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| A COLD, BEAUTIFUL AFTERNOON IN THE WOODS |
Joan has an appointment in Ashland today and we have some shopping to do as well, so I won't get out into the woods until late afternoon, if then.
Yesterday turned out to be a cold but beautiful day. It took some time to clear the snow from drives and walks in the morning, but I did go out to the deer woods in the afternoon. The temperature was only in the low twenties, and colder in the woods, but there was no wind and the sun shone brightly. I was surprised at how much new snow there was in the woods, and there was considerable drifting in places, making walking difficult at times.
I forgot my gloves in the truck so my hands got cold when I couldn't keep them in my pockets. And that was most of the time I was walking, since my pal Buddy ate the leather sling on the deer rifle and I had to carry it cradled in my arm with an ungloved hand. It was really my fault, since I had left the rifle lay on the back floor of truck, which is Buddy's spot. Being leather and full of my hand scent and probably salty, it was just too tempting, I guess.
Buddy, and all dogs, I suspect, cannot categorize things easily. Therefore, he can learn not to chew on a particular glove, or shoe, or whatever, but to him that is only that one, not all gloves, shoes, or gun slings. He is easily taught not to chase the neighbor's cat...but all other cats are still fair game. The sling was not in good shape anyway and I will get a new one for myself for Christmas; but the rest of the gun deer season the rifle will be carried in the crook of my arm while walking, not slung over my shoulder.
The deer had not been moving, as there was only one track, that of a small deer, in the fresh snow. I had intended to move to some better nearby cover but found the snow almost up to my waist so abandoned that idea and sat in the same spot as on Monday. I was warm until the sun sunk behind the hill to the southwest, and then the cold began to seep into my bones and I found it difficult to keep still, so I decided to walk back to the truck a little early.
Stepping slowly and quietly in the soft snow, I hunted my way back to the truck, stopping every twenty paces or so to look back along the logging road in case a deer came out behind me, but I was really just going through the motions.
As I looked back for the final time, a large deer walked across the trail, right into the woods where I had been sitting. I saw no antlers, and it would have been a poor shot in any case. It had probably been watching and waiting for me to leave.
A bit more patience, a little more time sitting still...
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