 |
| Ellen with her opening morning doe |
Deer stands - exactly what does that
mean? For some hunters the stand could be a stump in the north
woods; there was even an organization and a magazine called Stump
Sitters at one time. A stand could be a pile of hay bales set along
a likely crossing spot like my brother-in-law sets up for my niece
Angie and Chuck's grandson, Zach. Of course there are tree stands of
various kinds including Tower 1 and Tower 2 on his place; the towers
are rudely enclosed platforms set atop old windmill frames placed on
top of a ridge overlooking a large expanse of farm field. Ellen's
brother Bill just climbs a tree overlooking a hollow above the
Spring; he has killed almost as many coyotes as deer from this honey
hole. Explaining this could take days of writing, so I'll stick to
the ones I am familiar with. On opening morning, Ellen and I will
“stand” on camp chairs leaning against oak trees along the Bench,
a long field surrounded by hills and woods.
I have take an opening morning stand
at the Bench for few quite a few years. Mountain man Ben has gone
there with me (he shot two deer there the last time on opening
morning) and Seth Howe (now studying veterinary science in Oregon).
Ellen started joining me at the Bench in 2010. We have both had
traditional places for opening morning that have changed. She used
to stand along a hollow on her home place when we stayed there with
her folks. For many years I took an opening morning stand down on
Barb and Chuck's creek bottom. I remember one frigid opener when I
posted our then twelve-year old mountain man Mark down the bottom
from me. The clock had turned to that magic time between night and
dawn when you expect you might see deer moving when I heard him
calling me. He said he was cold and wanted us to build a fire. I
growled at him to get back to his stand or go start the truck and
warm up. When I got back to the truck several hours later, he had
written “I walked back to the farm” in the dirt on the back
window. To this day I wish I had gone down there and built that
fire. Ben and I slipped and slid our way down there one morning when
it was raining. I could have shot at an antleress deer, but didn't
figure we could get to it with a truck, so I passed. Later, I heard
Ben shoot up the hollow from me. He said a deer ran past him but he
didn't think he hit it; that was probably a good thing because it
would have been a long, long drag out. Later that morning, we tried
to help Chuck push out his truck; it was stuck in the wet clay of a
picked corn field on top of the hill. Ben got a face and front full
of mud from the spinning tires. He wasn't happy but in the end he
was a good sport about it. I usually still post on the creek bottom
when we drive that area on opening weekend. I have taken a few other
opening morning stands including one here at Grouse Hollow one rainy
opener back in the 80's. I saw four deer and didn't pull the trigger
because they came up silently and appeared like ghosts for just a
second or two. Don Schnering put me on my first deer stand under the
highline wires down in Adrian Hollow in 1972; I killed my first deer
there, and the next year, I took my young brother, Del and my nephew
Randy. We didn't see any deer. I once took an opening morning stand
deep in a hollow at my Grandma Potter's farm; my brother Del owns
that place now and he'll be there opening morning. One of my
favorite spots to hunt on Thanksgiving morning is along the logging
road above our tobacco shed. In 2001, I finally got a decent buck
when some noisy hunters unloaded down in the valley, talking and
slamming truck doors. That buck came along in hopes he would escape
them. Thanks to the beautiful taxidermy of Darwin Kumlin, what's
left of it adorns our family room.
Anyway, there are plenty of stands
filled with memories in my journal like the Bench, the Creek Bottom,
Witches' Cave, Salt Box, Flood Gate, Boat Rock, Hole in the Wall, the
Old Cars, Off the Point at Burton, the Spring, the Raspberry Stand,
the Oak Stand, the Corner Woods, the Stairway Hollow, the Slaughter
Hole, the Downed Barn, the Christmas Trees, Curt's Hollow, the Kumm
Woods, the Grouse Hollow, etc. Ellen and I will hunt many of those
spots this week I hope in search of filling a tag or two and making
new memories.
Until next time, get out - here's
hoping you all have plenty to be thankful for. I know we do: each
other, our children, our families, our many friends, our pets, our
home, our health, and maybe most of all, all the many memories we
share. Have a great Thanksgiving. Enjoy.
 |
| my stand on a rainy Sunday morning |
 |
| The food plot near the Oak Stand on Tuesday morning |
No comments:
Post a Comment