Larry A. Smail's Blog

   I needed a  few hours of woods walking. The temperatures are starting to drift upwards towards more spring-like, weather, leaving the winter  chills behind. We have had some very cold temperatures here in western Pennsylvania. Negative numbers have been around many a night, with single digit temps lasting all day at times.                                                          

We have been blessed in many ways. Many parts of the nation of far exceeded normal snow depths. Ice, and snow have hit southern states hard at times. We haven’t received deep snows at all, but we have witnessed much cold.

  The early morning had sunshine over the hills, and hollows. As noon closed in, I noticed the clouds building fast.  As the one o’clock hour approached we even had some snow showers. Awww, those transitional days of March are upon us.

   I parked along a township road in the Cherry Run area of Armstrong County. These areas  are my haunts. I was raised in this terrain.   

I walked the road about a mile before traversing up a hollow to make a circle through woods, and fields. Deer were feeding everywhere this day! I lost count, but I saw over thirty deer in the woods, and later while traveling home.

This buck had lost it’s antlers.

I walked upon deer at several occasions. I was surprised to do so. The snow, while walking, sounded like the sounds when making a snowball. However, deer were so busy feeding they didn’t notice me. The winds, I am sure, helped my approach. The sounds were covered up some.

I walked as close as twenty feet to several deer. This allowed some great shots with the camera. One deer was close enough that I could see his pedicles. The deer was a buck, and his antlers had been dropped somewhere along the trail.

I had a gobbler circle a slope, and walk below me. I managed several pics before he noticed me. The big bird went air-borne, and flapped across the steep hollow.

    I saw a small flock of turkeys scratching for grub elsewhere, and a lone hen feeding among briars.                                            

On southerly slopes one could feel the warmth despite the chilling wind blowing across the snow. I had some wonderful events this day.