and a strong cup of coffee

All over social media, there were posts about the rut; has it started in your area? have you seen any chasing? how do you know? what's the moon phase?  As much as I would have loved to have had some concrete answer to those questions, I had never seen proof that the rut was on.  Until that second week in November. Hubs was out hunting on the 10th and I was in charge of the kids and making our way up to my parent's house to hunt on the 11th.  It was windy and cold and I had opted to stay in and not hunt that evening, but wait until the next day.  I was holding the baby and watching the leaves blow across the lawn when I saw a doe emerge from the bushes around the pond (see down pointing arrow.)  She paused and then ran across the lawn, tail down.  I assumed that she wanted to get back into cover with the weather being what it was.  Seconds behind her was another deer.  I assumed that it was her fawn from the spring, until I saw the shine of sma...

If you do not follow me on Facebook , then you don't know that Dad totally schooled us in how to shoot a big buck.  Did some scouting, brought his gun, right place, right time, incredible buck! (Mom's flip phone doesn't take great pictures) So, that leaves Hubs (who has a doe permit) and I (who does not) to attempt to get a shot at one of these big bucks!  The competition is on!

There is no snow on the ground and the temperatures have been in the 50s instead of the teens or 20s.  As a result, our deer herd is having a great time getting lots of food without the worry of snow, freezing temps or that coyote that is (still) around. Dad still has the trail cameras out and we are getting some encouraging pictures.  I didn't bother copying the ones of the coyote, but he is still around and solo. But these are always good to see and it means that we will need to change things up for next season if we are going to outwit this deer.  I believe he is about 3.5 or 4.5 years old and knows how to avoid hunters. I can NOT get over the size of his neck! And the next generation of big bucks: From the side, his antlers looked like they are slicked back instead of standing upright.  Hopefully he makes it through the winter.

I had called Dad mid-week to check in and he told me that we had a big buck by the Sky Condo One of the 8's? I eagerly asked No. Bigger If I could have driven up that night, I would have.  But I had to wait until Friday to put the memory cards into the computer and look at what Dad was talking about.  This is, BY FAR, the thickest deer we have ever seen on the camera.  He is clearly all rutted up because he has no neck!  It also looks like his E2 is broken on his right side.  He was on the camera a handful of times over the past week. I am ready to put in some time Wed, Thursday, Friday and Saturday in hopes that one of us will get a crack at this big guy. 

This could be the best season ever when it comes to trail cam photos of the deer around the Sky Condo.  Hunter or not, how can you not love and respect these great animals?!  I can not wait until deer season starts.

I was so excited when I looked at the trail camera pictures from the past week.  I finally was able to figure out that the deer I had been studying was (and is) the same deer.  Here is my proof.  Note the time and position of the deer.  YEAH!  Mystery solved.  I am looking for one deer, who is probably 3.5 or 4.5 years old.  I have pictures of him from last year and this year. He is smart, stays nocturnal for most of the season but likes to come back to the same areas.  I know that no matter who sees him (us or the nearby neighbors) he will be shot at.  I just need to formulate my plan of attack and be smart about it.  Finally, some peace of mind... ... And then, there were two. The deer above is not this deer . I am not going to get a wink of sleep the night before opening day!

The following pictures are driving me out of my hunting mind!  We are getting these great pictures on a weekly basis but for the life of me (and Dad and a couple other hunters who I have asked) I can not figure out if this is one deer or two! I was sure after this last set of pictures that I had two big deer around.  I still think I might based solely on their G3 tine but when I sent these pictures to two hunters, they both wrote back saying that they could not tell for sure, if it was one or two deer. I was watching hunting shows over the weekend and on two different shows they had deer that looked like the deer in this last picture and when that deer turned, it looked exactly like the first picture (above).  Or visa versa.  Even the pros can not help me determine what sort of deer I am dealing with.  I am losing my mind trying to figure out what type of bucks and how many I am dealing with. One thing is for sure, there is a lot of antler out the...

I have been going back and forth between these photos from last hunting season and the ones below.  Is it the same deer?  The photos are off my two months (Sept vs Nov) but are we looking at the same deer?  It looks like the same antler frame and maybe the same antlers, but I think G3 is longer in the 2013 pictures - or it could be the angle, light and position of the deer. What do you think?  Same deer?