was excited. I have been hoping to get a shot since I started putting out corn, but this was the first time I even got a look. I never thought I would see the point of hunting, but now I get it.

Something likes the deer corn

I have been putting out corn for a few weeks now, and this feeder has been up for a few days. So I don't know what happened today that the bees decided they had to swarm the corn. This picture was taken about one oclock, by three oclock the bees had at least doubled if not more. Not only are they trying to get into the feeder so aggressively that the corn is spilling out all over the ground, but the corn on the ground is covered with bees.

A new hope

So far, no venison has hit the table and my loving wife has mocked my powers as a warrior hunter. To be fair this is my first season hunting, no one has ever taught me how to hunt, and I don't own any camouflage clothing. So really I got like a three stroke handicap to use an analogy from a sport I have no idea how to play.

I see tracks all the time, but have no way to control or know when they are coming to eat the corn. So I had to go for the upgrade. As cheap as I am I shelled out the forty bucks for a bucket feeder that uses a photocell with two preset feed times. The little metal plate spins an hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset. Hopefully, this mean that hungry deer will know when it is breakfast and dinner time.

After the snow that we had a few weeks ago the ground is covered with dead grass. This should make the corn even more of a draw for the deer. Now that school is on holiday and the wife and kids don't have to leave in the morning soI can slip out the door before sunrise if I can drag my fat ass out a bed and brave the cold. I only have a few weeks before regular season ends and black powder season begins so I have step up my effort. I don't own a musket and unless I find myself joining the continental army I don't have plans to buy one. Besides deer hunting the only thing else I don't know how to do is stop writing in italics.