I recently completed this acrylic painting of three gobblers I the springtime woodlands. It is 16 by 24 inches in size. This is the first painting I have done since my mother had a stroke last June of 2024. I have a fawn painting I had started just prior to her issue and will be working on it soon along with another painting I have started.
Detail of the above painting.
Posted in My Art | Leave a Comment »
At various times over the last couple of months I had been seeing this bird around my feeders. I recognized the bird immediately as a warbler. Warblers can be very difficult to identify because of various differences between males and females and seasonal feathering changes.
I finally managed to get a good clear photo, and the warbler is known as the Pine Warbler for they like pines. This is a male.
The interesting part of this bird is the fact they migrate and are not supposed to be in Pennsylvania over winter! I can’t help wondering why this little guy stayed here.
Posted in Wildlife | Leave a Comment »
Last year I painted very little. I did some art on turkey tail feathers early and began a painting of a fawn. And then it happened…mom had a stroke. With the exceptions of some ink art while I stayed with her I had not painted.
The small painting above is on a Canada Lily. I did the art for my wife at her request. The art has been framed. I am hoping to become more inspired.
NOTE: The Canada Lily is a native wildflower of our area in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, it is not very common.
Posted in My Art | Leave a Comment »
Laurie thinks I am nuts to endure such cold weather. The temperature was somewhere in the lower teens, possibly even single digit, with a breeze later in the morning. I dressed for it for I planned to be around once the temps rose towards the forty-degree mark. I knew the deer would be moving.
I heard a squeaking sounding dog high on the top of the hill followed by the rush of running deer. I would later see another dog chasing deer.
I would see two racked deer during the morning hours. I still-hunted the one trying to see how large the “horns “ were. Later I would watch a bigger buck with five does. I stalked this deer to no avail. He always seemed to be just out ahead far enough among the brush to not identify the point number.
As I watched these deer in the shadows of the neighboring hill, I spotted three more deer moving slowly feeding but in my general direction. The deer crossed a gulley that is spring fed. I stood still watching them and allowing them to get closer. The lead deer turned and walked below me. The cross hairs were in place and the twenty-six-yard shot was true.
However, in an adrenalin rush the deer exploded and turned towards the gulley where she crashed. The doe was a big one as the drag would prove to me. The shot was around eleven fifteen. I saw over twenty deer this morning.
Another problem besides the half mile drag was trying to load the big deer into the jeep. I just could not do it. Eventually I called my cousin Bob Smail, and he arrived and the two of us managed to load the deer. Normally I would have butchered the deer myself, but I was tired and decided to drop it off at a deer processing place.
I imagine I might be sore come morning!
In my later years way of thinking I passed on four shots on does but when the hunting mode hit me the instincts took over and a shot was made. I am getting soft hearted with age and the concerns of dragging deer any distance are always present.
Posted in Deer Hunting | Leave a Comment »
Friday, December 6 was my mother Ruth’s 95th birthday. We had a small birthday event at her favorite restaurant…The Cadet! Mom was born on December 6, 1929. Her parents, my grandparents, were James Edward and Mary Elizabeth Yount. Just think of the change she has witnessed. She remembers her dad’s first car. It was a Dodge Desota. around 1940.
Happy birthday !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted in My Family | Leave a Comment »
Recently I alluded to not being able to hunt. I didn’t want to say much at the time because I had a concern of people knowing I wouldn’t be living at my home. I moved into my mother’s home in early October while my sister was dealing with a surgery and staying elsewhere to heal. It must be remembered of my mother’s bad stroke in June.
I didn’t hunt the early muzzleloader season. I managed to go out once in the fall turkey season with success. I failed to hunt the bear season. However, it felt good enough to leave the home to go out for deer on the first day of the 2024 deer season. My mother encouraged the hunt saying she would be fine. I planned a half day hunt.
That first morning I would see plenty of deer including five bucks. I almost shot one legal buck but decided against the action. I guess I wasn’t in the hunting mode for once the deer was identified as a legal buck, the crosshairs were in place and the safety was off. I passed on several antlerless shots too.
I would see a flock of turkeys and hear a pair of Great-horned Owl’s courting. Later I would second guess my decisions. I heard a Screech Owl, too. At one time, I heard running deer. It was a doe being chased by a four-point buck. The two came right to me.
December 2, I was out to hunt again with a different hunting mode in place. I would harvest an antlerless deer. I saw a number of deer that morning, too.
I returned home on December 4 upon my sister’s return. The deer was butchered and ground into burger by December 5th.
Posted in Misc. Hunting, Wildlife | Leave a Comment »
I have had some time while watching over my ma to do some ink drawings.
The buck drawing needs some more work.
Posted in My Art | Leave a Comment »
I spotted this nice buck in his bed today. He was about thirty yards from me, possibly less.
Posted in Wildlife | 4 Comments »
I have not been able to hunt hardly at all. I have a commitment that doesn’t allow for much wood’s time. I’ll detail that commitment at another time. I didn’t get to hunt the early muzzleloader season.
This morning, I was watching the news as my mother came and said she was going back to bed. Within a few moments I decided to grab my gear and see if I could hear any turkeys just up the road from her home. I left a note saying I would be back around eight. I parked around 6:40 A.M.
I walked the field’s edge as the morning fog became lighter and heard nothing. At the jeep, I unloaded my gear with the thought of returning to the house by eight. However, I saw three gobblers entering the woods in the distance. Needless to say, I became ready for a breakup…hopefully.
I entered the woods near where I had seen the birds and moved close to where the woodlands drops off rather step. I saw gobbler heads and at the break, two moved away to my right and one went towards my left down over into a gulley.
Here is where things get unbelievable to me. The gobbler that went left began to come back. Not only did the bird come back he moved upslope towards me. Although this is not the way I traditionally hunt turkeys I just had to shoot the bird at about ten yards while I was standing.
Then my luck went south, so to speak. The gobbler bounced backwards and rolled down the steep hill twenty yards or more. That roll soaked the bird’s feathers in the wet leaves thus not allowing for the perfect photos I would have desired. Oh well… I made it to the house around 8:30!
The gobbler was in the twenty-pound class. I didn’t have a scale so I can’t say exactly the bird’s weight. The beard was slender but measured ten and a half inches in length. The spurs, as viewed in the photos, were impressive. One was one and three-eight’s inches long. The other spur was one and one eight inches.
I hope things change for me some for I wouldn’t mind chasing a Black Bear later this month.
Posted in Fall Turkey Hunting | Leave a Comment »
Over the last several weeks my priority has been watching over my mother. It is a struggle working several schedules in place and still watch over her. She comes with me to many music events, that I am committed to play guitar which helps. And she really enjoys such events. Considering the bad stroke in June and her age of a month shy of ninety-five years of age, she really is doing rather well, but she still needs to be watched for her med needs and such things. Needless to say, I missed the early muzzleloading season but that is alright. However, I managed to do short strolls around the house and have been seeing many deer. I hope to get out a little in the fall turkey season.
I squeaked this Grey Fox up close.
Wild Grapes did well.
Sassafras
Posted in My Family, Wildlife | Leave a Comment »
Larry A. Smail's Blog 