Larry A. Smail's Blog

   I waited for the designated time and Bob, my stepfather, hadn’t arrived for our Cherry Run hunt. He was having a problem with his flintlock and apparently didn’t get a remedy.

The pre-dawn darkness was not without some pleasures. I heard two great-horned owls (later saw one) and a screech owl. I saw three deer in this part of my hunt. One was a small-racked buck.

While I cautiously walked about I hoped to hear some turkeys on the roost. This was my primary reason to be hunting deer this day at this area.

Pretty Poison Ivy

   I pondered if I would shoot a doe this day.I play this game every year for a time. I enjoy the hunt and challenges, but the removal of a deer terminates this anticipation. This is difficult for a non-hunter to understand. I decided a shot would happen only if the distance of 30 yards or less appeared. During this morning jaunt I saw many squirrels, some grouse and some turkeys. I would see my first junco of the winter season. My records show this little “songbird” usually appears about the middle of October.

AMerican Chestnut

  I always check out the American Chestnuts on the ridge top. My father introduced me to the trees, sometime, back in the 1960 time slot. He explained the killing 1904 blight to me. He remembered seeing big dead chestnut trees back in the latter 1920 and early 30s. All these years later they still live and  grow to a height of 20-25 feet and succumb to the blight and the cycle continues.

I quit the morning hunt at 10:20 and headed to see if we could get Bob’s firearm working again. We did! The lead ball was placed into the barrel and became stuck. There was no powder in the breech. We removed the touch hole and added powder and shot it out after attempts to pull it out failed. 

Bob

I removed and terminated about 12-15 ticks from my clothes. Watch for them!