Grouse Hollow Journal for October 18, 2012 by Greg Koelker

"Here comes that rainy day feeling again," "Dooly pop pop, dooly pop pop!" "And soon my tears they will be falling like rain . . ." Remember that old tune by the Fortunes? Well, you know how sometimes you get a melody caught in your head and play it over and over? This weekend I had that verse from the old song on constant replay. My Pirates lost a squeaker to North Crawford the night before - on a 27-yard field goal!  The good news was that our alma mater, Cassville got a win over Seneca. 

 

Despite the rain, El and I had a good Saturday together photographing Tiffany Parr and Andy Leirmo's wedding, and then relaxing late that evening with a cocktail by the fire and fast forwarding through the Badgers unexpected romp and stomp at Lafayette. You'd never guess that spending a day shooting a wedding can be so physically demanding. My knees and feet get sore and El's legs bother her by day's end, partly from so much standing around (still standing around never bothers me much during deer hunting, hmmm. . .) and from kneeling down and/or climbing up to get that special angle. Anyway, the kids had what looked like a soaker on their hands for their big day, but the weather smiled on them and dried up for the most part. Congratulations again to the Leirmos!

There is something special about a rainy day though. I enjoy curling up with the Sunday paper and hot coffee by a fire. This last was a good weekend for that. I worked on wedding pictures and homework at the computer, read awhile, watched and listened to a little football, took Scout for a walk in the afternoon, and ended the day with grilled chicken Alfredo over pasta for supper with a glass of wine compliments of my better-half, and of course another unexpected treat - a Green Bay romp and stomp at undefeated Houston! El's rainy day was a good one too. After coffee and the paper, El went to church. Then she made the kitchen a place to savor and remember once again as she baked bars and cookies and peach crisp, and of course that great supper. 

 

All day, I kept looking out at the woods thinking I should climb into a tree stand, but I didn't. I did see two deer in a hay field when Scout and I were walking in the afternoon.

Speaking of deer, the pheasant opener is this weekend. Awkward transition, you say? Well, it means I have to make choices, hard choices this weekend. Bow hunt for deer, go fishing, chase wild turkeys, or (or maybe and) take Scout pheasant hunting. You gotta love October. I did get out out Thursday last after work. Vince and I were contemplating going fishing at Stoddard when I spied a huge, wide antlered buck go by in a pickup truck, stretched out in the box of a pickup truck headed north that is. That turned the tide for me, and half-an-hour later, I was clambering up into the ladder stand El and I put up last week. I wrapped my safety strap around the tree and pulled the end through the buckle that tightens it. I may be foolish sometimes, but I am no fool. Rule number one: No hunting from a tree stand without safety restraints; life is too short to spend any days in a hospital or worse because of an unplanned nap fifteen feet up; unfortunately, according to the Wisconsin DNR and the University ofWisconsin Medical Center, ". . . most accidents happen while hunters are climbing up, climbing in, climbing out or climbing down from a tree stand, when most hunters are unharnessed." Harsh reality, so be careful out/up there.

What a view; from nearly 20 feet up, I could look out upon nearly all of what we call the Corner Woods. After this rainy and windy weekend, it will be clearer yet. That night the leaves were moving slightly in a light but cold breeze right in my face. The colors were still there mostly. The Corner Woods is almost all hardwoods with deep rich reds and yellows and oranges decorating the tree tops and forest floor. Somewhere behind me in the neighbor's, someone was or somethings were frantically rattling antlers together. Then silence. I daydreamed a bit, nearly drifting off to nap after a while - I wear a pretty good safety strap set up just tight enough that I can stand up if I want. I was shocked out of my reverie by the barking of angry squirrels down in the hollow. That focused my up to then sleepy eyes. A couple red squirrels raced up out of the rain gully and scrambled up nearby trees. Then I saw it. First just a shadow moving and then a bit of white. A buck too, albeit small. I could make out a basket rack held low. It was moving with the wind?! The rattling must have attracted it enough to have it disregard its natural instinct to approach into the wind. I had an arrow knocked up and my release hooked to the bow string, but the critter never came closer than forty yards. I saw two sex-unknown deer as I was walking back to the Ranger. They both saw me and exited into the woods. Still, seeing deer is way better than not seeing deer; it gives one hope, I guess.

I wonder how the local deer herd will fare this winter. Crops were less than stellar and the mast in the woods dropped clear back in August and appears to be pretty much gone. Deer around here seem to do okay, but with all of the dry weather, most farmers will probably get a chance to do fall plowing, so whatever winter food that might have been left will probably be buried. We shall see I guess.

Until next time, get out - One of the special scents of autumn that reminds me so much of my youth, is that of burning leaves. The air is sweet and musky and heavy with carbon. That said, did you know that burning leaves and other debris generates air pollution, is a health hazard to people with asthma and other allergies, and is a fire hazard and a nuisance to neighbors? Consider composting your leaves and piling your brush for wildlife. I burned a couple brush piles recently without thinking about how much the cardinals seem to love them all winter as a staging ground for assaults on our bird feeder. Finally, the De Soto Pirates Volleyball team won the Ridge and Valley Conference for the second year in a row this last week, and they won their first playoff contest of the year on Tuesday night, 3-2 to a feisty Cassville Comet team. Congrats to coach Kay Silvis and her girls on a great season and start to the post season!  Enjoy.