Larry A. Smail's Blog

The morning temperature was 56 degrees with a high reaching the upper sixties, maybe even seventy. Sure, feels like spring though the date is February 15. Laurie’s surgery is a month old, and she is getting around fairly well, although she is still required to wear a boot. She uses a knee walker and crutches. Anyway, I felt comfortable to leave her alone for an appreciative time. She agreed.

My hike would last for a little over four hours and was totally enjoyable being out in this weather. However, the winds were rough as it howled through the trees. One could refer to these winds as, the “blowing the hat off the head” winds.

One of the first interests were the two Turkey Vultures enjoying floating in those high winds. Normally, for this area the buzzards don’t migrate here until around mid-March. I watched for a few moments before proceeding.

The walk discovered many signs of the wildlife in the area. I found a tree with a hollow near the base. I gazed into the hole and saw piles of Porcupine scat. The prickly feller was, no doubt, somewhere up that hollow. probably would not be a good idea to reach was up in that hollow.

Porky scat in a hollow tree.

Porcupine gnawings

I found bear sign a few times. The bruin used the tree as a marking zone. The outside was gnawed and/or dug into with their claws. Such sign lasts a long time.

Bear sign, one of several I found.

Although I didn’t hear any gobbling, I did see turkey scat and scratchings here and there. Later I saw a gobbler far off moving left to right. His journey found him behind some briars. I moved quickly utilizing the briars and the wind to my advantage. I went around a contour and spotted the bird feeding within shotgun range. I readied the camera and waiting for a photo opportunity. There would be two gobblers…a longbeard and a Jake. I managed about eight or ten pics before they disappeared after they spotted my presence.

I circled around on my return trip towards the Jeep, I happened to look down and spotted a buck shed. The antler was a two-point. I looked around but failed to find another. Not many years ago I found two shed within a few feet of each other.

Deer shed